How to Throw an Epic Kids Pool Party – Ideas and Inspiration

I’ve had the great pleasure of throwing a kids pool party many years in a row.

Somehow, it became my daughter’s annual event for her and about twelve of her closest friends.

I thought it would be fun to write an article about what I’ve learned having quite a few of these. Plus share my tips and what worked for us.

Let’s jump right in!

Party Day and Time

Saturday was always an easy choice for us, as I have a regular job during the week.

During the summer, every day is party day for my daughter. Although you may want to throw the party during a weekday because you have so much going on over the weekend, consider the parents that may have trouble getting their child there during normal business hours.

Saturday is where it’s at for most people.

Now for time… my daughter was a tween we we started her annual pool party event.

She wanted to be able to enjoy the sun but also party the night away and show off the pool lights.

We usually settle on a time that is about two hours before sunset so she can enjoy both the sun and the moon with her friends.

When she was younger, we always gave an end time to the party. As the years have passed, we now leave that blank and let the kids get picked up at their leisure (which has back fired on us once, stay tuned).

Usually this rolls into a few girls spending the night, which I am always up for.

Setting an end time (or not) is really a personal preference and between you and your party kid.

Pool Party Invitations

Once you’ve settled on a time for arrival and (if you want one) an end time, it’s invitation creation time!

Canva is my go-to for every invitation.

I quickly did a search for Pool Party Invitation and received multiple options. I found one that I liked, slightly edited it in less than 10 minutes and downloaded.

Here’s my end result:

Now there are some options on Amazon as well if you’re not into digital or you want to be able to pass these out at your kid’s school, church, wherever:

I can tell you from past experience that at least half the kids will not bring a towel.

If you don’t have backup towels for all the kids that are coming, I would suggest adding “Bring a towel!” to the invitation.

Side note: Kids always leave at least one towel each time we’ve had a party so we’ve accumulated quite the number of towels.

Pool Party Food

Finger food is where it’s at for a pool party.

Let’s talk about fruit first. Fruits are a must-have at any pool party.

There are so many fun things you can do with fruit!

Here are some creative fruit ideas to have at your pool party:

• Hollow out a watermelon or pineapple and fill it with cut fruit.
• Place cut fruit in a rainbow pattern on a popsicle stick or skewer.
• Use small cookie cutters to cut the fruit into shapes. (Here are some cute themed ones on Amazon.)
• Place cut fruit in large bowls and use cute pool themed picks.
• Charcuterie boards filled with fruit and cheese.

Swimming makes everyone hungry. On to the finger foods…

• Small Sandwiches (I always like to use sandwich cutters for a better presentation)
• Pinwheel sandwiches
• Sliders (Put a cutesy toothpick in them to hold them together)
• Cheese Quesadillas
• Mini hot dogs
• Pizza
• Mozzarella Sticks
• Kimbap

Want to be a little more creative? Check out The Pioneer Woman’s article 45 Fun Finger Food Ideas to Get the Party Started.

Pool Party Drinks

My kid always requests frozen drinks, so we bring out the blender and make frozen virgin strawberry daquiries and pina coladas.

I think that presentation is so important when it comes to drinks.

As for what drinks to make, there are some really creative beach drinks for kids.

Here are some of my favorite sites that list multiple kid-friendly mocktail recipes:

• Southern Bite – Kid-Friendly Summer “Cocktails
• The Spruce Eats – Summer Drinks for Kids
• goodFOOD – Kids’ party drink recipes

Pool Party Playlist

The playlist is always front and center of my kid’s mind when we begin talking about a pool party.

Let your child be involved in creating the playlist, as you don’t want them going “ugh” every time another song comes on.

However, I’ve created a playlist of some beachy songs if your kid doesn’t care what is played.

