Today I’m excited to share with you not only some ideas for a Backyard Flamingo Pool Party, but also my favorite recipe for Virgin Pina Coladas!
The school year is almost over. I swear it feels like it just began. My twins have finished their first year of high school and I’m dumbfounded as to where the time has gone. When people tell you that childhood goes by fast they are NOT kidding.
End of the Year Pool Party Ideas:
To celebrate the end of such a momentous year I thought I’d throw a little backyard pool party for my kids and a few of their friends. I wanted to keep the party simple but still cute. Even though they are now older, I still think they appreciate it when I put a little bit of “extra” into occasions every once in a while. When they were little we used to throw big, themed parties, and even though they were a lot of work, I kinda miss them.
Flamingo Party Details:
I thought a tropical themed flamingo party would be a cute idea. Ever since a certain celebrity showed up on Instagram with a giant swan pool floatie, my kids have been begging me to get something similar for our pool. I am convinced that they don’t really want to swim with it just take pictures with it. I finally caved but went with a giant flamingo instead, just to be a bit different.
Party Idea 1: Create Disposable Silverware Pockets
Since the kids would be outside by the pool I kept the serving system pretty simple. A few days before the party I created silverware pockets using double-sided cardstock and a printable that I designed (you can download the printable for free just keep reading).
How to Make Silverware Pockets:
To make the pockets, just start with a 5″ x 10″ piece of cardstock. Then glue the cut out printable onto the bottom of the paper and fold up the cardstock to create a pocket.
To secure the pocket, just use a couple of staples on the sides. (download the printable for free in the Printables Library).
Now just fill the pocket with utensils, straws and napkins.
Party Idea : Create a Central Serving Station
The kids then can just grab a plate and a silverware pocket, and fill up their plate with food. I chose to fill mine with 2 straws because they were just so dang cute and I couldn’t decide which one I liked better.
Party Food Details:
For the food, I wanted to keep it fresh and simple, I wasn’t planning to serve an entire meal, just provide some things for them to munch on poolside. We went with fresh fruit and simple little sandwiches.
Virgin Mango Pineapple Pina Colada Recipe:
No pool party is complete without some type of tropical iced beverage, so we decided to make some Tropical Virgin Piña Coladas. Since they only have 3 ingredients they are easy to make and are quite tasty if I do say so myself. The trick to making them with only 3 ingredients is to start with a great juice drink as the base.
I used Simply Tropical™ Juice Drink because it has no added preservatives, colors or artificial flavors and its refreshing blend of mango AND pineapple gives the coladas a great (and unique) flavor.
Instructions
Mango Pineapple Virgin Pina Coladas
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Simply Tropical
- ¾ Cups Cream of Coconut make sure you buy it in the drink section, you need one specifically made for frozen drinks.
- 4 C Ice
Instructions
- Place the Simply Tropical and Cream of Coconut in a blender.
- Fill the blender with ice ½- to ¾ way full (you do not need to use all 4 cups of ice).
- Blend
- Serve in Chilled Glasses
We also served extra of the Simply Tropical Juice Drink cold and in glasses so the kids would have something to sip on during the party.
After I planned this event I realized that I’ve been doing this kind of thing on a far too limited basis. I tend to wait for “big” holidays or events and I realized that some of life’s simple moments and milestones (like finishing your first year of high school) are perfect excuses to celebrate with friends and family.
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How are you going to celebrate by the pool this summer? Tell me in the comments for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!
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About Author
Melissa Mortenson is a blogger, designer, and content creator. She is the Polka Dot Chair blog founder and has been sharing fresh and creative ideas with readers since 2008. She is the author of “Project Teen, Handmade Gifts your Teen will Actually Love.” Her work and designs have been featured on HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, BuzzFeed, Better Homes & Gardens, and many other established publications. Her first fabric line, “Derby Style,” debuted in January 2015 through Riley Blake Designs. Additional fabric collections have followed it in subsequent years. A mom of 3, she considers herself lucky to be living in Kentucky.
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Shelly S. says
Wow, everything is so cute, but still very doable! Believe it or not, I have flamingo straws in my pantry along with with containers of cute little plastic animals that hang on drink glasses (and do double duty as cupcake toppers).
