You don’t have to have a pool to host a great water birthday party. You just need the right theme. And, we have some of the top 10 backyard water birthday party ideas for your kids right here.
When the weather is warm, the kids want to be outdoors. And let’s be honest, outside is the best place for a group of sugar-fueled kids.
What makes a backyard party even better is water, especially when it is warm. But you don’t have a pool. No worries, there are plenty of water party ideas that don’t need a pool to be fun.
| Boy’s Birthday | Girl’s Birthday |
|---|---|
| Super Soaker Party | Under The Sea |
| Splash And Bounce | Balloons And Bubbles |
| Water Balloon Blowout | Mermaid Party |
| At The Lake | Beach Party |
| Slides And Sprinklers | Pool In The Sky |
We have put together a guide of the top 10 backyard water birthday party ideas for you. All you need is the right theme and we have the top picks for both boys and girls.
A water party can be fun without a pool and without breaking the bank. Check out the ideas below, pick a theme your child will love, and let’s get the water party started.
Table of Contents
5 Backyard Water Birthday Party Ideas For Boys
What boy doesn’t want to splash in the water? You can create a great water party in your backyard for your birthday boy. Just start with a theme and the fun will follow.
Each of these top backyard water birthday party ideas can be adapted for boys of all ages. Just simply modify the events to suit the age of the guests. As for decorations and snacks, they are great for all ages.
We have provided 5 popular water party themes for your birthday boy, including the decorations, snack ideas, and events to organize. Which theme will your boy choose?
1. Super Soaker Party
One of the top ideas for a boy’s water party is super soakers. Boys can play for hours shooting at each other and at targets. That means all you need to do is create the right atmosphere.
Have every guest bring their best super soaker. You can also get some cheap foam soakers from Amazon to have around too. Set up various targets around the yard.
You can buy targets or create your own using empty cans or bottles with bullseyes painted on them. You can also stack plastic cups to form pyramid targets.
Have buckets filled with sponge balls as extra ammo for the water battles. These are easy to make, cutting sponges into equal-sized strips. Tie them together with a rubber band. You have perfect water bombs in seconds.
Grab a bunch of pool noodles from Amazon to create obstacle courses. They can be pinned to the ground to form arches for kids to crawl through. Arm every child with a pair of sunglasses as they arrive. They look cool and will serve as eye protections.
2. Splash And Bounce
Let the boys release all that energy by bouncing and splashing around the yard. The best part about this party idea is that the theme can be anything from a general birthday theme to their favorite movie, video game, or character. What matters is the equipment you have on hand.
Depending on your budget, you can opt to get an inflatable water slide for the party. You can also get a small trampoline or two. The kids can bounce around while avoiding getting hit by water balloons and squirt guns.
Having a few hoppers to choose from also gives the kids some variety for getting around the yard. Trying to squirt a hopping target will be amusing for all. There should also be a few kiddie pools set around with soakers to keep the playing field interesting.
3. Water Balloon Blowout
This theme is one of the easiest to organize. You need to get a lot of water balloons on hand. The decorations can be your child’s favorite colors and the snacks can be all of your child’s favorite things. Then all you need to do is set the stage for play.
Stock up on water balloons for this party. String a bunch of water balloons across the yard to serve as water pinatas. You can also have buckets around filled with water balloons for easy access to ammo as the kids play.
The key to this party will be organizing fun activities for the water balloons. Throwing them at each other is one thing, but kids need variety.
Water balloon dodgeball is always a hit, make sure you mark out a specific area for play. Set up an Angry Birds game. Using cardboard boxes, you can create pig forts to knock down and place water balloons strategically in the forts.
You can even paint piggy faces on the balloons. Have the kids take turns destroying the targets using colorful foam balls.
You can also play splash and score baseball. All you need is hula hoops to mark the bases, a bucket of water balloons, and a wiffle bat. Each player gets pitched 3 water balloons, and every one that is smashed equals a base.
You can either play until you run out of balloons or decide upon a number of innings to play beforehand.
