11 Cheap Halloween Pool Party Ideas

Looking for Halloween pool party ideas?
This post is loaded with them

If you live down south or out west, then throwing a Halloween pool party is a must. In October, the weather is usually still warm enough to enjoy a comfortable swim. But more importantly, it’s an excuse to go crazy with Halloween decor and give your swimming pool a whole new purpose.

And if you live up North, you can still decorate, you just might not be able to swim. Of course, if you’re using a pool heat pump, then you can still easily enjoy a good swim down into the 50s.

With that said, you’re probably wondering what you’ll need to create an awesome Halloween pool party. Well, odds are, you probably have at least half of what you need already.

In this post, we show you 11 Halloween Pool Party Ideas that you can do with simple decorations, spooky lighting, pool accessories, and a creative touch. And we even include a few Halloween pool party games and a Halloween music playlist to set the perfect mood for a spooky night.

11 Cheap Halloween Pool Party Ideas

Halloween Pool Party Ideas and Decorations

Pool floor silhouette (glow in the dark tape)

Here’s a simple idea that’s quick, easy, and sure to catch eyes.

Pretend your floor is a blank pumpkin upon which you’ll carve your design. But instead of carving holes into your pool floor (yikes), you’ll instead be using vinyl cutouts.

So if you’re going for a classic jack-o-lantern, you’d cut two triangles out of a sheet of dark-colored pool vinyl for the eyes. Then, the classic one-toothed grin. Make sure you cut them big enough to see from a distance.

Once you have the vinyl cutouts ready, place them on the pool floor for an instant silhouette effect.

And if you want to add a cool upgrade, grab some glow in the dark duct tape and outline the outer edges of each cutout. With this simple hack, you’ll be able to see your design throughout the day and night.

Glowing jack o lantern buckets

This one is so easy, a baby could do it. In fact, this might be one of the best Halloween pool party ideas to try out with kids.

Why?

Glowing jack o lantern buckets are fun to make, safe, and take less than 5 minutes.

All you need is a few cheap Halloween buckets and some glowsticks. Just crack the glowstick, match it’s color to the bucket, and drop it in.

And what’s cool about these is that they float, so you can leave them to casually glide across the pool surface, or just place a few around the deck.

Note: if the buckets you’re using have holes in the bottom, use a small piece of duct tape to path them up

Floating gourds

Grab a few gourds, preferably some that are more hallow, and toss them in the pool.

Although these won’t stand out quite as much as the glowing jack o lanterns, they’ll still serve their festive purpose. And honestly, how often do you see pumpkins floating in a pool?

On that note, if you’re aiming for more minimalistic and reserved decor, then floating gourds are a great choice.

Red pool water

Now this, this is truly creepy. It’s the type of stuff you see in movies all the time, but in real life, it’s much eerier.

Imagine arriving at a party and seeing a blood red swimming pool as you’re grabbing your first cup from the punch bowl. Throw a few skeletons and props in there and you’ll practically have a scene pulled straight from B grade horror flick.

Of course, you’re probably wondering how in the world you can dye your pool water red without staining or damaging anything.

The answer is a 100% pool-safe dye and clarifier by the name of Party Pool. This simple product allows you to temporarily change the color of your water to a red, green, or blue. And within a few days, the color fades and filters out naturally, giving you back the crystal clear water you’re used to.

For the best results, you’ll want to make sure your pool water is clean and clear before dying it. So use these 21 pool care hacks to make cleaning your pool easy.

Purple, orange, or red pool LEDs

Of course, if you don’t want to dye your pool water, you can always go for a similar effect with lighting. Specifically, colored LED pool lights.

Most lights allow a user to cycle through different colors, but for Halloween, orange, purple, green, and red lights usually create the best effects.

For more advanced lighting installations, you might even be able to program different lighting effects, from fades to color changes.

Alternative: Patio lighting

For an even faster lighting effect, unscrew all of the regular light bulbs around the deck and replace them with a few black CFL bulbs. This alone will create a pretty cool effect for setting that spooky vibe. But combine it with a few of the other Halloween pool party ideas in the post, and you’ll have yourself a real graveyard smash.

Sorry, we had to at least once.

Misty swamp

If you decide to go with purple or green lighting, then this tip is for you.

Of all the Halloween pool party ideas, this one will probably end up looking the coolest if done correctly.The idea turns your swimming pool into the scene of a dark, misty lagoon. The type a creepy monster or masked Halloween slasher would emerge from.

Why?

Because it turns your swimming pool into the scene of a dark, misty lagoon. The type a creepy monster or masked Halloween slasher would emerge from.

For this, you really only need two things: good lighting, and fog.

So with your pool lighting ready to go, you have two options for creating the fog.

+With a fog machine – hide the fog machine behind a planter or pumpkin, then trigger the fog effect as needed

+With dry ice – although science is fun and all, you’ll definitely want to exercise caution when handling dry ice. For starters, always use a thick leather glove or towel to pick up the dry ice. Although you might be able to quickly grab it with your bare hands in an effort to save a few seconds, resist the urge. Extended bodily contact with dry ice can cause injuries similar to burns.

So, once you have a safe way to move the ice, grab a bucket and fill it halfway with hot water.

To create the fog effect, drop chunks of dry ice into the bucket. The ice will immediately begin melting, emitting white vapors that create an effect similar to a fog machine. To keep the fog effect going, keep adding ice and replace the water once it’s cold.

Eerie floating hands

Another simple, yet highly effective Halloween pool party idea that uses glowsticks. For this, you really only need two things.Glowsticks and some rubber gloves.

Glowsticks and some rubber gloves.