Elena says
I am going to celebrate 4th of July by having a pool party in my house. I will serve lemonade and BBQ
Elena says
https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/739829475701968896
Julie Wood says
We are going to be having ice cold drinks by the pool with snacks for the kids. I will be having my daughter’s birthday by the Pool. I am going to try your ice cold drink. It looks yummy!
Julie Wood says
tweet-https://twitter.com/JewelWood/status/739833155268399104
Debra says
We will have my granddaughters 6th birthday by the pool.
Will G says
I will celebrate with a beer.
Will G says
https://twitter.com/willgriesmer/status/739920136887537665
Mami2jcn says
I’d celebrate with iced tea.
Mami2jcn says
tweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/739928071533367296
Kaitie says
No pool to celebrate with, but a nice creek on our campsite does just fine! It’s nice and cool and we set up hammocks right by it. It’s heaven!!
Rosa Osorio says
I will celebrate with a iced glass of lemonade, and seating under a shaded tree in my backyard.
Jessica To says
I want to celebrate with a grilled cheeseburger and iced tea.
Natalie says
I will go to the waterpark with my daughter often this summer because we have season passes! I will be drinking lemonade by the pool!
Natalie says
tweet https://twitter.com/yarbr012/status/739973708056563712
Margaret Smith says
Love your ideas. We have a above ground pool and often have people over. We’ll be celebrating by drinking Simply Lemonade. Thanks so much.
Margaret Smith says
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/peg42/status/739981233522937856
Thanks so much.
Kelly D says
I will celebrate with cupcakes by the pool.
Jessie C. says
We going to celebrate with fruit punch and iced tea by the pool this summer.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
Jessie C. says
tweet-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/740007317421203457
carol clark says
were going to have punch here in texas and sweet tea
carol clark says
https://twitter.com/ccntx/status/740037185391460352
Lisa Brown says
I am going to celebrate by taking the kids to the local pool and enjoying lots of sweet tea.
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
Lisa Brown says
tweet-https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/740149869931696130
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
Anna says
We are going to find a giant blow up something now for our pool!
ROBIN ZEHNAL says
We will be spending july 4 th in New mexico on Cannon Air force Base celebrating our granddaughters 4th
birthday. Iced tea and Cold beer!
Yvette says
Well, first I have to find myself a pool. Barring that, I suppose I’m going to have a BBQ or two or more with lots of non-virgin cold drinks!
Jo says
Floating in my pool chair with a big glass of lemon water and a good book.
Rita says
We’re going with the swan and throwing in some Dory themed items.
Yvette says
My Twitter post: https://twitter.com/YvetteRenee/status/740154120380809216
Lynda M. says
My daughter gave me the giant cupcake pool float for Mother’s Day and I love it. They are so fun! We will be hosting lots of pool parties this summer with family and friends! Your party looks fabulous!
Lynda M. says
I tweeted about your adorable party! https://twitter.com/mypinkmixerblog/status/740160709275832320
Debbie says
No pool in my backyard. I try to avoid the summer sun here in Orlando. However, I’m a HUGE fan of Simply Orange already, it’s part of my breakfast routine every morning. Delicious!
Loved that flamingo pool float…good choice!
Jane Thomas says
My children, grands, and great grands will come over to swim and BBQ. I have made all the great-granddaughters gathered skirts using red, white, and blue bandanas and a T-shirt top with an applique on the chest of blue background with white stars. We enjoy being together.
Barbara says
Loved the idea; not everyone has a pool but there are very grand sprinklers that could be set out for even the older children! Great ideas!
Elle says
We don’t have a pool but we love going to the beach and can have fun celebrating summer there.
Mita says
We are going to celebrate with fruit punch and iced tea by the pool.
Mita says
https://twitter.com/mitadav/status/740181266788691968
Robin says
Unfortunately, no pool, but we will have cook outs with sprinklers for the kids and the kids at heart.
