*This post contains affiliate links. Product provided by Torani, all opinions are my own*

I was so excited when I won a year supply of Torani Syrup at the Blog Like a Boss Retreat this spring!! My wheels started turning on how to use it and with a big Kemsley Family Reunion on the docket I knew that was the perfect scenario! We ended up using the syrup in two different ways during the reunion and I’m here to share all the details with you 🙂

How to Host a Soda Bar

First off, we had a soda-licious inspired Soda Bar! Have you been to Soda-licious? Or Sipps? Or I think there’s even one called Gulps or something? They are so fun! I think the great appeal is that it works for everyone! My 4 year old and my grandpa were all having a ton of fun mixing their custom drinks.

Order your Torani Syrup! You can order it directly through the Torani website, or Amazon also sells it. The two flavors to run out first in our soda bar were vanilla & coconut. Cherry and Blue Raspberry were other favorites. They also have sugar free syrups! I was wishing I had ordered a couple because I had some health-conscious guests that said they would have tried it if there had been sugar free options.
Print your menus: I have some free printable menus for you! I sized them at 8X10 and had them printed as photos. That way you can throw them in a frame and set them in your soda bar area to give your guests some ideas on how to mix the sodas. If you want more recipe ideas be sure to check out the Torani website, they have TONS of inspo.
Get your soda! I used root beer, sprite, dr pepper and mountain dew for our bases. But regular sparkling water, coke and diet sodas are other popular options.
Have cups (with lids), labels (so they can reuse their cup), ice, limes and plenty of half & half on hand!
Don’t forget to encourage your guests to mix their own signature drinks and tag them with #mytoraniobsession
Shopping List: Here is a list of all the items I purchased for our soda bar
1. Torani Syrup
2. Torani Pumps- not essential but makes it a lot easier
3. Cups & Lids
4. Straws
5. Labels- so people can add their names to their cups (so they don’t get a new one every time!)
6. Fresh Limes- have a cutting board and knife available for people to add their lime juice.
7. Half & Half
8. 8X10 menus
9. 2 liter sodas (about 1 liter of soda for every 2 guests)

I called it the “Kemsley Soda Bar” since it was Kemsley family reunion, and named each of the drinks after family members. I have made more generic ones for you to print. There are three menus: one that uses Dr Pepper as a base, one that uses Sprite, and one that uses some Mountain Dew and some Root Beer.

Soda Bar Menu Free Printables

Lucky you guys. I made these menu printables available for free, just make sure you are following me on social media, (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest) and then head to the link below 🙂

DIY Snow Cone Party

The second thing we used the syrup for…several times… is to make our own snow cones! My parents got this snow cone machine and it worked out perfectly. You can do it with blocks of ice OR cubes. And I learned an important lesson while visiting my parents in Louisiana: they’re called “SNOBALLS” (not snow cones). Well..excuse me 😉

Thank goodness for my niece! What a willing model! Is that what having girls is like? Now I want one…

Some tips for a successful snow cone party:

Host it outside! Duh! Super messy friends…
Shave the ice as needed. Not easy to store… Just get an extension cord and haul your snow cone machine outside and shave the ice when you are ready to serve the snow cones. Its super fast and easy.
Its nice to have straws AND spoons handy.
If you want to get fancy you can put out toppings (you know…think fresh fruit and ice cream toppings).
Here are some products I found that would come in handy:
- Snow cone machine
- Torani Syrups
- Snow Cone cups
- Call them snoballs if you want to be super cool 😉