Pool Party Time: Make a Spectacular Summer Splash!!!

Summertime is party time! So why not throw a pool party? Oh, and if you don’t have a pool? Doesn’t matter -- it’s not required!

Huh, wha-? That’s right. You can put the “cool” in pool just by making it your party’s theme. We’ve got all the best pool party ideas right here -- invites, décor, menu, games and more!

Pool Party Invites
To make fun invitations, take some blue construction paper and cut each sheet into four equal squares. This will give you flat cards that are roughly 4 inches by 5 inches -- cut enough to have one for each guest.

Using crayons or markers, write the party info on the back of each card (tell your guests to wear swimsuits and bring beach towels, even if you’re pool-less!). Once that’s done, flip over each card and hot-glue a wrapped Life Saver (or any round hard candy with a hole in the center) onto the front of the “pool” and a wrapped stick of gum to the edge to look like a diving board. On the surface of the “water,” write something fun, like, “Too-cool No-pool Party! Dive Right In to the Fun!”

Pool Party Décor
Pool or not, you’ll want to have your party outdoors. If you have a pool, great! If not, buy a small, tot-size wading pool as your party’s centerpiece and load it up with inflatable swimming toys.

For the rest of the décor, get grass skirts from the party supply store and use them to line railings, tables and doorways (trim to fit if necessary). Fill cheap plastic beach buckets with sand and stick pinwheels in them. If you have a patio, string up silk tropical flowers or outdoor lamps. Scour your house for anything that has a summer vibe, such as those carved-coconut souvenirs you got during last year’s family vacation. And set out plenty of lawn chairs!

Pool Party Munchies
If your dad or mom loves to grill, enlist his or her help for some outdoor barbecuing. Hit up the local produce stand for fresh fruits and vegetables to make salads and kabobs. Mix up fresh-squeezed lemonade for thirst quenching
-- and don’t forget the little paper umbrellas!

For dessert? Bake your favorite cake and add a few drops of blue food coloring to white icing before you frost it. Then go all-out by decorating it with candy (unwrap the candies this time around!). As with the invites, use sticks of gum as a diving board, then add lots of gummy fish, make “rafts” from Fruit Roll-ups or other fruit snacks and string a candy necklace or licorice twist across the center for a “rope.”

Pool Party Games
Set up several “fun-in-the-sun spots” around your pool party area for these activities:

Lifeguard Loop
Purchase a bunch of inflatable life rings (usually available at the dollar store), blow them up before the party and use them for a ring-toss game. Have your guests throw them at a tall, thin tropical floor plant, or enlist the help of your little brother (if he can stand still long enough!).

Braid in the Shade
Put out a pile of plastic beads, hair elastics and floral hair accessories, and let your friends braid each other’s hair. Go for a single braided strand on one side, or experiment with piles of messy braids upon braids.

Hot Hula
Gather together some hula hoops and let your guests show off their skills. The world record for hula-hooping is nearly 75 hours! Think one of your pals could beat that?