4. At The Lake
Not every water party has to be about a pool or the beach. Switch things up with a lake party instead. Bring the great outdoors to your backyard with this camping/hiking/fishing party.
Make sure every guest gets a fisherman’s hat as they arrive. Fill a kiddie pool or several large tubs with water. Using a silicone mold and some food coloring, create a bunch of frozen fish.
Guests can try and catch fish before they melt, using nets. You can also fill one tub with ice cubes and hide plastic fish within. A little ice fishing never hurt anyone.
Organize a scavenger hunt. Make sure you have camping, hiking, and fishing items around the yard to find. Decorate with inflatable fish everywhere and throw in a sprinkler because the rain likes to join fishing and camping parties every now and then.
Great food ideas for a fishing party are tackle boxes filled with candies. Cups of crumbled Oreo cookies topped with gummy worms are the perfect bait.
5. Slides And Sprinklers
The theme can be anything for this party as far as decorations go. The fun will come from having a slip-n-slide and a few well-placed sprinklers to run through. Beyond that, you can organize a few fun games or activities and just let the boys play.
Set out a slip-n-slide or two as well as a few fun sprinklers. You can organize races on the slip-n-slide as well as a water balloon pop game. Load the slide with water balloons and the winner is the kid that pops the most as he slides through.
If your child has a few favorite animals, grab the inflatable sprinklers for added fun. Throw in some inflatable beach balls too for slip-n-slide water soccer. Snacks can be whatever your kid loves most from hot dogs and burgers to pizza.
5 Backyard Water Birthday Party Ideas For Girls
Any of the party ideas above for boys can be used for girls too. There is no rule to say that girls cannot play with super soakers or go fishing.
If, however, your birthday girl wants a more feminine style party, we also have the top ideas for a backyard water birthday party for girls. Just in case they really want unicorns, mermaids, or fairies.
1. Under The Sea
Take the girls to a magical land as you decorate the backyard to look like the ocean floor. With the right snacks, decor, and activities, your birthday girl will love her day under the sea.
The right backdrop will set the tone and you can hang jellyfish lanterns all around. Blue streamers placed across the yard create your water in a jiffy.
A whale sprinkler is the perfect backyard centerpiece and of course the more water balloons you have around the better.
Arts and crafts are ideal for the girls including making seashell wind chimes or just painting sand dollars with glitter pants.
They can also decorate their own starfish sugar cookies. Playing Sharks and Minnows, as well as having an under the sea dance party is the perfect way to burn off energy.
2. Balloons And Bubbles
The decoration ideas for this party should be about circles. The stars of the show will be bubbles and balloons, and they need to be everywhere.
Mini bubble wands can be bought in bulk to have everywhere and you can invest in a few larger bubble makers or wands to keep for other events.
Fill a kiddie pool with soapy water to have all the bubbles you want and let the girls use different shaped wands for a variety of bubbles. Grab a few water bubble balls for fun or for seating. Decorate with polka dot decor and make sure there are inflatable balls everywhere.
Water balloon games to pay include Water Balloon Toss, Water Balloon Relay, Duck-Duck-Splash, and Paint with Water Balloons. Dancing in bubbles and balloon limbo are also fun ideas to try.
3. Mermaid Party
A slight variation to the underwater party, a mermaid party lets the girls fulfill their dreams. As the true princesses of the water world, this party theme will have your backyard as a magical playground full of wonder, fun, and water play.
Decorate with nets and a shimmery backdrop. Using green streamers, you can create seaweed all around and use blue for water and waves. Hang some tinsel around for that shimmer mermaid’s love. Decorate mermaid tails, make beaded jewelry, and create colored sand jars.
The girls can also play Musical Seashells, Seaweed Tangle, and Mermaid Freeze Dance. Having a slip-n-slide on hand is also a good idea. For snacks you can serve starfish rice krispy treats and shortbread clams along with other favorite foods.
4. Beach Party
If your birthday girl doesn’t want to head out camping, go to the beach instead. You can transform your backyard into a sandy playground in no time, and the girls can get all the sun, sea, and sand they want.