Grab a glove, open it up, snap a glowstick, and place it in. Then lightly fill the glove with air, just enough to take the shape of hand without looking like a balloon. Once you’re happy with the size, tie up the glove and drop it in the pool.

These are especially good for smaller fountains or backyard ponds, where you might have the chance to slip the hands under a thin layer of ice, which drastically improves the effect.

Scary glowing eyes

Here’s a great way to get your recycling on and create a  surprisingly effective Halloween decoration at the same time.

All you need are some scissors, a few toilet paper rolls, and some glowsticks.

Grab a pencil and outline a set of matching eyes onto the roll, then use the scissors to cut them out. Once that’s done, snap a glow stick, and place it inside the roll (tape helps).

Now, this is the fun part. Grab a few of those glowing eyes and stuff them into convincing places, like the dark gap between the bushes, or on top of the fence. Those are usually the best spots for frightening unsuspecting guests, but you can also hang them from a string too. Get creative.

Climbing skeletons

If you’ve ever decorated for Halloween before, then there’s a good chance you have some prop skeletons lying around in the garage.

Why not grab them and create your own Halloween scene?

You can hang a few of them upside down, and dorn them with mask and snorkel, so they look like they’re diving into the pool. Or you can secure a few along the walls of your house or pool enclosure, and make it look like they’re climbing away to escape.

Of course, if you really want to step it up a notch, then this next idea is for you.

Pool/Underwater skeletons

Sure you can alway, decorate your pool deck with skeletons, but your actual swimming pool adds a whole new realm of possibilities.

Here are a few ideas for decorating the swimming pool with skeletons:

• A few skeletons around the pool walls positioned to look like they’re climbing out
• A single skeleton at the bottom of the pool with a treasure chest on top of it
• A group of skeleton playing poker at the bottom of the pool
  • You’ll need to incorporate a table and some chairs for this one, but it’ll be worth it
  • If you end of doing this one, please let us know in the comments

The graveyard

If you’re looking for quick and simple Halloween pool party ideas that still make an impression, then the graveyard scene might be best.

This can be as high budget or low budget as you want it to be. But all you really need are a bunch of candles and some gravestones

You can buy a bunch of tea light candles in bulk for cheap. And for the gravestones, a few styrofoam cut-outs and gray paint should do the trick. You can also purchase more realistic props at your local Halloween supply store.

Whatever you choose, the graveyard scene will add a subtle yet festive vibe to any Halloween pool party.

7 Halloween Pool Party Games

Once your pool is decorated, it only makes sense to celebrate all hallows eve with some Halloween pool party games. Here a few that are perfect for the occasion.

[Click here to discover 30+ more swimming pool games]

Invisi-bottle

Grab a clear plastic water bottle, fill it up with water, twist the cap back on, and toss it in the pool. Then get everyone else to try and find it.

Spoiler: it’s much harder than it sounds

Swamp Monster Race (Submarine Race)

The object of this game is to see who can swim the farthest underwater in one breath. Players line up at one end of the pool, submerge, and begin swimming across. Whoever gets the farthest wins.

You can also switch it up and create a target distance, then see who can get there in the least amount of breaths.

Pumpkin Push Relay (Watermelon Push Relay)

Two teams, two pumpkins, no hands. Two players line up on one end of the pool with the sole objective of pushing a pumpkin across the pool. Except, you only use your nose.

This game can be played in a one on one or relay style with teams. But for a real challenge, grease up the pumpkins with a thin layer of Vaseline before tossing them in the water.

Croc Wrestling

For this, you only really need two inflatable crocodiles. Once you have those ready, take the rules of a classic Chicken Fight and apply it to this game. But instead of sitting on someone’s shoulders, players sit on the inflatable crocs — the objective being to knock the opposing player of off theirs.

Dark-Sea Treasure Hunt

Grab a bunch of coins and throw them in the pool. Then have players dive in to collect them. Whoever collects the most (quantity or value, up to you) wins.

Zombies and Survivors

Two teams line up on opposite sides of the pool: team Zombies and team Survivors. Designate a leader to call out either “Zombies” or “Survivors”.

When a team is called, they must attempt to swim to the other side of the pool. The other team’s job is to tag members of the opposing team before they reach the other side.

Tagged players are converted to the opposite team. A player who reaches the other side without being tagged can bring on team member back to their side.

The game ends when all players have been converted to one team.

Belly Flop Contest

Odds are, if you’re having an adult pool party, no one will want to play this game until the end of the night anyway. Hence why we saved it for last.

That said, the rules here are simple: loudest or biggest belly flop wins. But don’t expect this game to last too long, and be sure to not overdo it. Belly flops hurt, but they sure are fun to watch.

[Discover 30+ more swimming pool games here]

Halloween Pool Party Playlist | Halloween Music

And naturally, every Halloween pool party needs the right music to complete it.

Well, we have all the Halloween music classics lined up for you right here:

Monster Mash – Bobby Pickett

Thriller – Michael Jackson

Ghostbusters Theme Song

This Is Halloween – Nightmare Before Christmas

Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell

Nightmare On My Street – Will Smith & DJ Jazzy Jeff

Dead Man’s Party – Oingo Boingo

The Addams Family Theme Song

Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon

Time to start decorating

Now that you have plenty of Halloween pool party ideas to work with, all you have to do is pick the ones you like most. Then, get to decorating. That said, be sure to give yourself enough time to get everything set up how you like it. We recommend starting the decoration process a week before the party. That way, when Halloween rolls around, you can focus entirely on enjoying the party with family and friends.

As you start decorating, you might also find these posts helpful:

• 21 Pool Care Hacks That Make Pool Maintenance Easy
• 11 Household Products For Cleaning a Pool
• 9 Energy Saving Tips For Swimming Pools