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30 Very Best Pool Party Ideas

30 Very Best Pool Party Ideas

There is nothing better than enjoying a nice warm day by the pool. A cold drink in your hand, sunlight on your face and the sound of kids running around… Okay, there is one thing: organising a cool pool party for your friends or family to remember!

After all, it’s not every day that you get the chance to show around your swimwear. You can choose a pool party as a perfect way to celebrate an important occasion, like a birthday, anniversary (even a wedding) – or just celebrate the day itself!

But first things first: what if you are not so fortunate to have a pool right outside your door? 

Well, there are some things you can do to help yourself solve this crucial problem. 

If there is enough space available, you can always buy a huge inflatable pool that will be just as spacious and just as fun as a regular built-in one. Plus, it has a great side to it: once you’re done, you can always pack it back up and keep it in for the next sunny day. 

If you are celebrating a birthday or another special occasion, there are always places that can help you rent a pool space for such purposes. 

Or – invite yourself to a friend’s pool and promise to organize everything for a party to remember. 

P.S. If everything fails, you can still daydream in your bathtub. 

Once you find a pool to use, check out the following best pool party ideas:

 

BEST POOL PARTY THEMES

The first thing you would want to do when organizing a pool party is to choose your main theme. This will be greatly impacted by things such as who you’re planning on inviting and how many guests there will be, the occasion you are preparing the party for (or if it’s just a spontanious get-together) and, of course, your budget – which I would worry the least about because there are so many smart ways to make sure your party is as budget-friendly as possible. 

 

BEST POOL PARTY THEMES FOR ADULTS

Organizing an adult-themed pool party means that almost no idea is off-limit – just make sure all your guests are compatible. You can mix your friends and your family, or choose specific group of people to have fun with.

 

1. Vintage pool party

Have your guests looking into the closets of their parents or take a trip to thrift shops: and let them all show up in vintage swimwear! You can choose a concrete era or decade for this party or just let your friends image what it must have been like to enjoy a day at the pool quite some years ago. Don’t forget also to put on some evergreen music to enjoy!

 

2. Dress as another guest pool party

Have your guest dress as your other guest would – for example, if you are having your family over, let your mom dress like your sister, your dad as your brother… Let them swap their outfits and accessories and play the favorite songs you listened to when growing up. Plus, think of all the hilarous photos you will take. 

 

3. Eco-friendly pool party

A pool party doesn’t need to be excessive. In other words: make it mandatory not to buy anything new for the occasion. Borrow and make everything that you think you’d need for the party yourself – or ask your guests to bring some food and decorations as well. Think of natural materials, tasty homemade finger food and delicious lemonade. 

 

4. Masked ball pool party

Let your pool party get taken over by famous people, historical figures, angels and monsters… Or whatever else you all feel like being for a day! Again, there is no need to buy new things for this occasion: have your friends get creative with their costumes. And for an added mysterious vibe: have them wear masks over their eyes as well so that you’d need to guess who’s really underneath that Elvis Presley’s hairdo. 

 

5. VIP pool party

Similarly to the masked ball party, have your guests come as VIPs. As very, very important VIPs. Let them show off in the richest, most luxurious way possible. Make gold and crystals be the main decoration of the place (you can also create some DYO alternatives) and have the host come to the party dressed as security!

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BEST POOL PARTY THEMES FOR KIDS

When it comes to kids pool parties, it is important that you have enough adults present, to make sure the day goes as safely as possible. Other than that, you will find that all the kids need is the pool itself to have a great day!

 

6. Mermaid pool party

Create interesting mermaid costumes, braid your hair and splash colorful sparkling decorations all over your pool area!

 

7. Jungle pool party

Think green decorations (the more the merrier), crocodile inflatables and waterproof face painting for a truly memorable experience. And don’t forget to let the kids run around like monkeys!

 

8. One-colour party

Even though kids love all things colorful, you can create a one-color dress code and organize everything so you can enjoy its different shades: it will inspire creativity and look good on photos, too!

 

9. Games day party

A theme doesn’t necessarily need to be all about decoration and complementing food: you can choose to have different pool and sports games played on that day and prepare a special prize for the winner of them all!

 

10. Paw Patrol party

There is hardly a child that doesn’t have a favorite Paw Patrol character they’d like to dress up as. As they all represent one color, you can have your pool area decorated in all colors of the rainbow. 

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POOL PARTY DECORATION

To have your theme really stand out, you will need to focus some time on decoration the pool area. Unless you really want to, have your guests help you out by giving out some tasks to them – like preparing food or drinks or bringing in extra chairs. 

 

11. Fruits and veg

Fruits and vegetables can serve well not only as food for the guests, but also as great decoration accessories. Throw some watermelons in the pool to cool them down, hang up dried oranges and get creative!

