Pool Birthday Party Ideas

On a hot summer day, host a pool birthday party.

All you need to do is lather on a sun block - the water will entertain the kids for hours.

Resources:

Invitations

For your kids' pool party invitations, blow up beach balls and write all the party information on them. Deflate and put the balls in envelopes. This will be a great surprise for the kids. Include the directions to blow up the balls to read the invitations.

Decorations

Drape fishnets along the fence and attach plastic fish as if they have been caught. Cut "palm leaves" out of green poster paper and hang them on the fence. Place real bananas on top of them for a cool look. Place pink flamingoes around the yard, if you can. Play "Ocean Sounds" or "Beach Boys" music in the background.

Set water toys around your pool birthday party area. Hang posters of tropical vacations on the fence or along the side of the house. Fill the pool with inner tubes, beach balls, and other floating toys. Place toy lobsters, crabs, dolphins, turtles, etc. around the pool.

Blow up and hang helium balloons in the area. Spread out beach chairs and umbrellas. Add an extra special touch by spreading blue and green paper streamers around the party space.

Cover your pool birthday party table with a theme cover. Place a rubber ducky on the table as a centerpiece. Hang personalized "Happy Birthday" banner in the area.

Guest Arrival and Introductory Activities

Before the pool birthday party starts, ensure safety for all your guests. If you have a deep end in your pool, know who the weak swimmers are, and keep an eye on them at all times. Consider hiring a qualified lifeguard, if you can.

*Ocean in a Bottle: As guests arrive, give each one an empty clear plastic water bottle. Have them fill their bottles three-quarters full with water, add several drops of food coloring, some glitter, and fill the rest of the way with cooking oil.

Seal the lid shut with super glue and let the kids enjoy their Ocean in a Bottle.

*Water Art: Give each child a large sheet of white construction paper and set out a box of crayons for everyone to use. Have the kids color their pictures with crayons, leaving some white space on the paper.

When they're finished, use a plastic spray bottle to spray the paper with water. Give the kids watercolors and paintbrushes to paint on top of the pictures and watch the paint bleed over the white spaces and crayon designs. When the pictures are finished, allow them to dry, and then let the kids admire the results.

Favors

Put toys or plastic jewelry pieces inside balloons. Fill them with water, knot them, and freeze overnight. Before giving out the goodies, cut away the balloons. Have your guests "melt" their frozen goodies in the kiddy pool for a surprise.

Your other pool birthday party favors can include such items as inflatable pool toys, sunglasses, beach towels, Gummy fish, etc.

Pool Birthday Party Games

*Marco Polo: To play this traditional kids' pool party game, swimmers move around the shallow end part of the pool while the player chosen as Marco Polo tries to find them with his or her eyes closed.

When he or she calls out "Marco," the other swimmers must respond with "Polo." When Marco catches a swimmer, the swimmer switches places with Marco.

As a variation, you can play the game with no one saying anything and all the swimmers having their eyes closed!

*Escape from Jaws: One swimmer is chosen to play the shark and the rest of the swimmers must try to keep from being eaten by "Jaws" as they swim around the pool.

Whoever the shark touches is out. Play until only one swimmer remains.

*Frogman Jump or Dive: Swimmers line up behind the diving board at the deep end of the pool. As the first player jumps off the end of the board, the next player in line calls out "Jump!" or "Dive!" The player must try to follow the command midair or he or she is out.

*Gold Diggers: Paint small rocks with gold paint. When dry, drop them onto the bottom of the pool. On the word "Go!", kids jump into the pool and try to retrieve as many gold nuggets as they can. The one with the most nuggets wins a prize.

*Water Basketball: Buy a water basketball hoop or make your own using a small ring of plastic (a little larger than the ball) that will float in the pool.

Divide the players into two teams and have them play basketball in the water. Another option is to play volleyball by stringing a net or rope across the pool.

*Rescue Rope: Toss some items that float into the pool (e.g., a chunk of wood, an inflated toy, and so on). Give one player a length of rope with pre-made loop, and have him or her try to retrieve an item with the rope.

For a competition, give all the players a rope and have them race to lasso their items to the deck.

Pool Kids

*Butterfinger Ball: Line up the players along the side of the pool. Stand on the other side of the pool with a medium-size ball.

Have the first player in line jump into the pool while you throw the ball. The player must try to catch the ball and hold onto it as he or she lands in the water.

If you have a diving board, have the pool birthday party guests jump from it while trying to catch the ball.

*Pop the Piranha: Blow up balloons, and toss them into the pool. Line the swimmers up around the pool.

On the word "Go!" they must jump into the pool and try to pop as many balloons as they can. Whoever pops the most balloons - wins.

*Water Balloon Toss: Prepare water balloons before kids' pool party. Have about four water balloons per each guest.

Divide children into pairs. Have the partners toss water balloons back and forth. For added fun, put shaving cream on the balloons to make them more challenging to catch. Kids will love being splashed all over with water!

*Splash Tag: For this pool birthday party game you will need a big, soft sponge and several buckets of cold water.

One player is "It", and everyone else runs away from him as he throws his sponge at other players. Once a player is hit, he or she becomes the new "It."

*Cold Potato: You'll need a water balloon for this kids' pool party game.

Have children sit in a circle. To get the game going, make a hole in the balloon with a safety pin. Get the players to toss the water balloon around the circle. The object of the game is to avoid being the last person left holding the balloon as it runs out of water.

*What Time is It Mister Shark?: Gather all the players in the shallow end of the pool. Pick one player to be the shark. Get him to stand by the pool's wall with his back towards other players and looking away the entire time.

The group calls "What time is it Mister Shark?" and the shark responds with "5 (or any other number) o'clock". The group then makes 5 steps toward the shark.

The game continues in this manner until the shark decides to answer "Dinner time!" At that moment the kids run away to safety while the shark tries to catch them. The first player to get caught is the next shark.

Pool Birthday Party Cake:

*Pool Cake: Bake a sheet cake and frost it with white frosting. Tint some of the white frosting blue. Frost the center of the cake to make the pool.

Tint shredded coconut green with food coloring and sprinkle it around the outside of the pool to make grass. Insert plastic sharks in the pool for decoration.

Pool Birthday Party Food Ideas:

*Arctic Oranges: Cut the tops off the oranges in a zigzag pattern. Hollow out the insides, remove the seeds, and combine in a blender with the orange juice.

Set the rinds in a muffin tin and fill with the mixture. Drop a cherry inside each orange. Freeze for 2 to 3 hours. Let the kids eat their way down to the cherry surprise.

*Dessert Sushi: Create sushi pieces the kids will definitely love. Use fruit leather for seaweed, chopped marshmallows for rice, and little gummies inside for crab or veggie.

*Cold Cuts: Offer cold cuts to your pool birthday party guests to build their own sandwiches.

*Hawaiian Pizza
*Chillin' Cheeseburgers
*Cool Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches.
*Fish & Chips
*Gummy Fish
*Ice Cream

Pool Birthday Party Drink Ideas:

Serve your drinks in glasses with little umbrellas in each drink.

*Blue-colored Gatorade
*"Kids-safe" Pi�a Coladas
*Sodas