This DIY snow cone station and cactus kids craft post has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WhereFunBegins #CollectiveBias

Here in Palm Springs it already feels like summer.  Last week it popped up into the triple digits, which was a bittersweet moment for me.  I’m excited to spend my summer days in the pool but it also means the 115-120 days are coming, and coming fast.  Time to take advantage of this gorgeous weather now with a kids afternoon full of pool splashing, SunnyD drinking, cactus garden creating and a DIY snow cone station!

let’s eat

There is no better place to begin than with the snow cones!  You can buy machines that will shave ice for you, but I just used my Vitamix blender.  That’s how easy snow cone creation can be, did you know?  That thing you make smoothies in can also create shaved ice!  I passed on the idea of paper cones and went straight for these little cube bowls that I use for all kinds of hors d’oeuvers.  Plastic trumps paper when it comes to kids with wet and sticky things – plus these shaved ice treats look so adorable with a tiny matching spoon and a little paper fruit!  For syrup options, I went with SunnyD, cotton candy and grape.  I popped the syrups into easy squirt containers you would put ketchup or olive oil in.  This makes syrup application pretty easy for kids and messes less.

My daughter is a seafood lover so when I decided we needed to plan a protein, I instantly thought of shrimp.  Shrimp loves citrus and SunnyD is citrus, so why not? Beforehand, I roasted a head of garlic, then added it to a ziptop bag with SunnyD, black peppercorns and some fresh rosemary.

In the spirit of summer parties, I had my husband grill up these kabobed beauties.  The flavor was incredible and I think this might just have to make our summer grilling rotation!  Kids love food on a stick I have found and it makes trying new things more fun – great for picky eaters.

let’s craft

I am always on the lookout for fun crafts to make with my daughter and the other day I came across a lady who paints flat rocks to look like cactus, and then arranges them in little pots.  I fell in love with them and decided to try out the idea, but with cut “paddles” from the SunnyD bottles.  With a pair of scissors, you can easily cut these paddles out (I got three per bottle).

To set up your own cactus garden craft, create stations for the kiddos, starting with a cactus paddle painting station including lots of neon green.  For the spines we used a creamy off-white and a wooden skewer.

Next to the paint station, set up the potting section with terracotta pots, cactus and succulents and, of course, gloves.

Make sure to have a place to paint the pots as well.  Paint on terracotta dries very quickly, especially outside so the kids won’t have to wait long before they can start planting.

I put out a variety of succulents and cactus because they don’t need much attention (i.e. great for kids) to add to the pots, plus some small pebbles to tidy up the top.  Don’t forget to have them pop in their SunnyD paddles and a bit of water.

I love crafts at a party because they double as party favors for the kids to take home.  These cactus gardens make great gifts for mom too, don’t ya think?

SunnyD was a staple of my childhood and it is still here – at Sam’s Club located in an end-cap in the refrigerated section from April-July! Rollback!! The 24ct. 6.75oz. bottles in the Tangy Original flavor are on Rollback at $5.38 currently.  Find more Fun In The Sun ideas!