Everybody into the pool party! There’s nothing more fun than water play on a hot day and our easy tips and tricks will help you beat the heat and enhance your cool party parent factor. From a brightly colored pool to creative jello snacks, read on for the scoop on stellar ideas for the ultimate splash party (kiddie pools count).

Photo credit: Lars Ploughmann via Flickr Creative Commons

Decor

Let your party go-ers know how big of a splash they’re in for. Whether you use beach balls, pool noodles or signs, here’s how to make your party look picture perfect.

1. Hand Painted Welcome Sign
Whether you’re turning your pool party into a gathering for mermaids, pirates, sailors or Olympic swimmers, a friendly sign pointing your critters in the right direction always makes a pleasant welcome.

Photo credit: Lisa Tobias via Pinterest

2. Beach Ball Garland
You can buy mini beach balls or make them on your own for this simple, but stellar garland. All you need is a little paint, styrofoam balls and string! Get the tutorial over at Studio DIY.

Photo credit: Studio DIY

3. Balloons in a Pool
Make your pool extra color and fun by throwing balloons into the mix! It’s a super fun and affordable idea that’ll get kids rushing for more water play. Attendees of the Dukes and Duchesses’ party certainly had a blast.

Photo courtesy of Dukes and Duchesses

4. Pool Noodle Flowers
Really enhance your wading pool with a few pool noodle petals. Find flower shaped pool noodles at your local Dollar Store, and then cut them with a knife. And, in less than 10 seconds, you have decorations as beautiful as The Party Animal’s.

Photo credit: The Party Animal

5. Inflatable Characters
All those cute floaties now have a permanent home on your snack table! We love this idea by Etsy shop Forever Your Prints, who enhanced this swimming party with lovely print outs from her shop.

Photo courtesy of Forever Your Prints

Food

Swimming after a full heavy meal isn’t ideal, so instead of making your kids wait an hour before play, why not provide a snack spread that they can nom on throughout the day? Check out all the clever, energy boosting treats you can have below.

photo: Poet in the Pantry

6. Sand Dollar Cookies
How cute are these sand dollar cookies from Poet in the Pantry? Your little sous chef can get involved rolling the cookies in cinnamon sugar and placing the sliced almonds on top. Find out how to make these snickerdoodles gone beachy by clicking here.

7. Bear on the Beach Jello
Yum! For those with a sweet tooth, these jello pools topped with fancy umbrellas and cute gummy bears will be a hit. Kids won’t be able to get enough sweet delight. Guarantee a line of happy smiles with this recipe from I Sing in the Kitchen.

Photo credit: I Sing In the Kitchen

8. Snack Bar
Prepare a snack bar full of healthy choices to keep your kid’s energy up for the day. Let them load up on their dose of fibrous celery, fruit and wafer snacks. Crissy Crafts cleverly decorated her fruit platter to look like a beachball. Amazing!

Photography by Crissy Crafts

9. Pool Water Punch
Just one sign can change everything. Bethany from Maryland Pink and Green labeled her punch pool water, resulting in many snickers and giggles from the kids.

Photo credit: Maryland Pink and Green

10. Tasty Popsicles
Cool down with kiwi pops or root beer flavored icicles. Check out our astounding list of 20 drool worthy popsicles that are healthy, fresh and down right perfect for beating the summer heat.

Photo courtesy of Weelicious

Activities

There’s more to water play than splashing and swimming laps. Whether your kids can swim in the deep end or like to float in the shallow end of the (wading) pool, here are some fun games that’ll have them hopping with excitement.

11. Photo Booth Station
Who doesn’t love an easy way to have fun and make memories? Let your kids pretend to be scuba divers as they smile for the camera. This Pinterest user took an extra step and put her fancy props in jars of sand for an extra beachy feel.

Photo credit: April Maus via Pinterest

12. Sponge Ball Toss
Move aside water balloons, there’s a new wet and wild game that’ll last much longer! Follow Crazy Adventures in Parenting to learn how to make these squishy, fun-soaked sponge bombs.

Photo courtesy of Crazy Adventure in Parenting

13. Sponge Brain Teaser Toss
Let your kids show off their brain skills with this super amusing toss game. Write numbers on sponges. Then get your tot and his or her friends to toss the sponge on to the corresponding frisbees. Older kids who want to step their game up can try throwing sponges with math equations on them. Get more variations of this game over at Blissfully Domestic.

Photo courtesy of Blissfully Domestic

14. Ocean Animal Race
Ready, steady, go! Race your ocean animals in a wading pool by squirting at them with a hose or a water gun. Kids will have a blast cheering on their friends or favorite animal. Use string to make lanes for a real Olympic race. See what other kind of ocean animal diving games you can play over at Toddler Approved!

Photo courtesy of Toddler Approved

Favors

Send your party people home with fun reminders of what a great day they had. Check out these awesome party favors that’ll keep your guests warm and protected all throughout the day (and long after).

15. Towel and Water Bottle
Tell your friends to skip the towels and water bottles because you’ve got them ready – as party favors! oh goodie designs packaged theirs extra nice with a ribbon and a colorful label.

Photo courtesy of oh goodie designs

16. Grab Some Shades
Protect those big eyes from the bright summer glare. Kids from Miss Prim and Me’s pool party got to choose from a chromatic display of super cool shades.

© KJane Designs, www.kjanedesigns.com

17. Sun Protection Station
Parents are truly going to appreciate this favor. Put out all kinds of toddler friendly sunscreen that your guests can use at the party and even take home. SPF 50 for the face and a spray on one that’s waterproof? Check, check! And look at the extra flair Entertain with Jordan gave to her station!

Photo credit: Sandra Winters 

Tell us what party idea you most liked in the comment section below.

— Christal Yuen