Showing posts with label DIY pool party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY pool party. Show all posts

DIY Pool Party Ideas

Earlier this week, I hosted a simple pool party to celebrate my boys' birthdays (as they turned 7 and 9). It's a simple theme that is perfect for birthdays. It's also a wonderful summer party idea. Today, I am sharing all the cute and fun DIY details of our simple pool party.


We spent the first hour of the party swimming at a local pool.


Then, we moved to a room for pizza and treats. 



The food table had things like: gummy sharks, pool water (blue juice), fish and chips (gold fish mixed with salt & vinegar chips), sea creature crackers, pool noodles (liquorice), and chips served in (clean) buckets.


To use the labels I designed: right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 8X10 photo. I printed mine at my local copy store for $0.39.


We also had some festive tropical decor. I made an adorable pool noodle garland by slicing pool noodles and stringing the pieces together with yarn.


I also carved a shark from dollar store foam core (with an X-acto knife). I embellished it with blue paint and a black sharpie. The shark was cute decor, and it also functioned as a fun photo booth.


I also had a few summer themed games to entertain the 21 party guests. We started with chocolate bar bingo. I purchased some bingo games at Walmart for $1 each and a bunch of chocolate bars for prizes. The kids loved it!


To download the "chocolate bar bingo" sign I designed: right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 8X10 photo. I sent my sign to my local copy store and had it printed for $0.39.


We also had a "guess the number of fish" game. I filled a summer drinking glass (from the dollar store) with candy fish. Each party guest had a chance to guess the number of fish in the glass, and the child that was closest won the cup and the candy.


To print the sign I designed: right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 8X10 photo. 


The final party game was a "prize punch" made from dollar store foam core, plastic glasses, and tissue paper. Each child was given the opportunity to punch through the tissue paper to claim a prize. Prize punches have become staples at my boys' birthday parties. You can find the full tutorial here.


Of course, every party needs a fun cake, and my boys wanted something "swimming" related with gummy sharks. You can read all about the cakes I made here


Finally, at the end of the party, all the guests left with a "cool" gift/ party favor. My boys gave their friends Gatorade bottles filled with freezies, but I have other options for pool party loot bags (and free downloadable tags) here.



It was a really fun party, and my boys had a great time.


We had a wonderful afternoon with a terrific group of kids. I love a good DIY party with lots of fun details, and I think a pool party theme is a lot of fun, don't you?

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

DIY Pool Party Cake Tutorial

Today, I am hosting a joint "pool party" for my two youngest boys (who are turning 7 and 9). They told me they wanted gummy sharks on their cakes, and I went to work designing something simple and fun for them. Below, I am sharing pictures of (and a tutorial for) the DIY Pool Party Cakes I made for my boys.


For each cake, I started out with two 8 inch round cakes. I levelled the cakes and used icing to create a double layer cake. I added a crumb coat, and refrigerated it overnight.

Then:

1) I added some icing and covered a "beach" area with sand (aka graham cracker crumbs).
2) I used food coloring to tint some icing blue and covered the remainder of the cake with the blue "water". I used an icing knife to create waves in the blue icing.
3) I added details to the cake: bear cookies floating in peach gummy rings, bear cookies laying on froot roll up towels, gummy sharks, and cocktail "beach" umbrellas.
4) I also added some sand and water (icing) to the serving tray, but this step is optional.


Check out the final product. Isn't it cute???


I made two because my boys each wanted their own cake. One is chocolate and one is white, so everyone is happy!


A pool party is a perfect theme for a summer birthday, don't you think? I can't wait to share the rest of our party details with you soon.


Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

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