Its great here

What’s the best way to spend a hot summer day? Going to the beach, of course! If that’s too far away, you can easily lounge beside your pool in your bikini and shades, with your trusty suntan lotion and ice cold beverage with you. Now, imagine doing this with about fifty of your friends. Fun, right?

Hosting a pool party is the perfect way to celebrate a hot day. It’s also a wonderful and versatile party theme you can use, great for adults, teens, or kids. Whether it’s for a birthday, a holiday, or if you just feel like spending time with your best buddies, a pool party is an ideal choice. As long as you know the important factors to take care of, you’ll end up with a smashing and splashing good party. Here are some ideas to help you out.

Splashing Good Invitations

Beach Party Invitation

Feeling artistic? Instead of purchasing ready-made invitations, you should create your own. It only takes creativity, imagination and a few art materials. One great idea is a mermaid invitation. Draw mermaid shapes on cardboard using coloring pens. For the fin, spread a thin layer of glue and sprinkle green glitters all over. Write the party details behind the drawing.

You can also have fun with cardstock paper, by drawing pool-related images like flip flops, tropical flowers and board shorts on it. Be creative when wording the invitations. Write something like “Dive in to my fun pool party!” or “Let’s have a splashing good time together!”.

Another crafty idea is to send actual pool stuff to your guests as invites. Hand deliver pairs of flip flops or small beach balls. They can also serve as your giveaways. You can also make a “message in a bottle” invitation. Purchase small clear bottles, put in sand, shells or a bit of “pool water” (ordinary water with some blue dye), then place a roll of paper inside with the complete details.

Don’t forget to remind your guests to come in their swimming trunks or bikinis. Hawaiian shirts and summer dresses are also great. Ask them to bring extra clothes, suntan lotion and towels, too.

Pool Decorations

Cute girls inside the pool

Unlike other indoor parties, you don’t have to go overboard with the decorations for your pool party. If you have a lovely backyard or if your pool is in your garden, you don’t have to worry too much about this aspect. If you really want to make the celebration extravagant and stylish, then try these decor tips.

• Settle on a color motif. Use summery hues, like yellow and orange, and mix them up with some green or light blue. Use the motif for different decor aspects like tablecloths, utensils, and even for the confetti, streamers and banners.
• Put beach balls, shovels , beach chairs and pails around the venue.
• Lounge chairs and colorful mats are more preferred by some hosts, but you can also place several round tables around the pool. Cover them with tablecloths in the motif you choose and put flower centerpieces on them. You can also use fishbowls with a fish or floating candles in them.
• If you expect the party to last until evening, place tiki lamps around the venue and hang up twinkling lights on the trees and walls.

Family Pool Party
• Play mood music in the background. Jazz is perfect for semi-formal events, while disco sounds are better for casual parties.
• Place inflatable cactuses around the area.
• If you’re celebrating someone’s special day, hang up a banner for the person. You can put “Have a Splashing Birthday (name of the celebrant)!” or “Congratulations ___!”. Draw pictures of shells, mermaids, beach balls and sand castles around the words.
• Have a tent ready, in case it rains.

Party Safety

Pool parties are fun, but amidst all the planning, you have to make sure that your guests are completely safe from possible accidents or emergencies that might happen during the celebration. Keep these safety precautions in mind during the event.

• Always have a lifeguard by the pool to watch the guests. You can ask other adults to help you with this, and you can take turns, so no one will miss out on the fun. If you want, you can also hire a professional lifeguard from a local park or recreation department to help keep an eye on everyone.
• Mark the pool’s depth clearly, so the people will know whether it’s safe for them to cannonball or dive.
• Cannonballing and diving are great, but for safety precautions, it’s good if you implement a no-diving rule during your party.
• If small kids come at the party, make sure their parents or guardians keep an eye on them at all times.

