Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner for your friends and family for the first time? Have you been hosting for decades and you’re ready for a change? Start a Thanksgiving tradtion: a pool party and your friends and family may embrace the notion and you will have made new memories for everyone who attends.

Whether your Thanksgiving celebration is for a day, or a weekend, of friendship and family and traditions, consider hosting a dinner or part of your celebration poolside. If the weather cooperates, why not move some of the day poolside. What?! It’s chilly. Or, the pool is closed. What kind of new family tradition can we have around a closed swimming pool?

Start A Thanksgiving Tradition: A Pool Party

If it’s cold, ask guests to bundle up. Talk with us about the addition of fire pits or other poolside fire features to keep the guests warm and the party going? If you have a poolhouse, decorate it and host dessert poolside. If the pool is closed, but not covered add floating candles or pumpkins to the water to add to the festive flair.

Watch a football game outside. Provide warmed cider and adult beverages to keep everyone warm. Your fire features will also help with warmth and the party atmosphere. Pretend you’re having a backyard tailgate party and this will surely get your guests in the mood to watch football out of doors. Give them warm blankets and turn them loose. If other guests don’t want to watch football, offer holiday movies on the indoor television or if you have space and the guests want to be outside, set up a second television and play the holiday movies there.

Decorate with Thanksgiving themed items. Pumpkins, cornstalks and cornucopia set the mood. If you have guests who are crafty or younger children to entertain, set up a craft table and make holiday decorations your guests can take home as a remberance of the fun time they had at your home.

If you have a fire pit and intrepid family members, consider roasting marshmallows to either put on top of your sweet potatoes or to make into s’mores for dessert. A freshly toasted marshmallow on top of a cooked, warmed sweet potato that has butter and cinnamon is a dessert that is also as healthy (sort of!) as it is delicious.

What traditions can you start around your swimming pool this year?