Hosts serving mixed-age guests
If you want something fizzy for the table, offer sparkling water separately rather than making a sports or energy drink the default for children. Keep water and milk available for younger guests.
Who is choosing drinks?
Hosts expecting active adults
A still isotonic drink may be a separate option for adults training or taking part in prolonged exercise around the event. That use is different from serving it as general party refreshment.
Hosts checking ingredients for guests
Check the current label for caffeine, sweeteners and colour warnings, particularly when choosing drinks for a mixed-age gathering. A fizzy energy drink and a sports drink are not interchangeable categories.
What should you check?
Decide whether the drink is for party fizz or for exercise, then check the pack and ingredients against the guests you plan to serve.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Fizz for the table | Check that the drink is labelled sparkling water, rather than a still sports drink or a carbonated energy drink. Choose bottle sizes that suit how you will serve it. | I want a fizzy non-alcoholic option for guests without making an exercise drink the main party beverage. |
| Exercise use | Check whether a guest will actually be exercising and whether the drink is an isotonic or carbohydrate-electrolyte product. Tesco Groceries describes Lucozade Sport and Gatorade in relation to prolonged endurance exercise; Coca-Cola Great Britain describes Powerade as a still sports drink for exercise. | If an adult guest is training or taking part in prolonged activity, I may want a separate sports drink for them. |
| Children and ingredients | Keep water and milk available for children. Read the current ingredients and warnings for caffeine, sweeteners and colours; Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust says sports and energy drinks are not suitable for young children. | With children at the christening, I need to know what is in each drink before putting it out. |
Mix-ups to avoid
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Mistaking an energy drink for a sparkling sports drink
Tesco Groceries lists Lucozade Energy Original as carbonated and containing caffeine and the colours Sunset Yellow and Ponceau 4R. It is a different product from Lucozade Sport, which Tesco describes as an isotonic exercise drink.
Check whether the pack says energy or sports drink, then read its ingredients and warnings before serving it at a mixed-age event.
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Buying isotonic drinks for ordinary party refreshment
The exercise-related descriptions for the Lucozade Sport, Powerade and Gatorade examples apply to physical activity, not to attending a christening.
Make water available for general refreshment. Add sparkling water for guests who want fizz, and keep any sports drinks as a separate choice for adults exercising around the event.
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Using a sugar-free label as the only suitability check
Sugar content alone does not tell you whether a drink contains caffeine, sweeteners or ingredients carrying a child-related warning. Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust advises that sports and energy drinks are unsuitable for young children.
Read the full current label, and keep water and milk available for children.
Relevant drink brands
These brand examples help distinguish still exercise drinks from the sparkling-water options below; brand inclusion does not mean every product in a range has the same ingredients.
Lucozade Sport
Tesco Groceries describes Lucozade Sport Orange as an isotonic drink for adults who train or take part in sport.
- An exercise-drink option for an adult guest with that specific use in mind.
- The Orange example is still, so it does not meet a request for a sparkling table drink.
Powerade
Coca-Cola Great Britain describes Powerade as a still isotonic sports drink intended for use around exercise.
- A distinct option to consider when an adult guest wants an exercise drink.
- Its still format will not satisfy a request for fizz.
Gatorade
Tesco Groceries describes Gatorade Cool Blue in relation to physical exercise and prolonged endurance activity.
- Its stated use can be relevant to an adult taking part in prolonged exercise.
- That exercise use is not a reason to make it the general christening drink.
Sparkling-water options on Joybuy
These sparkling waters address the party’s request for fizz, not the separate question of what an exercising adult might drink. Compare individual bottles with larger bottles for pouring, and check the current pack instructions if you expect leftovers.
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San Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water 6 × 0.5L
A sparkling-water choice when guests want fizz rather than an exercise drink. Six 0.5L bottles provide individual servings; check the pack instructions before storing opened bottles.
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Highland Spring Sparkling Spring Water 6 × 1L
For a table where you plan to pour sparkling water, this pack has six 1L bottles. It is a fizzy-water option, not an isotonic exercise drink.
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San Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water 6 × 1L
Another larger-bottle format for pouring sparkling water at the party. The pack contains six 1L bottles; check its instructions if any bottle will be kept after opening.
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Buxton Sparkling 8 × 500ml
Eight 500ml bottles offer separate sparkling-water servings for guests. Choose this format if individual bottles suit the way you will set out drinks.
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Genki Forest White Peach Sparkling Water 480ml
A single-bottle flavoured sparkling-water option for guests who want something other than plain water. Check the current ingredients and sweetener declarations against guest preferences before serving.
Common questions
Should a sports drink be the main fizzy drink at a christening?
Choose sparkling water separately if the aim is to offer fizz. The Lucozade Sport, Powerade and Gatorade examples described by Tesco Groceries and Coca-Cola Great Britain are exercise drinks, not sparkling options for the party table.
What drinks should I have for children?
Keep water and milk available. NHS guidance says children should avoid sugary fizzy drinks, squash and juice drinks, while Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust says sports and energy drinks are not suitable for young children.
What should I check on a drink label for mixed-age guests?
Read the current ingredients and any warnings, paying particular attention to caffeine, sugars, sweeteners and colours. Tesco Groceries lists caffeine, Sunset Yellow and Ponceau 4R in Lucozade Energy Original; those details should not be assumed to apply to Lucozade Sport or every fizzy drink.
What should I do with bottles left open after the party?
Follow the storage and use-after-opening instructions on each bottle. Check them when buying if you expect to keep partly used drinks, rather than applying one product’s instructions to another.