Splish splash: Swim away with these cool pool party ideas

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Memorial Day has come and gone, summer is officially on. That means one thing: Pool party! Get everyone in the pool with these fun pool toys and ideas. Don’t have your own pool? That’s OK. Some of these can be taken to your local lake, pool or favorite wet destination.

These fun birds aren’t just for the front yard anymore. Add your own flamingo float to your next pool party for a quirky flamingo-themed party (VMin- novations.com). Priced at under $40, you can get a small flock and not break the bank.

Towel stand: No pool party is complete without beach towels, but too often there’s no place to hang them. Get a towel stand and give swim party guests a spot to hang towels (Frontgate. com).

Use an attractive pool storage box to hold all your pool supplies, noodles and cushions, and get the matching trash receptacle to keep your poolside neat and tidy. The Suncast wicker storage box and trash bin coordinate nicely for a unified look (Target.com).

Nothing says water like a yellow rubber duck. Whether you go for the kind that’s a pool float wearing sunglasses for guests to float in (Amazon.com) or an oversized 8-foot-tall giant rubber duck (Hammacher.com), these ooze cuteness.

Maybe your pool party doesn’t involve cannonballs and is a more sophisticated affair, such as an evening of cool drinks and wine around the pool. Beautify your pool with floating lanterns that evoke a Buddhist temple. At about $5 for a pair, you can put out a dozen of these and still spend under $30 (SuperiorCelebrations.com).

How you get into the pool is often just as much fun as being in the pool. Try an inflatable pool slide that lets your guests get into the pool in a fun way like the Kool Splash pool slide (Academy.com). For about $80, you can give a kids pool party a fun way to get wet that’s budget friendly. Sure, water volleyball is fun, but something new to the pool that will keep kids (and adults) active, is fun game like pool pingpong. A floating pingpong table keeps the action in the water and the competition high (Jet.com).

For more information, contact Kathryn Weber through her website, RedLotusLetter.com.

© 2016 Kathryn Weber. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Before you take a dip in your pool this season, consider some new toys and ideas for a fun-filled summer.