How to Throw a Children's Swim Party at a Home

Kids especially love to have swim parties at home. Adding water and kids can be a frightening thought no matter what age the children are. If throwing a swim party at your home, or a friend or family members, you must make the children's safety a priority. Drownings and pool accidents happen too often while children are left unattended in and around swimming pools.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Safety and Preparation

1. Invite children and at least one parent to come to and stay at the party. Make clear that the parent will need to be responsible for their child at the party and in and out of the water. This will lessen the burden of watching all children all the time while swimming.
2. Send out invitations that are hand made or with a water theme on them at least fifteen days before the party date. Be sure to include the standard date, time and occasion, if any, as well as any items you wish them to bring. Swim suit, towel, swimming aides like arm floats if needed.
3. Post a sign of pool rules and make sure each child knows them. No running around the pool, diving in at the same time, no diving at all if a shallow pool, are some safety rules to add to your own house rules. Remember it is responsible, not mean to enforce the safety rules.
4. Have a designated adult to watch the pool at all times, a life guard of sorts. Responsible adults can rotate and take turns so it is not just one person's responsibility. This should be the designated persons only task for their assigned time. No cooking, no bartender, just the lifeguard duties.
5. Set small runners of carpets in a line to the closest restroom. Children wait to the last minute to leave the pool and don't have time to dry off well before heading in to the use the toilet. The carpet will lessen the chance of slipping when running into the house.

Party Time

6. Play pool games that everyone can play at once or in teams. Relay races with even teams and teams diving for pennies while taking turns are some fun ideas. Fun prizes can be pool noodles and inflatable swim toys.
7. Plan on feeding the masses a bit more food than you normally would at non-swimming parties. Playing in the water increases everyone's appetite, so add a little extra food to your menu. Also remember to count the invited parents and other adult guests.
8. Buy or set out plenty of extra swimming towels. Some children are bound to forget their towel.
9. Serve simple foods outside if possible. Cover bowls and plates with lids or netting to keep the flies and ants away. Spraying an insecticide days before on the ground and in the air can substantially keep nasty, irritating bugs away from your party. Food outdoors also means less wet people indoors.
10. Relax and have a good time and enjoy the laughter of the children. Too many times the host of the party is so busy stressing about everyone else having a good time, they forget to have one.

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