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3 Tips for Throwing a Stress-Free End of Summer Pool Party

In less than a month, school will be starting. Munchkin won’t start her new program of homeschooling until September 1st but a few of her friends will already be starting…

In less than a month, school will be starting. Munchkin won’t start her new program of homeschooling until September 1st but a few of her friends will already be starting on Wednesday. Crazy, right?! As a last tribute to what’s left of summer, I decided to have an end-of-summer pool party for the kids.

Shopping | Special Events | Party Ideas | Want to throw a last-minute end of summer pool party for the kids? Here are three simple tips to keep your event stress-free and within budget.

3 Tips to Planning a Last-Minute Summer Pool Party

As a totally last-minute affair, I didn’t have much time to get everything together. Plus, I didn’t want to spend a fortune when the majority of the time everyone would just be in the pool. Here are a few factors that helped me pull off this event successfully.

Save time by only shopping at one store.

Fortunately, I was able to get 100% of our supplies at Lucky supermarkets. Shopping took me about an hour and the whole shindig cost less than $100. The $20.31 I saved from weekly sales and digital coupons I loaded on my Lucky You account earlier was a welcome surprise. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Keep it simple.

We didn’t bother too much with décor since the main attraction was playing in the pool with friends. But, it’s amazing what a brightly-colored paper tablecloth and decorative plates can do to jazz up an otherwise boring spot. Nice platters and serving bowls dress up the table nicely but even some sturdy plastic ones will work. One friend asked where I got my serving tray, not realizing it was made up of a rectangular plate and six disposable plastic containers. Such a great find!

Preparation of the snacks took about 2 hours. Most items were pre-made so it was super simple to just toss it in a bowl or arrange it on a plate. I did have some help from my daughter to make the sandwiches and cut the fruit though. It turned out to be a nice bonding experience 🙂

Tablescape | Special Events | Party Ideas | Want to throw a last-minute end of summer pool party for the kids? Here are three simple tips to keep your event stress-free and within budget.

Skip the feast.

The tweens / teens didn’t end up eating very much at all. They were content to nibble on the simple sandwiches, potato chips, and fruit throughout the afternoon. The cupcakes and cookies pretty much went untouched. Most of the junk food ended up uneaten and had to go home with us (like I need that in the house to tempt me).

Later, I surprised the kids with an ice cream station! We had mint chocolate chip and vanilla ice cream to choose from. Toppings included crushed Oreos, crushed Butterfingers, strawberry syrup, caramel, Nerds, rainbow sprinkles, sour gummy worms, and hard chocolate shell. Well, I ended up being more excited about this than the kids were. Each one only added 3-4 sprinkles to their minuscule scoop. What a letdown! Next time, I’m just doing the basics. After all, they only need to munch a little in order to recharge before getting in the pool again.

Sending Summer Off with a Smile

All in all, the kids all had a great time. As I was the sole person keeping watch over them (they’re all good swimmers and ages 9-14), I think their parents had a nice time sans children. Now they can all feel like they enjoyed their summer to the full with four hours of pool time, endless snacks, and a whole lot of fun with their friends.

I mentioned that the entire pool party cost less than $100. Thanks to Lucky Supermarkets, you can enter to win a $100 gift card to throw your own end of summer gathering. Enter below.

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