Michele Trow says
Your pool party looks amazing. Even though I do not have a pool I will definitely be trying your frozen drinks at my daughters birthday in July. Thanks for the great post
Daria says
Love your Virgin Pina Colada recipe! Will be using it to celebrate my 1 year as a Kentuckian at the end of the month. 🙂
GH says
I will be celebrating but it won’t be by the pool LOL….we don’t have one! But….i will be taking my kids to the local soft service ice cream store (still only takes cash) around the corner and we get a LARGE vanilla cone trimmed with their pick of the fruit flavors they drizzle real pretty down the sides….and that is my party! Doesn’t take much to make the last day of school a thing to celebrate! Happy to be back at no crazy a.m. schedules and have some good family fun with my kids (mind you they are 19 and 16!)
tammy shelton says
I’m going to celebrate the last day of school with my Grands at the condo pool. We’ll be having ice cream.
Amy Tong says
How lovely! I would celebrate by the pool with friends and family, along with cocktails and BBQ! 🙂
amy [at] uTry [dot] it
Amy Tong says
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/740349291105943553
amy [at] uTry [dot] it
Marge says
My family will be celebrating summer all summer long by sitting our “giant glass of cool bubbly champagne” — our hot tub set at 80 degrees — and reading lots of books!!
Helene-Joy Jamison says
I’m a fan of Simply, not a fan of summer time in the south though. Those strawberries look delicious!
heather says
We are going to celebrate by the pool this summer with friends and pets and have lots of BBQs.
Sandra Goodman says
Cute idea Melissa. My grandchildren love flamingos. I plan to spend as much time as possible this summer with my grandchildren and most of it by the pool. I love following your blog. Thank you. You are an inspiration.
shelly peterson says
I will celebrate with cold drinks and a bbq.
cshell090869 at aol dot com
shelly peterson says
tweeted https://twitter.com/cshell202/status/741830957624221696
cshell090869 at aol dot com
Madeline says
We don’t have a pool or membership but we’ll celebrate BBQs on our patio with a water mister to keep cool!
Madeline says
Tweet link: https://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/742030421446168576
Rachel says
I’ll celebrate by having a 4th of July party with our family.
Rachel says
https://twitter.com/RachelGriesmer/status/743139246362468352
natasha Lamoreux says
We watch the fireworks and bbq every year.
natasha Lamoreux says
https://twitter.com/Natashalamoreu1/status/743178319449960448
Erika says
Hanging out with my daughter during swim lessons!
chambanachik(at)gmail(dot)com
Laura says
This is such an adorable party!! Love the flamingos!
Jeffrey says
We always throw birthday parties for our kids and also have their baseball teams over at the end of the season. Other than that, its the usual family and friends on the weekends, swimming and grilling!
Jeffrey says
I posted a tweet: https://twitter.com/FireRunner2379/status/745349313962905600.
OFG says
https://twitter.com/OneFrugalGirl/status/746076320824721409
OFG says
We’ll eat lots of fun snacks and tons of fruit and veggies.
Kathleen says
I plan on having plenty of friends/family over every weekend to enjoy our pool!
Stefanie Gladden says
I will be having a bbq by the pool this summer, I can’t wait!
Kristen says
Essentials by the pool include a chaise lounge, sunscreen (and some shade!), and a cool drink.
Kristen says
tweeted
https://twitter.com/rubylorikeet/status/749663317417791488
Cheryl B says
I have an ice cold glass of lemonade, ready to celebrate time spent at the pool!
Cheryl B says
https://mobile.twitter.com/arress83/status/749762463441231872
Tamra H says
Haven’t made it to the pool yet but I’ve been aching to go! Hopefully will get to lounge by the pool this weekend and celebrate my cousin’s birthday!
Judith VanAlphen says
This year I was in the Midway Airport with 2 of my granddaughts. I was glorious we watch fieworks from 5 or 6 different sites in the city. The only downside was we could not here them. But the little children watch without the noise scaring them.
Judith VanAlphen says
https://twitter.com/sodahoney/status/752581645295689728
Nicole Larsen says
We celebrate my going to the Lake and BBQ’ing and having fun as a family
Nicole Larsen says
tweeted https://twitter.com/pittsy82/status/753352999448121344
Chris says
I don’t have a pool – counting down until vacation next month – already had called to see the hotel pool hours – looking forward to swimming and chilling out.
Courtney says
Headed to the pool for my son’s bday!
Jamie says
I’ll celebrate by floating in my flamingo float all summer long!
Margaret Smith says
We’ll be celebrating by having friends and family over for bbq’s and drinks.
