My New Kentucky Home

A blog about faith and family, home and homeschooling.

DIY Mason Jar Drinking Glasses with Lids

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They say necessity is the mother of invention and I believe it with all my heart.  Thus my recent creation of Mason jar drinking glasses with lids!

I know a lot of moms forbid eating and drinking outside of the kitchen or dining area and I probably should be more like that, but…I’m not.  My husband and I take drinks all through the house and we spill nearly as often as the kids, so it seems only fair my poor children should at least be able to take a beverage into the family room on occasion! 
I have a few sippy cups, but my older three are quickly outgrowing the insulated, no-spill kind.  I also have these…

…which aren’t exactly spill-proof, but usually prevent any major accidents.  The only bad thing is that they only hold about 9 ounces and Little Man can down 9 ounces in a heartbeat!  Then I’m stuck refilling his cup again and again and again!

My 13-year old complicates things as well.  She’s nearly as accident prone as her mother, (nearly,) but if I hand her a cup like that she looks at me like I’ve just insulted her.  (The last time she had a friend over I was respectfully informed beforehand that she would “absolutely die” if I handed her and her friend a cup like this.  I should have tried it and seen what “absolutely happened”, but I was nicer than that.)

I also have some of these…

…and while I loved them in the beginning, I’ve come to like them less and less.  They aren’t cheap to begin with, but most of them also are not dishwashable and that is an issue with me.  The lids tend to warp and they aren’t easy to clean.  I find that if I don’t dig out the plastic seal and wash it separately…every single time…I start seeing a ring of mold around the top of the lid.  That’s hardly something I want to find in my drinking glass!  

I’ve looked online for other kinds of cups and I’ve never been able to find anything the right size and price. So necessity gave birth to an idea!

I always have Mason jars a-plenty around here and I figured pints would make for perfect-sized glasses for my crew.  Half-pints might work better for smaller children.  Like I said, I always have jars around for canning, but you can buy a box of a dozen jars for $10-$15.

I purchased these plastic lids from my local Kroger store and paid $3.79 for a box of eight.

They make these for standard or wide-mouthed jars and they can be put in the top rack of a dishwasher.  All they needed was a hole for a straw!

That’s where my trusty drill came into play.  (And, yes, the drill below is MY drill.  Every girl needs some basic tools for minor repairs and simple do-it-yourself jobs, and a drill is a MUST.)

You can place the hole in the center of the lid if you like, but nearer the edge makes more sense to me.  And the plastic will crack if you start out with a large drill bit. (I learned this from experience, so take note!) Start out with a small drill bit, like a 3/32, then gradually work your way up to a 5/16, which is perfect for your average-size straw.  Voila!

Now, granted, these are GLASS jars, so I probably wouldn’t let my kids use them if we had tile floors anywhere in the house.  Fortunately we do not and our kids generally leave their drinks in one spot, so these have worked really, really well.  I actually prefer glass because I think weightier beverage containers are less likely to tip over, even if left in the carpet.  But they DO make plastic Mason jars if you’re more comfortable with that idea!  I actually need to invest in some of those for when the kids want to carry their drinks outside.

At an outdoor party or cookout, glasses like these would be great for adults.  And tied with ribbon or string or burlap, they could add a lovely touch to a get-together.

But for now, my new glasses are working great for our family.  They won’t discolor or warp with time, they’re the perfect size, and, considering I have less than $4 invested in 7 glasses, they came at a pretty incredible price!


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  2. Jenn O says

    I LOVE this! Mason Jars are just cute anyway and to make them kid friendly is even better! Both of my kids (5 & 3) can drink out of glasses… I had a montessori experience that suggested that kids who drank out of glass cups early learned to be more careful with them and spill less. I *gasped* when she handed my (at the time) 1 year old an open glass to drink out of but…. it worked! I was shocked. So, I love the mason jar idea for kids too! I have tried all of those cups you mentioned as well and NONE of them fit the bill! Hopefully these new glasses work! 🙂 Jenn@ Teaching2Stinkers.Blogspot.Com

    • kentuckysketches says

      I LOVE Mason jars, too, so any project that includes them is sure to suit my fancy! I hope you can try these and they work for you as well as they're working for our family.

      Thank you so much for stopping by today!

  3. Angela says

    I have been looking into doing this for a while. We use mason jars alot to drink out of anyway. The plastic screw on lids would be perfect! I never thought of those. I have only seen online of using the metal rings and lids, but then you have to cover up the sharp edges with something or sand it down when you drill a hole….so that's why I've put it off…too many steps, ha! But I'll definitely be on the look out for those plastic lids!!! Perfect! Thanks!

    • kentuckysketches says

      You're right…I had heard of using the metal lids as well but, just like you said, those sharp edges don't exactly make that idea kid-friendly. I didn't even know if they made plastic lids when I started looking for some. Now I'm thinking of buying more so I can use glass jars more often just for storage.

      Thanks for dropping in today, Angela!

  4. Anonymous says

    What a neat idea! I've seen a lot of variations on the mason jar becoming a glass with and without lids and this is definitely the most practical, which I LOVE! Quick question, as someone who's frequently experiencing the mold issues (makes me crazy) with rubber seals on our sippy cups too, how do these plastic lids seal, I assume you're not having trouble?
    Rebecca Swafford

    • kentuckysketches says

      These are just screw-on lids, like a lid on a mayonnaise jar, so no seals to worry about and no mold! If it's full and it falls over, of course it leaks out of the straw hole, but I've not any problems with any leaking from the sides. The lids fit tightly, so they've worked great for us!

  8. Shan says

    These are awesome! I've seen them made with the metal bands and lids before. I tried making those, and they were terrible. I've never thought of using these plastic lids. I will definitely look at them at the canning supplies soon. I would LOVE to do this!

    • kentuckysketches says

      I had seen the metal lids, too, but I knew that would leave sharp edges, which is hardly a good idea with little kids! These have been perfect. I hope you can try these, Shan, and enjoy them as much as I have!

    • kentuckysketches says

      I think that would be perfect! I actually had some glasses that were similar and was really disappointed when lids like these wouldn't fit. I love the Mason jars with handles!

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