• “California Gurls” – Katy Perry
• “Sunroof” – Nicky Youre
• “Soak up the Sun” – Sheryl Crow
• “Badfish” – Sublime
• “Santa Monica” – Everclear
• “Malibu” – Miley Cyrus
• “Kokomo” – The Beach Boys
• “Here Comes the Sun” – The Beatles
• “Island In The Sun” – Weezer
• “Margaritaville” – Jimmy Buffet
• “Caribbean Queen” – Billy Ocean
• “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” – Otis Redding
• “Some Beach” – Blake Shelton
• “Ocean Avenue” – Yellowcard
• “Three Little Birds” – Bob Marley & The Wailers
• “Walking on Sunshine” – Katrina and The Waves
• “Heat Waves” – Glass Animals
• “Under the Boardwalk” – The Drifters
• “Time of Our Lives” – Pitbull
• “Surfin USA” – The Beach Boys
• “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” – Rupert Holmes
• “Surf City” – Jan & Dean
• “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem – Kenny Chesney
• “Cake By the Ocean” – DNCE

At the end of the night, when I’m ready for everyone to go home, I have a special playlist. It’s fun for me to see if any of the kids pickup on me trying to kick them out. Here are a few of the songs on my “Go Home” playlist:

• “Closing Time” – Semisonic
• “Beat It” – Michael Jackson
• “When the Party’s Over” – Billie Eilish

Pool Party Games

Outside games are the best!

Scavenger Hunt

I love having a scavenger hunt during a pool party because it gets the kids out of the pool and the backyard for a bit.

Most likely, (even if they are ten years old), at least half of the kids attending the party have a cell phone.

This scavenger hunt game is played by taking a picture of the items on the list and returning back in a set amount of time.

So let’s say you have twelve kids at the party. You could split them up in groups of two, three, or four. At least one person in the group should carry a cell phone with them to take pictures.

Here’s an example list of items they are looking for:

Squirrel	Stick	Something Orange
Motorcycle	Dog	Animal Tracks
Cloud shaped like a Pool	Bird	Blue Car
Bicycle	Something Round	Leaf
Something Sharp	Cat	Ants
Red Car	Stop Sign	Something Square

You give them twenty minutes and set a timer on each phone they are taking. They must return within three minutes after the timer has gone off.

The team with the most items on their list checked off receive a prize!

Need prize ideas? Think beach balls, sunglasses, or a bubble wand.

If you’ve got a tie, you either do a tie-breaker with some backup scavenger hunt items and five minutes to get the most or you have enough prizes to give to all the winners.

Water Games

There are so many games that can be played while the kids are in the water.

Some examples include:

• Marco Polo
• Races – Be creative! Race with pool noodles, tubes, or any type of inflatable pool toy
• Relays
• Diving for coins or jewels
• Cannonball contest (who can make the biggest splash?)

There are some fun games for purchase on Amazon as well.

Other Games Outside of the Pool

Spend some time outside of the pool with some classic games such as:

• Hopscotch
• Limbo
• Water gun fight
• Water balloon fight
• Jump rope
• Cornhole
• Tug of War
• Simon Says
• Telephone

Pool Party Items

Here are a list of items that I keep handy during a pool party:

• Extra Sunscreen
• Goggles
• Enough towels for every child
• First aid kit
• Pool Noodles
• Pool Floats
• Beach Balls
• Bottled Water
• Pool Toys if younger siblings are joining
• Squirt Guns
• Bluetooth Speaker

Final Thoughts

It’s all about planning and having everything ready at least days before party day.

Last minute planning has never worked out well for me.

I like planning in blocks of time and setting a timer so I don’t get off schedule. For example:

• 2:30 – Start the playlist
• 3:00 – Arrival, let the kids swim
• 3:15 – Bring out drinks
• 3:45 – Scavenger Hunt
• 4:15 – Let the kids swim, refill drinks, finalize food
• 5:00 – Bring out the food
• 5:30 – Limbo & Telephone for those who want to play
• 6:00 – My job is done and they’re swimming the rest of the time until they want to leave

However, remember to be flexible on the day of the party! If the kids want to do something that you weren’t planning, let them do it (as long as it puts no one in danger).

If they don’t want to play any more of your planned games after the first game, let it go.

Consider turning your swim party into a movie night if you are a super human. I have some tips on that on my Movie Night Birthday Party article.

Have fun!