2025 Holiday Gift Guide: Swimming Pools
- islandwaythomas
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Thanksgiving is in the books, and we are now fully into the Christmas season. Festive decor, beautiful lights, time with loved ones, and plenty of delicious food paired with pool weather leave us here in the Tampa Bay area a little extra spoiled. Christmas may be the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, but it also comes with a slightly more stressful nickname: the Season of Giving. The worry of “Did you get your <family/friend/loved one> a gift they would like?” will haunt many during this holiday season. Especially with the big day only being 18 days away!
While we may not know exactly what your family, friends, or coworkers want for Christmas, we do know the best gifts to consider for the swimming pool enjoyer in your life. To help you alleviate some of that gift-giving anxiety, we have compiled a gift list of swimming pool focused gifts that will bring more enjoyment out of your recipient's outdoor living space. Are you ready to start knocking names off your Christmas list?
Pool Gifts For The Kids:
Getting gifts for the kids in your life is usually one of the easier tasks since they will often tell you exactly what they want. The tough part that many parents face today is finding gifts that will keep their kids away from screens. These gifts should help keep the kiddos busy swimming and outside!
Dive Toys: One of the most popular swimming toys for younger kids is dive toys. These are objects that will sink to the bottom of the pool for them to dive down to collect. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, so you are bound to find some in a theme your kid will love. Here are a few recommendations for fun dive toys from our pool clients and pool owners from Reddit:
Swimming Instructor: If your kids are younger or are new to swimming, a great gift to consider would be swim lessons. Give them the confidence they need to feel safe around the pool and give yourself peace of mind knowing they can swim. You can hire a private instructor to come to your house, giving them one-on-one focus, or you can sign them up for group classes where they can meet other kids their age. Here are a few local instructors and resources to check out:
Inflatable Bull: While we have this listed for the kiddos, according to many reviewers and redditors, the inflatable bull is extremely popular among adults. The inflatable bull is going to catch a lot more attention than your typical pool floatie and offers fun to more than just the rider, as the other people in the pool are what make the bull bob & bounce you off. A little pricier than your average pool floatie, but guaranteed to be a hit for all your guests:
Reusable Water Balloons: Water balloon battles are an iconic part of childhood, but old-school water balloons were a hassle to get set up and created an annoying mess to clean up afterwards. These silicone balls with magnets eliminate all the annoyance and are completely reusable, so the fun does not have to stop once all the balloons are popped. Set up buckets of water or just use your pool water to let the fun begin:
Water Guns: No better item to follow up water balloons than water guns! While you won’t find the iconic Super Soakers in stores anymore (check eBay and garage sales if you want the classics), a couple of great watergun alternatives exist today:
The Watermelon Ball: This ball received endless praise across multiple pool subreddits, which is surprising for such a simple toy. This is a thick silicone ball that is filled with water that can then be bounced, dribbled, or passed underwater. Because it is filled with water, it will sink but then slowly float up, allowing for lots of fun underwater games to be played:
Swimming Rings: These are floating rings in the pool that kids can dive or swim through. Pair these up with some dive toys, the watermelon ball, or other pool toys to create obstacle courses to race each other through:
Snorkel & Fins: a great gift for new swimmers to feel more confident in the water and turns the pool into an adventure for the confident swimmers. What’s great is this gift is also a blast for them to use at the beach:
Pool Gifts For The Family:
Once your backyard has a swimming pool, expect to be the go-to host for family gatherings or large parties with the year-round, amazing weather here in the Tampa Bay Area. Here are some fun gifts that are bound to keep the family and guests entertained:
Volleyball Set: In large groups swimming pool volleyball is always a big hit. The most annoying part oftentimes is getting the net set up, but thanks to lots of research we have found a high-quality, easy net to set up and take down:
Basketball Hoop: An instant classic for any swimming pool! A basketball hoop is a fan favorite for adults and kids alike: you can dunk, shoot around, play H.O.R.S.E., or have 1v1 for hours of pool fun. Here are two high-quality hoops that can take a beating:
Giant Connect 4: We all know this classic game of strategy, but now it is extra large, so it can be set up on a patio. This simple but fun game is perfect for all age groups; just don’t be surprised when the kids start beating the adults:
Giant Jenga: A simple rule indoor games must follow to be considered an outdoor game is that it must become extremely large. Giant Jenga is just as fun and chaotic as its smaller counterpart. For a more personal touch with this gift you could build a custom set yourself or you can purchase a set here:
4 Square Volleyball: Also known as CROSSNET H2O, brings the fun classic game of 4 Square to the water. Pretty much all the same rules as the school yard game we all know, but mixed with volleyball, so it can be played in the pool. What’s great is that the game can be set up or taken down in just a couple of minutes:
Poncho Towels: Practicality and comfort, these poncho towels would be a great gift for any pool or beach enjoyer. They dry fast, resist sand, are comfortable, and are fairly lightweight, so they can be packed away without taking up a bunch of space. They come in both adult and kids' sizes, so the whole family can match:
Electric S’mores Kit: Everybody loves s’mores! While roasting marshmallows by a fire pit is the ideal way to make s’mores, fire pits can be too hot most of the year in Florida, and getting one going for a quick sweet treat can be a bit of overkill. Let your recipient enjoy a toasty marshmallow over graham crackers and chocolate whenever they want with an electric s’mores kit! What’s great about this option is that it has storage bowls around the heater to hold all the goodies:
Pool Gifts For The Pool Owner:
While the gifts above are loved by everybody getting to enjoy the pool, here are some gifts geared towards the pool owner in your life:
Floating Serving Tray/Drink Holders: Make floating in the pool even more relaxing with a floating serving tray or drink holder. Sit back with your favorite drink and enjoy some snacks without having to leave your pool float! Lots of options exist, but here are a few favorites:
Waterproof/Dropproof Speaker: Relaxing by the pool is not complete unless you have some great tunes playing. When it comes to music by the pool, not just any speaker will do. Lots of elements of a pool space can be detrimental to electronics, which is why having a speaker made to handle the heat from the sun, handle any drops, and handle getting wet is essential for pool music. Here are a few options at a couple to consider gifting:
Shatterproof Cups & Wine Glasses: Glass ending up in a pool is not only a safety hazard but a major hassle to fix since glass is almost impossible to see in water. Oftentimes, the entire pool needs to be drained so the glass can be removed from the pool, or it ends up in someone's foot. This can all be avoided with shatterproof cups, and the best part is that shatterproof cups come in a variety of shapes: pitchers, wine glasses, champagne flutes, martini glasses, or rocks glasses. No matter the pool owner's drink preference, you can find a classy shatterproof cup to pair gift:
Quality Towels: If you have ever had to use a cheap, low-quality towel to dry off, you would know they do not absorb enough water, stay sopping wet, and do not feel soft on your skin. Quality towels may seem like a boring gift, but once they get used, you will be hearing your praises. Here are some great pool towel options:
A Towel Butler: Host a pool party, and it is inevitable that you will find towels left hanging everywhere. While the towel butler will not put an end to that completely, it will give people a go to spot to hang their towel when they are not using it. So many styles, sizes, and different setups exist for these, so we recommend looking at the different options available to determine which will work best for your recipient’s style. Here are 2 options that we know are great:
Outdoor Mini Fridge: Eliminate having to track water through the house every time someone needs a new drink with an outdoor fridge. An outdoor fridge is one of those items people do not realize they need until they have one. Full-size options are available for outdoor fridges, but a mini fridge is more than enough for most people:
Pool Toy Inflator: A swimming pool usually means people will be dealing with a lot of inflatable floaties, toys, and tubes that will need air. Save their lungs and save them time with an electric inflator. Any inflatable that comes your recipient's way will be filled fast, and this came highly recommended for households with children:
Deck Box: Having outdoor furniture and lots of outdoor toys means needing a place to store these items. Make it easy and convenient for your recipient to put away outdoor items with a deck box. Not only will a deck box keep their space organized, but it will keep their items dry and safe during any inclement weather (which we face a lot of here in Florida):
Automatic Pool Skimmer: Some people find peace in getting outside to scoop debris out of their pool, and for some it’s a chore that gets put on the back burner until the next time they decide to get in the pool. If you know someone who falls in the latter category, then an automatic pool skimmer would be a great gift for them. With this particular pool skimmer, they will not even have to remember to charge it; it just needs 5-6 hours in sunlight to be fully charged again:
We hope our Swimming Pool Gift Guide was able to point you towards some gift options for someone important in your life. If you have any recommendations on items we should include on next year’s list or have any questions in regards to swimming pools, feel free to reach out to the Island Way Team at: 727-488-2047 or Info@islandwaypools.net. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Comments