Planning a Backyard Summer Splash Party

Don’t have a pool? Want some creative ideas for water games to keep the kids cooland entertained on a hot summer’s day? Try hosting a backyard Summer Splash party!

Get the kids excited for a party by sending out invitations that complement the splash party theme. Some of the most popular invitation designs include die-cuts in the shape of frogs, blow up pools and swimming suits. Another favorite is waterslide invitations. Picture Perfect, a popular invitation designer, recently came out with a bright yellow slide design that is available for both girls and boys. Choose from two girls or two boys going down the slide with water droplets that appear to be splashing off the invite. For an equally fun and festive invite, opt for a simple design that incorporates bright colors that are reminiscent of the sunshiny days of summer!

Before the guests arrive, turn your outdoor area into a tropical paradise by setting up inflatable palm trees (purchasable at local party supply stores), laying out beach chairs, and placing colorful beach balls around the party area. Make a beach or poolside “cabana” by hanging colorful streamers and paper lanterns above the table area, and even add a fish piñata for decoration and for fun!

When the kids arrive ready to go in their swimsuits, start the water fun with several creative water games that will cool off the kids, but certainly not their excitement! Play a watery twist on the classic “Musical Chairs” game by playing “Musical Buckets.” Fill several large buckets and containers with water, and play tropical-themed music while the kids walk around the circle of buckets. When the music stops, each child must sit or dunk themselves in their own bucket, or they’ll be left high and dry and out for that round!

Another great game is “Garden Hose Limbo.” Have one person hold a garden hose that is spraying a steady stream of water about 4 feet off the ground. The challenge for the other contestants is to make it under water without getting wet and without falling over, even when the person holding the hose lowers the stream of water on each subsequent round! Keep up the skill and coordination levels by playing “Water Balloon Toss”, where teams of two toss a water balloon back and forth, moving further apart on each toss. See which team can get the furthest apart while still catching their water balloon!

Another fun water balloon game involves designating a certain balloon color to each child—one child could have green, another yellow, etc. Put all the balloons in a large sheet and then have the children lift and shake the sheet in the air, trying to bounce the other children’s balloons off the sheet and onto the ground, but not their own! You can also have rubber duck races by filling a wading pool with water and having the kids spray squirt guns or spray bottles at their ducks in order to propel them across the pool! When the kids need a break from their water activities, provide fun and energizing snacks like fruit and vegetable slices and summer classics like hot dogs and chips, along with fruit juice boxes. A fun summer treat to top it off with would be rainbow parfaits, made by scooping different layers of colored sorbet into tall, clear glasses and then topping off with “clouds” of whipped cream and blue sprinkles!

When it’s time to dry off, send the kids home with goodie bags that might include fun patterned towels and flip-flops, mini squirt guns, packets of water balloons, sunglasses, visors, or mini bottles of sunscreen—that way they’ll be prepared for the next backyard summer splash party!

See the Waterslide Invitations mentioned in this article at www.daintyinvites.com.

About the Author

Julie is a veteran event planner, focusing on baby showers, weddings, and children’s events. Her business is located on the west coast with parties planned all over the U.S.

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