It's New Year's Eve; it's the Fourth of July; it's the Super Bowl; it's an end-of-summer BBQ; it's a birthday party. It doesn't need a reason or a season: these mocktails for kids and teens will be an instant hit no matter why you're pouring them. From fun cotton candy drinks all the way to something a bit more familiar for the picky eaters (who doesn't love a Shirley Temple?) you're more than covered with these kids' mocktails as a start.
Gummy Bear Kids' Mocktail
Capture the flavors of a sugary and delicious gummy bear in a mocktail all the kids will love. You can even put your stash of gummy bears to use as a garnish. The best part is the flavor is easily changeable just by swapping out the raspberry syrup for the flavor of your choice. This means, if you're feeling generous, you can take flavor requests. Or just make the ones you want. No judgment here.
Ingredients
- 5 ounces white cranberry juice
- ¾ ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- ¾ ounce raspberry syrup
- Ice
- Pineapple wedge and cherry for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, white cranberry juice, lemon juice, and raspberry syrup.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into highball glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with pineapple wedge and cherry.
Sparkling Cotton Candy
Cotton candy with some sparkling white grape juice? Aw, heck yeah. Obviously, this will be phenomenal at any fireworks holiday, but teens and kids alike (and probably a few grown ups) will love a cotton candy drink any day of the year.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces sparkling white grape juice
- ½ ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- A wisp of cotton candy for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a Champagne flute or coupe.
- In chilled glass, add sparkling white grape juice and lemon juice.
- Garnish with cotton candy.
- Before enjoying, push cotton candy into drink.
- Enjoy!
Claire's Cotton Candy Martini Mocktail
A dash of magic, a bit of candy, and some fruit juice will leave eyes wide and faces smiling.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces cranberry juice
- ¾ ounce cherry juice
- ½ ounce orange syrup
- Ice
- A wisp of cotton candy for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, cranberry juice, cherry juice, and orange syrup.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with cotton candy.
Shirley Temple's Martini
Remember being a kid and wanting to mimic everything your parents or nearby adults did? The whole monkey-see, monkey-do? Now your kids can do the same. While you have a cosmo or another colorful martini, they can enjoy Shirley Temple's martini.
Ingredients
- ½ ounce cranberry juice
- ½ ounce grenadine
- ½ ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Ginger ale to top off
- Cherry for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, cranberry juice, grenadine, and lime juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Top off with ginger ale.
- Garnish with cherry.
Mermaid Water
A blue drink with a sugary rim will be both a gift and a curse in your house. If you want less sugar or cannot find blue sugar, skip it - just like you would with that birthday party you don't want to attend. If coconut water doesn't fly in your house, top off your mermaid water with lemon-lime soda or another sparkling beverage instead.
Ingredients
- Lime wedge and blue sugar for rim
- 4 ounces blue fruit punch
- ¾ ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- ¾ ounce coconut water
- Ice
- Lime wheel for garnish
Instructions
- To prepare rim, rub the rim of the glass with the lime wedge.
- With the sugar on a saucer, dip either half or the entire rim of the glass in the sugar to coat.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, blue fruit punch, lemon juice, and coconut water.
- Strain into prepared glass.
- Garnish with lime wheel.
Alice's Wonderland Mocktail
No pine needles or junipers are harmed in the making of this fruity bramble riff, that'll taste like a pick-your-own adventure without the smooshed berries in small hands.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces lemonade
- ¾ ounce raspberry syrup
- ½ ounce grenadine
- ½ ounce orange syrup (optional)
- Crushed ice
- Mint sprig, raspberry, and orange wheel for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, lemonade, raspberry syrup, grenadine, and, if desired, orange syrup.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into rocks glass over crushed ice.
- Garnish with mint sprig, raspberry, and orange wheel.
Kiddie-jito
It's a kiddie mojito for the adventurous kid or the teen that wants to tell all her friends she did something almost cool this weekend. If you're not into muddling, you can make up mint simple syrup ahead of time.
Ingredients
- 3-5 fresh mint leaves
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Lime club soda or lemon-lime soda to top off
- Mint sprig and lime wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle mint leaves with simple syrup.
- Add ice and lime juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Top off with lime club soda.
- Garnish with mint sprig and lime wedge.
Roy Rogers the Cowboy
The classic Roy Rogers is nothing more than cola and grenadine, but you'll find that this recipe pushes the envelope just enough to make it new and shiny while staying familiar.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce grenadine
- ½ ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- Ice
- Vanilla cola to top off
- Cherry for garnish
Instructions
- In a highball glass, add ice, grenadine, and lemon juice.
- Top off with vanilla cola.
- Garnish with cherry.
Sand Castle Punch Mocktail
Whip up a rum punch, but without the rum, that'll be the perfect mocktail for any game night. It will also appease the teens and adults. Even rage quitters who don't win the game will still feel like winners with this. For a more adult flavor, add a splash of almond syrup. This makes approximately six servings.
Ingredients
- 2 cups orange juice
- 1½ cups cranberry juice
- 1½ cups pineapple juice
- ¼ cup lime juice
- Ice
- Lemon wheel and cherry for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pitcher, add ice, orange juice, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and lime juice.
- Stir to mix.
- Serve in highball glasses over fresh ice.
- Garnish with lemon wheel and cherry.
Shooting Strawberry Star Spritzer Mocktail
Nothing beats the flavor of strawberry, especially when it's in a colorful and delicious mocktail for kids. You may end up making one for yourself.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces strawberry lemonade
- ¾ ounce honey syrup
- ¾ ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- Ice
- Lemon-lime soda to top off
- Lime wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, strawberry lemonade, honey syrup, and lemon juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into highball glass over fresh ice.