 

12. Balloons and bubbles everywhere

Balloons and bubbles are perfect decoration for pool parties. Choose colors and styles that would suit your theme best, find a bubble machine or give out small bubble makers!

 

13. DYO paradise

DYO solutions can serve as great decoration. Have your guests create something too and you can organize some photo props and dried flowers for a dream-like pool party. 

 

POOL PARTY ACTIVITIES

To make sure all your guests are bonding nicely (especially if not everyone knows each other), dedicate some time to pool party activities. 

 

14. Waterpolo

Simplify this water sport and have two goals set up on opposite sides of the pool. Split your guests into teams – the one with the most goals receives a special prize!

 

15. Pool party karaoke

Karaoke is not only for dark dimmed rooms: it’s a fun activity for both kids and adults, and serves as a great musical background for a nice day at the pool!

 

16. Find the treasure!

Drop something shiny in the pool and have your guests dive to take it out. The person who does this in the shortest amount of time, gets to keep it!

 

17. Pool party photo corner

A photo corner is a must in these times of Social Media reign, so prepare a photo corner for your guests to be able to snap some photos or selfies. You can DIY most of your props out of cardboard, place a chair and a curtain behind it, and have fun creating memories!

 

18. Best pool party outfit

Swimsuits can get creative – so organize a competition for a best pool party outfit and vote for the winner! Just make sure to give some notice to your guests so that they have time to prepare. 

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POOL PARTY FOOD

 

19. Ice, ice, baby

If you’re having a pool party on a really warm day, have enough ice available for people to cool down their drinks. You can also freeze the juice and make your own popsicles at home.

 

20. Splash of watermelon

Watermelon is the best dessert, and can serve as a delicious drink (watermelon slushy!) and even goes well with cocktails!

 

21. Bring your own food

A good idea, when organizing a bigger party, is to have your friends bring some treats too. This will make the food more diverse and take some of that load off of you having to do all the work.

 

POOL PARTY SUN PROTECTION

As an organizer of the party, be sure to take note of the safety of all your guests. This involves sun protection, too – as people tend to forget or ignore the need for applying of the SPF. 

 

22. Pool party shade spot

Be sure to have a place where your guests can rest from the sun and enjoy the shade for a while. You can create a shaded spot by the pool or hang up a sign that leads simply to your living room. Don’t worry that people might decide to spend more time there than by the pool – after all, you’re creating a pool party no one would want to miss!

 

23. Sunscreen spot

A good idea is to have some sunscreens out on the table, for people to reapply whenever they need to. You can put up a paper or cardboard sign and decorate the table nicely for it to draw attention.

 

24. Reminder song

You can choose to have a song played every so often which will be the reminder for the SPF to be reapplied! Tell your guests that’s what it will be for, and have it be on the list of your preplanned playlist. 

 

POOL PARTY INVITATION

Even though formal invitations are slowly but surely becoming things of the past – as people tend to just message one another – creating some sort of a physical invitation makes things more special and more personal.

 Here are some pool party invitation ideas to choose from:

 

25. Balloon pool party invitations

Write out your invitation on a piece of paper that you will put into a balloon before you inflate it. Then give your ready balloons out to your desired guests!

 

26. Water bottle pool party invitations

To invite someone to such a refreshing party, simply create your own labels with a written invitation and glue them over water bottles to give out to guests. 

 

27. Cupcake pool party invitations

A cupcake is an oldie but goodie way of saying you care about someone. Give out cupcakes and stick a piece of paper with a written invitation onto a blue topping!

 

POOL PARTY GOODIE BAG

Whats’s a party without a goodie bag? Even though they are never mandatory, it’s nice to create a small gift for your guests to take home and remember the day – especially if you are organizing a birthday or a party for kids. 

The contents of the goodie bag don’t need to be expensive. You can create your own little tokens or hit the thrift shop or the dollar store for inspiration. 

Here are some ideas:

28. All things bubbly 

Balloons always remind us of pool parties. Pack up some in interesting designs or shapes to be inflated later on at home, and throw in some bubbles, a bubble bath soap and gummie bears in complementing colors. 

 

29. Safe and shiny

An SPF is a nice gift for everyone as people tend to forget to buy it for themselves and especially if you are having a girl’s pool party. Add on some small cosmetic gifts: a face mask, a hair bend… They will love it!

 

30. Memories

The best gift of all are memories. That’s why it’s nice to invest in a Polaroid camera if you are the one to organize parties often. Take some pictures during the day and then pack them up for your guests to take home. Who knows what fun moments you will capture!

 

Whatever you decide to do for your pool party –  don’t forget that it’s all about the guests and the fun you share together. Enjoy the day, the music and your companionship – and you will surely create a day to remember!

 

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