Choosing summer pool toys is always a fun family event. And for a family on a budget, the right pool toy can transform a whole summer into a poolside adventure. From sponge balls to huge inflatable sea monsters, there is something for everyone. But when you’re making a limited summer budget stretch, few things are more powerful than a pool castle from Amazon.
A pool castle can be fun for the whole family and the focus of endless games in your neighborhood pool. Your older kids can fight for pool castle dominion. Your younger kids can float peacefully in the shade inside the castle or paddle along holding the edge. And even adults can take their turn lounging on the castle or staging their own inflatable pool battles. If you’re going to invest in one big summer toy, a pool castle can be the perfect decision. Here are our five favorite things your family can do with a floating pool castle:
1) Stage Pirate Raids and Castle Defense
When you have a floating castle, eventually, someone is going to say “Arrr!” and swing a noodle menacingly at its inflatable walls, and then the game is on. Those inside the castle immediately become the defenders and anyone not currently in the castle become the invading pirates. Raids for hoarded piles of pool toys like diving rings and sponge balls are commonplace, and the best way to steal is by swimming up through the center for your strong swimmers. And if the Pirates win, the game starts all over again as the outsiders become the raiding pirate team.
2) Include Younger Kids in Pool Games
Often, children given a choice of a single pool item to share will choose something like a pool castle because it provides safe and splashy fun for every age group of swimmer. Even though play can get rowdy, younger children can stay safe and be a part of the game by posting up inside on the inner platform against the inflatable castle wall while older children swim circles and dive into and out of the castle more freely. It also provides a great platform for children just old enough to start practicing exploring their ability to climb and swim around large inflatable toys.
3) Make a Shady Napping Place
Of course, not all pool castle activity has to be rowdy or loud. The high inflatable walls make it the perfect place to take a pool-nap without waking up with a bright red sunburn. Many children every summer will fall asleep in their pool castle after a few rounds of energetic play without even thinking about it. And when the kids have been distracted by something else like a diving contest or snacks, parents can snag the pool castle for an awesome shady nap feeling like kings and queens of the pool castle.
4) Leap Onto and Over It
Among the most fun things to do with any large inflatable toy is simply to jump on it or try to leap over it. Pool loungers have long since been used as pool surfboards, and noodles as obstacle courses. The pool castle is uniquely fun because the walls will briefly fold in, then bounce back and repel leapers. Truly talented jumpers might even be able to make it inside the castle with a little bit of slithering over the top.
5)Â Host a Pretend Pool TV Show
Finally, the door to a pool castle doesn’t just have to be a drawbridge. It can also be a portal into a child’s very own swimming pool television show. A child who likes to talk and hold forth to their friends or parents can happily float in the center and use the castle door as their ‘TV screen’ to put on a show. This is a great way to play when there are fewer kids in the pool and a whole summer afternoon to kill.
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Summer fun doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. With a free local pool, one pool castle, and a lot of imagination you and your family can play at the pool every weekend with a different adventure. For more clever tips on how to make a household budget stretch rewardingly, contact us today!