Katie says
We’re going to celebrate every chance we get–with icy cool drinks and hot sunshine! And definitely with anything flamingo we find.
tian m says
A pool BBQ party with friends.
Rebecca says
We plan to do lots of swimming and fishing this summer. Drinking ice cold lemonade is always delicious too!
Cynthia C says
No pools here, but I spend time reading on my deck while enjoying iced tea or lemonade.
Barbara Montag says
We are going to celebrate by the pool with talking smart and enjoying cocktails.
thank you
Barbara Montag says
Do not see my tweet
https://twitter.com/JalapenoMama/status/767976973352054784
maria cantu says
Having bbq’s all summer.
Susan Smith says
I would celebrate by serving cocktails and BBQing.
Susan Smith says
https://twitter.com/susan1215/status/768564833637666816
Stephanie Phelps says
I am going to celebrate next to the pool with ice tea with lemon!
Rebecca Graham says
I will have a party by the pool with friends.
Ellie Wright says
I celebrated by sipping on sweet iced tea and watched my granddaughter splash around the pool.
katherine says
NO pool but we will picnic by the creek on our farm
katherine says
https://twitter.com/mkjmc/status/771293537166123008
sandra says
with lots of sweet tea
Betty C says
No pool for me, but will be drinking iced tea while watching my granddaughter play in her little pool.
Betty C says
Tweet – https://twitter.com/willitara/status/772042543940837376
Linda says
Having lots of BBQ’s and pool parties with the neighbors!
Linda says
Tweet https://twitter.com/Lindiac/status/772234729445728256
Thomas Murphy says
I just like to relax by the pool and have a drink.
Thomas Murphy says
tweeted
https://twitter.com/thomasmurphy40/status/772538081396322304
Kerry says
Going to celebrate with orange juice and coconut rum – one of my favorites!
Kerry says
tweeted: https://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/772610219163709440
Seyma Shabbir says
With a cold mint iced lemonade drink under a shade!
Seyma Shabbir says
https://twitter.com/SeymaShabbir/status/772647252204589056
Debbie B says
i posted a tweet here:
https://twitter.com/purplepanda1966/status/772651612703645696
Debbie B says
We just enjoyed relaxing in the pool while it was so hot this summer
Erica Best says
we do not have pool but if i did i would grill and have a nice end of the summer pool party
Erica Best says
https://twitter.com/purplelover04/status/772817008060686336
Elizabeth pergande says
I keep cool by drinking lemonade! truckedford(at)gmail(Dot)com
Elizabeth pergande says
https://twitter.com/eliza_elliott/status/772824031615520770
kjasus says
i will celebrate by drinking my iced coffee poolside
kjasus says
https://twitter.com/raggammuffin/status/772830478504263680
Jerry Marquardt says
I celebrated by the pool this summer by doing a lot of nice swimming to stay cool.
Jerry Marquardt says
I publicly Tweeted this giveaway: https://twitter.com/versatileer/status/772861809283903489
Wanda McHenry says
I will celebrate without a pool by drinking some fresh squeezed lemonade.
Wanda McHenry says
https://twitter.com/myfolly/status/772868992331644933
Tammy Shelton says
https://twitter.com/QueenB_Tammy/status/772887605700661248
Tabathia B says
With a glass of sweet tea, a book in my hand and watching my kids play in the pool
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
Tammy Shelton says
We live near the beach so we spend most of our time there.
Tabathia B says
tweet https://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/772884039732752390
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
Kathryn C says
#SweepstakesEntry- comment
well no pool here but I celebrated summer by visiting the beach as much as I could or relaxing in my hammock in a shady spot in the backyard
kacor7@hotmail.com
Kathryn C says
my #SweepstakesEntry tweet:
https://twitter.com/thrincor/status/772891996096716800
kacor7@hotmail.com
Anastasia Falling says
First, I’d have to find a pool! but THEN I would have to ship up one of these drinks to sip by it ’cause they look delicious!!! 🙂
Anastasia Falling says
Tweeted 🙂 – https://twitter.com/Enter_Now/status/772981526082445312
Chrissy says
I’m so over winter and already to celebrate by the pool next summer! In the meantime we are planning a trip to Florida where I plan to drink lots of girly drinks and read several good books in between dips in the pool!
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