1. Break you Party Down into Smaller Pieces and get Things Done Ahead of Time
• Send out invitations 3-4 weeks before the pool party.
• Purchase items like paper plates, napkins, forks, etc a week before your party.
• Make the food the night before.
• Have your family clean up the house the day before.
2. Delegate
• Split up cleaning duties! Let one person clean the pool, one person clean the pool area, one person clean the kitchen, etc.
• Does your neighbor Suzanne make the best bean dip? Does your friend Tom make the best BBQ? Ask friends to either bring food or assign them to help you with certain tasks like grilling or monitoring how many drinks your guests have.
• Assigning small tasks to your guests is perfectly acceptable. Ask friends to let you know when things are running out so you don’t have to constantly keep checking everything.
3. Remove Stressors
• Don’t invite guests that would cause you a great deal of stress.
• The fewer children the better. Child water safety is serious business and the less children there are the less you have to worry.
• Pets can often be stressful for pet parents to deal with while hosting a party. See if one of your guest who is unable to attend can watch Fido for a little while while you host.
4. Give Yourself Time to Relax
• Take a half hour before and after the party to have alone time to distress.
• Stop and enjoy your guests. Talk to them and sit down with some food and drink.
• Get in the pool and have fun!
• Be attentive to your guests, but don’t stress out about it. If someone has an empty drink, they know where to refill it. Just relax and enjoy!
5. Easy Clean Up
• Have a trashcan out so guest can throw away their own trash throughout the party.
• Ask kids and other users to help you put away things like squirt guns, towels, and volleyball nets.