Pool Party Ideas

For those of you lucky enough to have your own backyard pool, consider sharing the blessings by inviting friends, neighbors and family over for a pool party with these great pool party ideas. You don't even need an in-ground pool: You can have one of those blow-up family-sized pools and use it for a small party.

Safety First
When planning a pool party, you must maintain a safe environment, especially if children will be there. An in-ground pool should always be fenced in with a locked gate. Never leave it unlocked and unattended with children or animals around. Keep life preservers in conspicuous paces around the pool. Even if you put inflatable toys in the pool, they may not be strong enough for a struggling child, and a child may panic and forget it is there.

Always have an adult in attendance who can swim when children are present. Even adults should never swim alone. To guarantee someone will be minding the pool, ask guests in advance if they will serve as lifeguards, and create shifts so people can take breaks. Here are more safety tips for a pool party:

• Keep the walking area around the pool clear of debris and clutter. You don't want someone tripping and falling in.
• Draw a rope across the pool to make the deep end clear, and don't let children cross the line.
• Do not allow swimmers to drink alcoholic beverages.
• No horse play or running around the pool.
• No diving. Children-or adults-could hurt their heads by diving in the shallow end.
• No one with open sores or wounds in the pool.

Beyond water safety, keep plenty of clean towels, cheap flip-flops and bottles of sunblock on hand. A guest or two is bound to forget, and you don't want anyone emerging from the pool looking like a tomato.

Fun Around the Pool Side
Once you have set your date and invited all your friends, it's time to plan for fun. Water games help break the ice and get people to mingle. You might think water games are just for kids, but think again. Your adult guests will have just as much fun, if not more. Here are some fun pool party game ideas for you to try:

Toy Boat Regatta. Race your boat from one side of the pool to the other and be the first to win. Sound easy? Not when you are in the pool and you have to blow your boat across. If you touch your boat, it's back to the beginning for you.

Water Volleyball or Basketball. Any retail or sporting store will carry sets specially made for the pool.

Marco Polo. This classic pool party game is similar to the game of tag, only with water. In this game, whoever is "it" receives the title of "Marco Polo," keeps his or her eyes closed and shouts "Marco!" Everyone else scatters around the pool and shouts "Polo!" in response until Marco finally tags someone, and they become the new Marco.

Fun for Little People
If you are going to have many younger children at your pool party, consider purchasing a wading pool for them. This will allow them to splash and play with a bit more freedom. Provide rubber ducks and boats for them to float on the water. However, an adult must supervise the wading pool, as drowning can still happen in shallow water.

For activities beyond the pool, purchase large paintbrushes, give each child a bucket of water and let them "paint" the sidewalk. Water balloons are fun for elementary-age kids, and these games are good for children who aren't ready to swim or who just don't want to get in the pool.

Pool Party Food
What would a pool party be without food? Again, safety is the key here. Stock up on plenty of paper or plastic plates, cups and utensils. Since it can get slippery by the pool, you don't want anyone to cut themselves on broken glass.

Also keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. Fill coolers full of ice with plenty of drinks on hand. Salads and mayonnaise-based dishes need to be kept thoroughly chilled. Meat and side dishes need to be kept hot. No dish that can spoil should be kept out for much more than an hour and a half.

You can keep your pool party fare simple-such as grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and potato salad-or you can step it up a notch and host a gourmet meal. Have your guests bring their favorite side dish or some meat to throw onto the grill. Fresh fruit is a perfect addition to a pool party. A wonderful but simple menu would include grilled steaks, watermelon and grilled vegetables. Dessert can be cookies or cupcakes.

One last note regarding food: Should you wait 30 minutes to swim after eating? While that rule has been debated in the past, eating a large meal can make you tired, and it is never a good idea to swim when you aren't in peak physical condition. So wait until your energy is back up to hop in, whether you've just eaten or not.