With a few kiddie pools you can have both sand and sea right in your yard. Throw sand toys in one for the sandcastle competition and squirt guns and water toys in the other.
Each guest needs to have the right accessories and some fun sunglasses. Decorate with beach towels, umbrellas, inflatables, and beach chairs.
You can even set up a beach volleyball game as well as have an ocean-themed scavenger hunt. Have guests decorate their own flip flops and surfboards to take home, and grab a beach photo to remember the occasion.
5. Pool In The Sky
A more delicate approach to the splash and bounce party, this theme lets your daughter and her friends play in the clouds. You can easily create a sky party with clouds and inflatable unicorns. Cover paper lanterns in cotton balls to get your clouds and hand all around the yard. Add a rainbow sprinkler for the water fun.
If the budget allows, you can rent a bouncy house. If not, a small trampoline let the girls bounce in their new cloudy wonderland. Set up kiddie pools with splash toys and sponge balls and make sure you have plenty of water balloons on hand.
A balloon arch of all the rainbow colors is the perfect way to greet guests and perfect for photo ops too. Make unicorn rainbow necklaces, rainbow slime, and unicorn horns. And of course, rainbow popcorn, cotton candy, meringue cloud cookies, and unicorn krispy treats are a must.
5 Backyard Birthday Party Water Games
While each of the above themes has games and activities that fit, there are a host of general water games you can also add to the party. Any of these fun water games are perfect for all backyard water parties, boys and girls, and all ages.
1. Musical Sprinkler Freeze
Whether you have a regular sprinkler or an inflatable themed one, the game is the same. Ideally you need to have a sprinkler big enough for everyone to run through.
Everyone dances and moves around the sprinkler while it is off, but when it comes on, everyone must freeze. Everybody gets wet but if you move you are out.
2. Water Balloon Volleyball
All you need are water balloons and two sheets. If you do not have a volleyball net you can grab affordable ones on Amazon or construct your own.
One team at a time, you place a water balloon on the sheet and the team has to shake the sheet to launch the water balloon over the net. To get a point the other team has to catch the water balloon. If it bursts, the team throwing the balloon gets a point.
3. Water Balloon Toss
With everyone in teams of two, each team gets a bucket of water balloons. The players start directly in front of each other and toss a water balloon to their partner. If caught, each player takes a small step backwards.
The teams continue to throw water balloons to each other until it bursts. The last team standing is the winner. For added fun fill the balloons half with water and half with shaving foam.
4. Obsta-Cool Course
Set up a water obstacle course with sprinklers all around. You Can have a slip-n-slide, jumping rope in a sprinkler, shooting a squirt gun at targets, carrying a water balloon with a spoon, and tossing sponge balls through a hoop.
Keep a stopwatch running to get everybody’s time. You can also run a relay for teams and run the course in reverse.
5. Water Squirt Ball
This is a one-on-one showdown. You win by squirting a beach ball over the opposite team’s goal line. Crate two end zones using cones. The first two players for each team get a squirt gun.
You have to blast the beach ball over the goal line while preventing it from going over yours. The winner challenges a new player.
Helpful Tips For The Best Backyard Water Birthday Party
You have some great ideas now for the best backyard water birthday party for your boy or girl. Each is guaranteed to bring fun and great memories. Before you start buying up supplies, there are a few tips to remember.
- Safety First: Make sure anything that can be hazardous, or an obstruction is removed from the yard.
- Age Matters: While each theme can be used for kids of all ages, choose games and activities as well as food that are age appropriate.
- Health: Make sure you have plenty of sunscreen on hand. Check with parents ahead of time for allergies and dietary restrictions, so you can prepare snacks accordingly.
Final Thoughts
When the sun is out, the kids want to be outside. The backyard is the perfect place for a party for many reasons. Room to run and easy for you to clean up. Plus, you don’t have to worry about anything in the house getting broken.
Even better, is the fact that your backyard is a blank canvas. You can transform it into the perfect setting for any birthday party. With any of the themes we have provided, your birthday boy or girl will have a party to remember.
When it comes to the best backyard water birthday party ideas, we have what you need. Bring your own water.