Beach-Themed Pool Party Ideas: The Ultimate Guide for an Unforgettable Summer Birthday!

Welcome to your personal guide to throwing the absolute best Beach Pool Party ever!

We've got everything you need to make sure you don' just have classic beach party, but a party that's unforgettably epic!

Invite Your Guests Like Never Before!

Send your guests invites that they'll never forget! (and maybe even be a little jealous of) Send out an epic video invite to get everyone excited and make your party stand out before it even starts! Get ready for the RSVPs!

Get Yours Now!

Decor

Your decor is what transports you to your beachy setting, making it feel like you can almost hear the ocean! We've found the coolest and beachyest things to make your party basically at the beach!

Outdoor Decor

Where do I even start!? There's so much fun beach decor I could go on for a while, but we've sorted through it all to give you the best of the best!

Guide Your Guests with Fun Beach Signs

The party's in the backyard, not the front door, so keep the party flowing smoothly by directing guests straight to the backyard with fun beach-themed signs. Point the way to the enternce, then the snack table, photo booth, party area, and more!

Light Up the Night with Beach Ball Lanterns!

Who said you have to decorate in the pool? Why not decorate above the pool with these fun beach ball lanterns! Plus, they add a splash of color and coastal charm by day and create a magical glow as the sun sets.

Summery Table Decor That Pops

Dress up your snack or gift tables with vibrant summer table toppers or cool surfboard shaped centerpieces. Then you can add a little more flare to the table by distributing some fun seashells in between! Completely boosting your beach party atmosphere!

Pineapple!

These pineapple centerpieces are so fun and perfect for table decor or just fun random pineapples! I don't know about you but having random pineapples distributed throughout the party sounds pretty good! Oh! then you could make it a game and see who can find the most pineapples! Winner gets to keep one!

Surfs Up! Check Out These Inflatable Surf Boards!

So this isn't completely decor, but floaties are part of decor too, you have to decorate the pool somehow! Anyway, you can get practically full size surf board inflatables! Perfect for adding to your decor, and getting to surf in the pool!

Carry the Beach Vibes Indoors

And just becuase the party's outside doesn't mean you need to leave out the inside! Not only will guests inevitably want to cool off inside, but you can leave the inside decor up for a while to let the fun last past the party!

Flip Flop Garlands

Check out this fun flip flop garland! Perfect for adding some quick indoor decor that's fun and beachy! OR, you could go one step further. Tiny. Flip Flop. String Lights. It's a little weird, flip flops shouldn't glow, but I think they're cool and could be really fun!

Decorative Paper Surfboards

These fun decorative surfboards are perfect for some easy beach decor inside or out!

Cool Wooden Surfboards 

For something really cool and a lasting keepsake, check out these wooden surfboards that double as charming decor after the party ends. Plus, they come in multiple styles so you can match the rest of your party!

And most of the decor can be use interchangeably between indoors and outdoors, but we separated into what we think works best!

Delicious Beach Snacks & Serving Ideas

Beachy Snacks

Treat your guests to creative snacks that are not only delicious, but match your theme perfectly!

Ocean Tip!

Instead of using food coloring, you can add Butterfly Pea Flower which is naturally a really pretty blue, and makes perfect ocean shores for your snacks!

Beach Pail Cheesecake

Scoop up sweet summer fun with strawberry cheesecake beach buckets—layers of creamy cheesecake filling, fresh strawberries, and crushed graham cracker "sand." Serve in mini beach pails with a shovel spoon for an adorable, beachy party treat!

Get Creative and Make Tiny Beach Pudding Cups

These tiny beaches are cute and fun to make, perfect for poolside snacks! Complete with tiny beach-going bears!

Keep Cool with Crowd Pleasing Popsicles

Help everyone stay refreshed with tasty poolside popsicles. These Strawberry Cheesecake Popsicles are sure to be a crowd favorite and a perfect summer treat!

Serving Ideas

Turn oversized beach pails into playful snack stations brimming with chips, pretzels, or goldfish crackers—perfect for grabbing a salty bite between pool splashes and beachy fun!

Bring the beach right to your snack table by serving small bites in oversized 4–5 inch seashells! Fill each shimmering shell with treats like chocolate-covered almonds, gummy candies, or trail mix. Guests will love scooping up their favorite snacks from these beachy “bowls”—it’s a simple way to add a splash of seaside charm to your party spread

Tiny umbrella straws are just too cute to resist! Everyone knows the classic umbrella straws, they've become a beach party must have! You can stick them into any drink — from juice boxes to poolside punch! Watch your guests smile as these little toppers instantly turn a simple sip into a beachy, festive moment. Stock up, because everyone will want one!

Beachy Cake Ideas

Cake! Decorating a beach cake can be so much fun, especially adding all the details!

Your options are...drumroll please...Beach cake...Sand cake...and Ocean cake! Basicaly, make the beach in some form or fashion.

Although Sand cakes and Ocean Cakes are all good, our recommendation is the full beach cake including a whole scene of beach fun!

So welcome to our guide on how to make the perfect beach cake!

Cake

For the cake you can either just make your favorite cake recipe, or you can get fancy! If you're looking to be fancy make two cakes, one white, one blue. Then slice both cakes in half and put one of each back together to give you a full cake, half and half style! And now your cake is super epic and authentic, with your sand and ocean penetrating the entire cake!

Sand

Sand not only looks amazing, but it's also pretty fun to make! Take graham crackers or cookies or something (depending on the exact color you want) and powder them! You can either stick em in a ziploc and start smashing, or you can simply throw them in the blender. And try to keep some variation in sizes to give it some more texture!