Lifeguard for you safety

Kids diving in the pool

Kiddie pool with her mom

• You can also get an inflatable kiddie pool, so you won’t have to worry about your kiddie guests wandering near the deep pool.
• Have a first-aid kit ready, complete with band aid, gauze bandage, disinfectant, and medicine for headache and fever.
• If you’re serving alcohol, remind everyone to drink moderately. Be very wary of guests who are drunk or tipsy, and don’t let them go near the water.

Making your party safe is just as important as making it enjoyable, so follow these precautions throughout the special day.

Yummy Pool Snacks

The guests may be eager to dive in your pool, but they’re just as excited to dig in your snacks! Planning a yummy and filling menu is very important and the choice of food varies. Some hosts just serve delicious finger food and refreshing drinks, while others set a long buffet table, for a filling meal. The choices usually depend on the time of the party, the theme and the budget.

Here are delicious ideas for your pool party menu.

• Barbecued meat - No one will say no to these. Ribs, pork chops, slabs of beef and chicken are great. Get hamburgers and hotdogs for your younger guests. You can also barbecue fish. Serve these with different sauces.
• Grilled veggie kebabs - Skewer bell peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes and grill. This is a healthy and yummy treat for your vegan and vegetarian guests.
• Chips and dip - You can never go wrong with this finger food combo. If you want a healthier alternative, serve vegetable or fruit pieces instead of chips.
• Shrimp cocktails - A yummy party classic. Serve this if you’re having a semi-formal pool party affair.
• Ice cream - A sure way to beat the summer heat. Serve these in small plastic cups and drizzle with chocolate or strawberry syrup. Popsicles are also great. If it’s a very special occasion, you can also do well with an ice cream cake. (Want to make your own ice cream, read how to make homemade ice cream)

Chicken barbeque

Hottie Hotdogs

Yummy Burger!

For your drinks, serve fruit smoothies, milkshakes, iced tea or punch. Also have plenty of water ready, since people tend to become dehydrated during a pool party. You can also serve alcoholic beverages like cocktails and beer, but you have to be responsible enough not to let your guests become too intoxicated.

Pool Party Fun

Swimming and socializing are both fun, but they can be very boring after some time, so it’s better if you organize fun activities and games for everyone, to keep the party spirit high. Water volleyball, basketball, and Marco Polo are all enjoyable, but here are other activities you might find exciting.

• Rubber Duckie Race - You need several rubber duckies for this. Get five participants and let them stand at one end of the pool with their duckie. When you say “Go!” they’ll all start nudging their duckies to the other end of the pool, using only their noses. The first player who reaches the other end wins.
• Tug-Of-War - The usual tug-of-war game, except it’s done over the pool, so when one team falls, they fall in the water.

Check this out funny movie Pool Party game the “Tug-Of-War”.

• Limbo - Do the traditional limbo game at the shallow part of the pool, about waist-deep.
• Collect The Ice Cube - Pair the guests. One of them should stand outside the pool, while the other stands in the pool. When everyone’s in position, get plenty of ice cubes and throw them into the pool. At your signal, the people in the pool must get ice cubes using their feet, and then pass them to their partner, who gathers it in a bucket. The pair who gets the most cubes wins the game.
• See Horse Riding Contest - Pick four participants and pair them up. One player sits on the shoulders of his or her partner. The two teams will then have to wrestle and try to push the opponent off his or her teammate’s shoulder. This game is pretty physical, so make sure no one gets hurt.

Watch this movie and lets ready to rumble! ^_^.

Giveaways To Dive For

Your guests will soon feel tired and exhausted from swimming in the pool, and that’s your cue to end the party. Don’t let them leave yet, though. Hand out party favors like shades, beach balls, colorful beach towels and shell-shaped soap. Polaroid photos taken during the party are also great.

Don’t let the beautiful summer heat go to waste. Tell everyone to get their bikinis and beach shorts ready, and have a fun pool party. It’s a great and refreshing deviation from the typical parties you host. Have a splashing good time! For more information regarding this article, read how to plan a summer barbecue.