Kids Pool Party Planning

In every generation there is the kid at school who has the absolute best parties, and it's almost always because their family has a pool. We may not remember a lot from childhood but the smell of grilling burgers and the taste of fruit punch after playing Marco Polo for an hour are always evocative of summer fun. Whether you're celebrating a birthday or the end of the school year, a pool party will be top of your kid's fun list for years to come.

But what food you serve, the games you play and how you get the kids to the party, those are the keys that make a good party unforgettable. We've put together a checklist to help you make your kid's next pool party a splash-hit.

Pre-party planning

It's not a "if you build it, they will come" thing to throw together a pool party. You need to make sure the invitations are on-point, that you've got fun activities and a plan for food and drinks that satisfy your kids and their friends.

Invitations

Don't be the parent that sends an email or text invite. That's utterly boring and smacks of a lack of investment. Getting a card invitation in the mail - whether handmade or printed through a stationary company - is such a cool feeling as a kid. Put together something colorful, eye-catching and with all the relevant details. Beyond just time and place, make sure you give them some suggestions on what to bring:

• Swimsuit
• Clothes to change into in case you need to go inside
• Towels of course (though you should be able to provide your own)
• Sunscreen

You also should indicate the food you're going to provide so parents can plan if their kids are eating with you or should eat before. A little bit of information presented beautifully will go a long way.

Food

There's something so delicious about pool party food; maybe it's because you've been actively playing and building up an appetite, but pool party food is just amazing. Still, you want to make sure your food would be good on its own withou the allure of the pool. Some go-to dishes for a kids pool party are:

• Burgers
• Hot dogs
• Brats
• fruit - a big bowl of mixed fresh cut fruit or fruit skewers are always a hit with kids. 
• Chips
• Soda, fruit punch or lemonade and plain old ice water
• Cupcakes or ice cream treats. 
• All the condiments a kid could want - ketchup, mustard, maybe some relish

Kids aren't typically extravagant eaters, so keep it simple but give them options. You might also want to work on your grill game if you're rusty - nobody likes burnt burgers or brats.

Party activities

A pool is fun by itself; it's amazing how enjoyable just splashing and lounging can be. Kids, however, tend to get restless if they're not engaged, and you'll want to have some options for activities on hand.

Water guns

Water gun technology peaked in the 90s with Supersoakers, but they really did perfect the art form. Having some awesome water guns on hand makes the pool that much more exciting. You could also go to the next level and have a Nerf gun pool party. You'll just need to make sure you do a thorough clean up after so the darts won't end up in your pools vacuum.

Water basketball

Whether a  floating hoop, a deck mounted pool basketball hoop or a portable pool basketball hoop, water basketball adds an extremely fun dimension to what might be the best game of all time. You could also look at combo units which allow both pool volleyball and pool basketball with just a quick swap of nets and balls.

Pool noodles

They help you float, they work like swords and you can joust with them - pool noodles are utterly necessary for a fun pool party. With a bit of imagination a pool noodle can be just about anything from shark to saber!

Water tag

All the fun of tag with the difficulty of running through water! Just chasing somebody through a pool is guaranteed to make you laugh uncontrollably.

Putting it all together safely

First of all, let the parents know if they can drop their kids off or if they should stay. If you're going to be watching their babies, makes sure you're vigilant and inform the party goers of your rules before they step foot in the pool. No running, no diving, no roughhousing are all pretty standard for safe and enjoyable party fun. Make sure the kids know not to eat while swimming as well.

If you bring the fancy when sending invites, make delicious food and keep the kids entertained, your party will be the stuff of legends.

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