Blue Lemonade Punch: The Pigeon Has to Go to School Summer Party

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure and Privacy Policy.

My blue lemonade punch recipe post inspired by The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! by Mo Willems is in partnership with Disney Book Group, however all thoughts are my own.

This lemonade punch recipe is the perfect drink to serve guests at your Pigeon party! Created in celebration of The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! by Mo Willems, this blue drink mimics the colors of the beloved book character, Pigeon. Serve this refreshing blue lemonade with lemon slices in a large mason jar to make it super easy to transport. Learn more about the book and how we had our own summer party featuring Pigeon!

As you know from my many posts featuring the works of children’s book author Mo Willems, we are huge fans. Even as my oldest children move on from picture books, there is a special place for his characters – The Pigeon, Gerald and Piggie. Even as an adult, I’m excited when a new book from the Pigeon series is released because it never fails to entertain me.

The Pigeon HAS to GO to School Synopsis

The Pigeon is about to get SCHOOLED. Do YOU think he should go?

Why does the Pigeon have to go to school? He already knows everything! And what if he doesn’t like it? What if the teacher doesn’t like him? What if he learns TOO MUCH!?! Ask not for whom the school bell rings; it rings for the Pigeon!

My kids loved The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! just as much as all the other books from the series. It has some fun tie-ins to other installments, including the first book and features the usual fun and silly antics of the Pigeon. Wesley loved reading the book to his older brother and they both giggled throughout the story. This is a great option for any child who is just entering preschool or kindergarten or has some anxiety in general about going back to school.  The Pigeon shares his own fears  and then his feelings quickly change when he remembers what makes school so fun.

Our summer vacation is more than half over already, so to make the most of the time we have left, I decided to throw them their own The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! summer party! I created a party spread that I am sure would make Pigeon proud including many of his favorites like hot dogs and chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to bring something special to drink and decided a half gallon mason jar would be the easiest way to transport it.

How to Make Blue Lemonade Punch

To make this blue lemonade all you need is lemonade, dark blue sports drink like Powerade and lemon lime soda. Normally I try to avoid soda in my punch unless it is necessary like in this sherbet punch. You certainly could leave it out for this one. Since the sports drink isn’t very sweet and I didn’t want to lose the bright blue color, I opted for some soda to add a little sweetness. You can add more if you’d like fizzy blue lemonade.

To make your punch, pour equal parts lemonade and blue sports drink into your half gallon mason jar or large pitcher and add lemon lime soda to taste.

For this I used Simply Lemonade, Mountain Berry Powerade and 7up. You could just as easily make lemonade punch with Sprite, Sierra Mist or even ginger ale.

To really tie this into my theme, I decided to add one big eye to the top of my mason jar, just like The Pigeon. I used white and black cardstock with 3 inch and 2 inch circle punch to create this look, but you could also cut this out by hand with scissors.

Since I received some cute favor boxes, I though it would be fun to fill them with Pigeon Snack Mix. I included popcorn, light blue sixlets, yellow skittles and mini marshmallows.

To create the eyeball marshmallows, I used a black food safe marker and gently pressed down.

Even if you don’t have these cool Mo Willems themed favor boxes you could create this look with blue or white favor boxes. The filling is what makes it fun!

We headed out to our local park to have our mid-summer party. My kids were pretty excited to have something special to do on a weekday.

The centerpiece was really our cookie station. Since Pigeon loves chocolate chip cookies, I created a platter of chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chip cookie sandwiches.

In the center, I placed a jumbo vanilla cupcake with a fun “It’s My Bird-Day” candle holder I received from the book publisher.

So fun, right?

I also received fun party hats, plates, napkins and cups to really bring the table to life.

My kids loved their lunch of hot dogs, chips, fruit, lemonade punch and chocolate chip cookies. They really enjoyed the snack mix inspired by Pigeon and munched on that while we read books in the shade and enjoyed the cool breeze.

Those are the hands of the ever elusive middle child who somehow managed to duck his face out of every photo. I swear he had a good time,too.

I hope this summer party featuring The Pigeon inspires you to do something fun and unexpected this summer. Give this lemonade punch a try and pick up your own copy of The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! to share with your child!