- Top off with lemon-lime soda.
- Garnish with lime wedge.
The Kid's Watermelon Mocktail
There's no need for a formal name for this kid mocktail, it'll simply be, "You know, the kid's watermelon mocktail" when you're telling people what you're drinking because you can't help but have one yourself.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces watermelon juice
- 1 ounce fruit punch
- ¾ ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Watermelon wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, watermelon juice, fruit punch, and lime juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with watermelon wedge.
Go Nuts for Coconuts Mocktail
Some kid mocktails require a little bit of planning, but this isn't one of them. This isn't a cruise ship frozen virgin piña colada. It's a tasty last-minute mocktail that'll make everyone happy piña colada.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces pineapple juice
- 2 ounces cream of coconut
- ¾ ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice
- ¾ ounce freshly-squeezed orange juice
- Ice
- Pineapple leaf, pineapple wedge, and cherry for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, lime juice, and orange juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into hurricane or highball glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with pineapple leaf, pineapple wedge, and cherry.
Saturday Cartoon Sparkler
Cherry juice, lemon-lime soda, and almond syrup are all it takes to whip up this sparkling sipper. No cherry juice? Use some of the syrup from a jar of cherries or some grenadine in its place.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces cherry juice
- ½ ounce orgeat or almond syrup
- Ice
- Lemon-lime soda to top off
- Cherry for garnish
Instructions
- In a rocks glass, add ice, cherry juice, and orgeat.
- Stir to mix.
- Top off with lemon-lime soda.
- Garnish with cherry.
Extra Lives Fruity Sangria Mocktail
Lean into the summer mocktails for kids with a nonalcoholic white sangria that would look great at a breakfast table, if that's what you want, or something to have on hand for the afternoon when everyone turns up at your house unannounced with all of their friends. This makes approximately eight servings.
Ingredients
- 4 cups white grape juice
- 2 cups ginger ale
- ¾ cup cranberry juice
- ¼ cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Lime wheels, strawberry slices, and thyme sprigs for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pitcher, add ice, white grape juice, ginger ale, cranberry juice, and lime juice.
- Stir to mix.
- Garnish with lime wheels, strawberry slices, and thyme sprigs.
- Serve in highball glasses over fresh ice.
Princess Rainbow Sprinkles Mocktail
Remember the Princess Wishing Star doll from the 90s? This mocktail is definitely her drink of choice.
Ingredients
- Honey syrup and rainbow sprinkles for rim
- 1 ounce cranberry juice
- ¾ ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- ¾ ounce peach juice
- Ice
- Lemon-lime soda to top off
Instructions
- To prepare rim, dip the rim of the glass in the honey syrup.
- With the sprinkles on a saucer, dip either half or the entire rim of the glass in the sprinkles to coat.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, cranberry juice, lemon juice, and peach juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into prepared glass.
- Top off with lemon-lime soda.
Princess Peach Iced Tea Mocktail
The world of Mario lives on and on with each generation. When the kids settle in with some video games, it could be time for the mocktail of their video game dreams.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces peach iced tea
- ¾ ounce maple syrup
- 1-2 dashes cinnamon bitters or splash cinnamon simple syrup
- Ice
- Peach wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, peach iced tea, maple syrup, and cinnamon bitters.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into highball glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with peach wedge.
Cinderella Mocktail
This isn't blue like you would expect a Cinderella mocktail, but it is fitting for any princess (or prince) as a kid mocktail. Don't be afraid to change up the name, either.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces pineapple juice
- 2 ounces freshly-squeezed orange juice
- ¾ ounce grenadine
- ½ ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- Ice
- Lemon-lime soda or vanilla club soda to top off
- Pineapple wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, pineapple juice, orange juice, grenadine, and lemon juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into highball glass over fresh ice.
- Top off with lemon-lime soda.
- Garnish with pineapple wedge.
Super Hero's Mocktail
Grab strawberry daiquiri mix from the nonalcoholic mixer aisle on your next trip to the grocery store to be kid-mocktail-ready any time of day.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces red juice (strawberry watermelon, berry blend, or cranberry juice)
- 1 ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice
- 1½ ounces strawberry daiquiri mix
- Ice
- Ginger ale to top off
- Strawberry slice for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, juice, lime juice, and strawberry daiquiri mix.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into highball glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with strawberry slice.
Gone Fishin' Mocktail
There's no doubt that kids and teens will swim oceans to get their hands on this fish-themed mocktail.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces blue fruit punch
- 3 ounces limeade
- ¾ ounce pineapple juice
- Ice
- Orange slice, cherry, cocktail umbrella, and gummy fish for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, blue fruit punch, limeade, and pineapple juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into rocks glass or mini fishbowl over fresh ice.
- Garnish with orange slice, cherry, cocktail umbrella, and plenty of gummy fish.
Liquid Chocolate Mocktail
Boost the usual chocolate milk with a few other pantry staples to make a kid-approved dessert mocktail. Your teens may even smile.
Ingredients
- 3 heaping spoonfuls of whipped cream
- 1 ounce caramel sauce
- 1 ounce chocolate sauce
- 4 ounces milk
- Ice
- Chocolate syrup for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, whipped cream, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, and milk.
- Shake to chill.
- Drizzle inside of glass with chocolate syrup.
- Strain drink into prepared glass over fresh ice.
Mocktails for Kids of Any Age
Make any youngster of any age happy with these kid mocktails. From your adventurous eaters to those who don't want to go too far outside of their comfort zone, you'll find that these are some excellent drinks to start with. You may even fall for a few of them yourself.
