Best Ever: Halloween Pool Party

I was working in the lab, late one night, when my eyes beheld an eerie sight: a backyard not ready for the Halloween Pool Party!

Looking for fun ways to celebrate Halloween at home? Celebrate the spookiest holiday of the year in your outdoor living space by throwing a Halloween themed Pool Party! With the help of Staycation in Style, Swimmingpool.com created this guide full of ideas for Halloween decorations for your pool or landscape, thrilling food and drinks, boo-tacular costume ideas, and scary-fun party games and crafts. With a little creativity and these helpful tips, tricks and treats, you’ll be ready to turn your backyard into an unforgettable Monster Mash!

Halloween Pool Decorations

Going to the Halloween store and buying decorations can be costly, especially when you need to cover a large area like your backyard. Instead, use your pool as a center point to draw in the spooky fun with easy and low budget decoration ideas:

• Pumpkins. Did you know pumpkins can float? Decorate an assortment of pumpkins with your best drawings of goofy or scary faces. Float them in your pool for a decoration the Headless Horseman would surely approve of!

• Jack-o’-Lanterns. Do you have some old Jack-o-lantern candy buckets from previous trick-or-treating adventures? Reuse them by adding colorful glowsticks to each bucket and letting them float in your pool for a colorful, festive display.

• Ghost Hands. Add a creepy touch to your pool with this Ghost Hand décor idea. Place a white glow stick inside an inflated white latex glove, then throw in the pool to create swimming ghost hands. Bonus points for adding a fish net for an eerie look.

• Skeleton Floaters. Imitate your favorite personality with skeletons in a pool float! You can dress up these characters to be fun or downright spooky as they float in your pool all night long.

• Ghoul Beach Balls. Inflate plain colored beach balls and draw on some monster faces or fun Halloween phrases for monsters and swimmers of all kinds to enjoy.

• Life-Sized Monster. If you are looking to go bigger with your design, buy a life-sized monster figurine to stand in the entry way of your pool. Consider old horror movie monsters such as Creature from the Black Lagoon, Deep Sea Diver, or Swamp Monster!

For more ideas, check out our Halloween Pool Party Pinterest board.

Halloween Pool Party Food & Drink Ideas

Trick or Treat - Don’t forget to give your guests something good to eat! From colorful snacks to sweet drinks, get prepared for the oohs and aahs by wowing your guests with these spooktacular ideas.

• Vampire Floats. Sink your teeth into this sweet treat! Enjoy the fruity taste of strawberry, vanilla ice cream and a red soda of your choice. Don’t forget to add the vampire teeth for that extra bite!

• Goosebumps Punch. You’ll get goosebumps drinking this sweet treat. Combine a lemon-lime soda with sherbet (green sherbet recommended), add some ooey-gooey gummy worms and enjoy!

• VooDoo Punch. This drink will leave you wanting more. With a simple mixture of ginger ale, lime Kool-Aid, raspberry syrup and sprite, you will have a guaranteed party hit!

• Mummy hot dogs. Need a quick kid friendly snack? We recommend these yummy mummy hot dogs using crescent rolls!

• Spider Web Taco Dip. Layer up your favorite taco dip flavors (our picks: refried beans, guacamole and corn) and add sour cream in the shape of a spider web (don’t forget the creepy-crawler spider in the middle)!

• Monster Eyeball Rice Krispie Bites. These grab-and-go snacks will have your guests eyeing them all night! Just add some fun food colors to a batch of rice cereal mixed with melted marshmallows, decorate with candy eyes and you have the perfect monster bites.

BOO-tastic party trick:

Put green glow sticks in the bottom of your ice chest for a bright light show!

Looking for more Halloween Pool Party food ideas? Click here!

Halloween Pool Party Costume Ideas

You can’t have a Halloween Pool Party without costumes! Whether you decorate your swimsuit, transform pool items into costumes or come dressed as your favorite swim- or ocean-inspired character, have fun creating a memorable outfit. Here are some of our top costume ideas suitable for kids, teens AND adults!

• Scuba Diver. Did you know a 2-liter bottle makes a fantastic costume oxygen tank? Cut out some cardstock flippers and pair with a pair of dollar-store swim goggles to create your scuba diver costume.
• Spooky Spider. Create tarantula legs using pool noodles!
• Sea Anemone. Inflate tons of long, thin balloons and tape to a swimsuit for a sea anemone costume! Bonus points if you attach a clownfish.
• Jellyfish. Decorate an old umbrella with long strips of sheer fabric to create a jellyfish costume!

Did you know?

Pool noodles are great for summertime fun but can also be used for costumes and decorating. With a little DIY craft work, you can transform pool noodles into cupcake icing, octopus’ arms, witches’ feet, chains and more!

For more Halloween Pool Party costume ideas, click here now!

Halloween Party Games & Crafts

BEWARE: fun lies ahead! Your Monster Mash is not complete until the games and crafts are ready to go. Gather your guests for these tricky games to challenge all who dare to enter:

• Pumpkin Decorating Contest. Invite your guests over for a BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) party! There are so many ways to decorate pumpkins – carving, painting, gluing, drawing. Whatever medium you choose, have fun and express yourself.

• Pool Noodle Décor. Pools noodles are perfect for any big crafter on Halloween. Here are some of our personal favorite ideas: monster faces, witches’ legs, candle bundles, giant spiders or even a Halloween wreath.

• Spooky Movie. Is that Hocus Pocus I see in your future? Pick out your favorite Halloween or scary movie and display using an outdoor projector for a poolside show!

• Ring Toss with DIY Candy Corn. Spray paint traffic cones to look like candy corn and toss circular glowsticks in the air! This game is a perfect way to have some lighthearted competition for kids or adults.

• Cauldron of Mystery. Find the weirdest items around to fill up a witch’s cauldron for guests and children to stick their hand into and guess the object. We recommend items such as slimy fishing worms, gummy eyeballs, vampire teeth, and spider legs. Remember, no peaking!

• Bob for Apples. Keep the fall festivities traditional with a bob for apples challenge! Let your guests show off their secret skills and get silly with this classic event.

• Fear Factor. Get creative with the Halloween theme by making a collection of gross foods. Gather your toughest and boldest friends and challenge them to taste-test the creepiest recipes at the party!

Explore more fun Halloween pool party games and crafts on our Pinterest.

Let the Monster Mash Begin!

The last step to throwing the best Halloween Pool Party ever is music. Enhance your party and get the monsters moving with our curated Halloween Pool Party Playlist! We hope you’ll use these ideas to plan an amazing event that will surely thrill and delight your guests. Get spooky and have a fang-tastic Halloween!

Best witches,