20 Ideas for Cooling Down Without a Pool

Summer time is here and it’s getting warmer and warmer by the day. If you have a pool then you are lucky- you can jump in and cool down whenever you want but if you don’t, like me, you have to look for more creative ways getting your kids to cool down! We have friends that have pools so we get to swim fairly often but not daily so I like to have some back up ideas- just in case! Here are some of our favorite ways to cool down on a hot day when a pool is not an option.

1. Turn on the sprinklers

2. Turn on the hose

3. Head to the dollar store and pick up some cheap squirt guns and water sprayers- lots of fun here!

4. Make sponge water bombs

5. Play Drip Drip Drop (think duck, duck, goose but while dripping a sponge over your kids or friend’s head!)

6. Fill up the water table and play

7. Three words: water balloon fight!

8. Make a DIY kiddie wash

9. Hang some water balloons and turn them into a “water balloon piñata!”

10. Pull out the slip and slide! Don’t have one? Make one!

11. Fill up the baby pool (or buckets) and fish for treasures! Use nets or your hands!

12. Play sponge tag- think regular tag but instead of tagging with your hand- tag with a sponge!

13. Pretend wash some laundry- give your kids some buckets and shirts and have them wash them outside and hang to dry! The more bubbles the better.

14. Water relay race- fill up a bucket using a the water from a sponge, who ever gets their bucket filled first wins!

15. Have a bike/scooter car wash

16. Ice Block Treasure Hunt: use a large tupperwear container and fill it up with fun toys and odds and ends and then fill it with water and freeze it! Give your kids toy hammers and other play tools to bust it open in the sunshine.

17. Make a water wall with recycled materials

18. Build some Lego Boats and float them in a bucket outside

19. Ice Cube Relay Race- take turns passing an ice cube back and forth to your team- first one who’s ice melts wins!

20. Think even bigger with ice and make some DIY Colored Ice Balls!

So there you have it, 20 awesomely fun ideas to help cool down when it’s heating up outside! What’s your favorite summer time fun activity when a pool isn’t an option?

Looking for the perfect outdoor craft to go along with your water fun? Try this Outside Glittery Ice Cube Paint! Fun and messy 🙂