Ocean

First you're gonna need frosting. Once you've made your frosting you're gonna seperate it into 2 bowls, one you'll leave white the other we'll turn blue. My personal favorite way to get a really pretty blue frosting is using butterfly pea flower. If you're using dried flowers, just steep a few tablespoons in a little bit of water for 5-10 min then add to your frosting! Or if you're using powder just add it on in! Just note both of these are really potent, so don't add too much!

To create those perfect ocean waves in your frosting, take your now blue frosting or buttercream, and divide a small portion and tint it slightly darker blue than you're original blue. Then, using an offset spatula, gently swipe and swirl the different shades together across the cake in long sweeping motions. And for wave-like texture without muddying your color swirls, try using your spatula or the back of a spoon to gently press and pull in just one direction — almost like pulling the waves up to make that nice crest. Keep your strokes light and don’t overwork it — a few well-placed swipes will keep the blues distinct and create that gorgeous rolling wave effect. And when you're done, add a touch of white buttercream on top and blend lightly to mimic the foam of breaking waves.

Extras

Get ready to turn this beach cake into a tiny beach party! You could either wash some toys like Legos and build your scene, or you can get these tiny beach chairs! And if you want to go even further, check out these tiny surfboards! Or if you're feeling abitious, you can try making your tiny beach with fondant or marzipan and molding little chairs and stuff! No matter what you do, all of your options are super cute and make perfect cake toppers!

Epic Pool Games

Splashy Pool Games: Hungry Hippos Edition

Get everyone in the water with fun floaties or beach tubes or maybe even a giant hippo floatie? Then play an exciting game of Hungry Hippos — have players lie face down on their floaties holding a beach pail while ball pit balls or tiny beach balls get dumped into the pool. The one who collects the most wins!

Beach Balls!

Do beach balls need a purpose? I mean they're beach balls! I think they speak for themselves! But just in case you were wondering, I do indeed have some suggestions!

My First Beach Ball Suggestion is don't just get little 12 inch beach balls, get a whole big full size beach ball! Three beach balls to be exact! These Three Giant Beach Balls to be even more exact!

My Second Beach Ball Suggestion is to additionally get really tiny beach balls! These are so cute and small! Plus, there's a lot of them and they're only 4 inches so they double as really good party favors!

Pool Noodle Joust: The Ultimate Splash Battle!

Get ready for the ultimate pool showdown! Two players mount their trusty pool noodles (sit on them like floaty steeds), armed with shorter “jousting” noodles. On the count of three, the splash battle begins — each player tries to unseat their opponent with skillful nudges, bops, and perfectly timed splashes. First one to lose balance and fall off their noodle is out!

Set up tournament-style rounds to crown the Pool Jousting Champion — complete with a fun prize or a beachy crown. Kids, tweens, teens, and adults will all want in on the action. Bonus points for adding poolside cheering sections and epic theme music!

And if you really want to make this an epic event of hilarity, then you most defiantly need these Seahorse Pool Noodle Floats! (and the epic theme music)

King of the Float!

Who will rule the pool? Toss a large float (a six foot inflatable Uno card, giant balloon dog, unicorn — the sillier, the better!) into the middle of the pool. Players take turns — or go all at once — trying to climb onto the float while others try to pull or push them off (with lots of laughing and splashing, of course!). The last person remaining on the float is crowned King (or Queen!) of the Float.

This game is pure fun and works best with older kids, tweens, teens, or adults who love a little friendly competition. You can also add rounds or keep a leaderboard for extra bragging rights!

Big Pants Beach Ball Battle!

I don't even know where to start! This is just...OMG you need to see this!

So the game is one person wears these GINORMOUS pants, and the other players toss beach balls in the pants! The goal is for the person wearing the pants to catch as many beach balls as possible. Then you switch places, and the player with the most beach balls in their pants wins! Or you can get multiple giant pants and play in teams! First team to get all their beach balls in the pants wins! You can see it for yourself here.

You now have some amazing game ideas in your brain, that are sure to make a splash!

And if you're still looking for some epic, hilarious, and unbelievable pool floats, you can check out our full list of recommendations here!

Party Favors

Give your guests party favors that you'll want to give out when the party starts! Most people wait untill the party's over to give out party favors, but might just come in handy during your party!

Lei It On with Hawaiian Flair

Classic Hawaiian leis are always a hit, but mix it up with flowery hair clips, headbands, and wristbands to add a fresh twist to your party accessories!

Tiny Beach Balls, Big Party Vibes!

Beach balls are fun and beachy, and make great party favors! You could either give out tiny inflatable beach balls, (that you have from your party games) or these fun squishy beach balls, that come in a bunch of fun colors! Both are perfect for fun, lasting party favors!

A Float for Every Drink (and Every Guest!)

Check out these tiny pool floats for your cup! Not only are these practical for having your drink in the pool, but they're also super fun! Especialy for kids who might have toy they want to bring in the pool! Plus, each one is different, so everyone gets a unique floatie!

Beachy Shades for Lookin’ Cool by the Pool!

Sunglasses are basically a beach party must have! And these are not your average sunglasses, these have reflective colored lenses that some beachy fun and style to your party favors! And there's plenty of colors to choose from so everyone can pick their favorite!

Have fun building your fun new party favors! They're gonna be perfect for your pool party!

Now You’re Ready to Make a Splash!

Great ready to throw the best party ever! You earned it, all the planning (and reading) has paid off! You're all set for a party filled with epic fun and beachy vibes!

Have a great party, it's gonna be epic! We'll be right here when you're ready to invite your guests with and epic invite, or when you're ready to plan your next party!