‘Tis the season to be jolly. While many people have to close their pools for the season thanks to frigid temperatures and those white flakes of snow, we’re lucky enough to be able to enjoy the poolside year-round. We’ve got some tips on how you can maximize your pool this holiday season, whether you’re enjoying it alone, with family, or with friends. 

The Perfect Time to “De-Stress”
From shopping to cooking and traveling, the holiday season is fun but can be super stressful. However, if you have a pool, then you’ve got an excellent stress reliever in your yard. Turn on the heater and swim around for a bit to melt your stress away. Even if you don’t feel like swimming you can just sit by the pool and read a book or just take in the crisp air. A glass of wine wouldn’t be too crazy right about now.

Spend Time With Your Family
With everyone on a little holiday break from school or work, what better time than now to spend some quality time with your family? With today’s climate and many being encouraged to stay closer to home, it’s a great time to enjoy your backyard oasis and create lasting moments for a holiday to remember. 

Get Started on Your New Year’s Health Resolutions
Your New Year’s resolution probably has a space dedicated to working out more or improving your health. Why do you have to wait till January 1st to begin? Swimming can provide a total body workout, building endurance and muscle strength, as well as improving your cardiovascular health. Winter is the perfect time to build your summer body! 

Channel the Holiday Spirit
Your pool can also be a great canvas for some Christmas decor. Start by adding a fire pit. Then go all out with white string lights, an outdoor Christmas tree, festive floats, and red chair cushions. Your backyard is your canvas and you can really pull together a cohesive holiday look that’s sure to bring cheer and spirit this season. 

Party Time
If you’re planning on having family over during the holidays, why not make it a pool party? It doesn’t mean you have to get in the pool, but rather enjoy the fresh air and calming ambiance that hanging by a pool brings. Fire up the fire pit, heat the pool, play holiday music, and serve some classic holiday snacks and beverages. Simple but good old-fashioned fun time to spread the holiday cheer during a time that needs it most. 

Owning a pool is a big investment, but it’s one the Lakeway pool experts at Easy Pools want to help you maximize throughout the year. Don’t be afraid to throw on your swimsuit or step outside to enjoy the pool in the “off-season” as it’s sure to bring many moments of fun and excitement every time. 

About the Company

Easy Pools is a Central Texas pool maintenance company that has been providing Austin, Lakeway, Marble Falls and the surrounding areas with all of its pool care needs since 2007. As a leading pool company in the area, Easy Pools offers a number of services, specializing in pool service & maintenance, pool construction & remodels, and pool repairs. 

Easy Pools is dedicated to “the easy pool experience,” whether it’s new pool construction or regular pool maintenance. Easy Pools is built around value, with a goal to provide residential and commercial clients with the best information, quality materials and equipment, and innovative pool design. 

Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Houzz. Contact us today to learn more about why Easy Pools remains the leading pool company in Central Texas. 

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Easy Pools is very thankful for each and every one of our loyal customers who has supported and trusted us with their pools all year long.
 
Having happy and satisfied customers is such a rewarding experience. It is what motivates our company each day to bring you superior customer service and to be better and bigger each year.
 
Thank you for your reviews, referrals and great feedback throughout the year. Hearing from our customers allows us to better serve you and we appreciate you taking the time to tell us how we did.
 
We are excited to see what 2016 will bring and how many new families (and pools) we are able to help.
Happy holidays from the Easy Pools family & may all your wishes come true!
 
Remember that if your neighbor’s pool is looking spectacular all year long, they are using Easy Pools!
Complementary Christmas Cookie Recipe below:
 
Enjoy!
 

 

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup raisins
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 package (10 to 12 ounces) white baking chips
 
Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time,
beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
 
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins, cranberries and orange peel. Stir in baking chips.
 
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.
 
Yield: 6 dozen.

 
When I think of the Fourth of July, I think of coolers full of beer, steaks grilling on the barbecue, and big bowls of pasta salad. Beer, steak, and pasta…not exactly the best things to be putting in your body while you’re traipsing around poolside in a teeny bikini or a pair of swim trunks. No matter how you plan to celebrate the 4th of July, it’s a good excuse to indulge in a cocktail.

Fourth of July themed cocktails are easy: anything that’s red, white or blue, anything that’s perfect for barbecuing, and/or anything that has any kind of American history or theme to it. After searching the World Wide Web and testing and changing some of the drink recipes, I’ve compiled a list of 4 cocktails, which are perfect for all those patriotic pool parties coming your way.
 

1. The Fourth of July

 
Yes, there is actually a cocktail called the Fourth of July. It’s a layered drink with red, white and clear layers You can actually use cream in place of the vodka to make the clear layer white, but then two of the layers are non-alcoholic. It looks perfectly festive with the clear vodka layer.

 
Ingredients
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 ounces vodka
• 2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
• 4-6 cups ice
• 4 ounces blue raspberry vodka
• 3 ounces cherry vodka
 
Directions:
1. To make a simple syrup, combine sugar and water and heat in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves. Cool completely in refrigerator.
2. In a blender add clear vodka, lime juice, 2 ounces simple syrup, and 1½ cups of ice; blend on high until it reaches a “slush like” consistency, adding more ice if necessary. Pour into a container and place in the freezer. Next, in the blender add blue raspberry vodka, 2 ounces simple syrup, and 1½ cups of ice; blend on high until desired consistency is reached, and pour into a container and place in freezer. Then, in the blender add cherry vodka, 2 ounces simple syrup, and 1½ cups of ice; blend until desired consistency is reached and place into a container and place in freezer.
3. Let chill in freezer until ready to use.
4. To “assemble” drink layers, spoon some of the blue in the bottom of a glass, then white, then red on top.
 
2. The Hurricane

 
This drink was invented in the French Quarter of New Orleans, and is definitely a little piece of Americana. It comes out a nice cherry red color and makes a wonderful choice for celebrating the Fourth of July. This is also a fun recipe, because the original version is very simple (two rums, a couple of fruit components) and you can add your own twist to make it special.
Ingredients:
• Strawberries
• Simple Syrup
• Cream de Cacao
• Blue Hurricane Mix
• Decorative straw
 
Directions:
1. Muddle 3 strawberries & simple syrup in a cocktail glass. (Note: start with about 1 tsp. of syrup and add more if needed – it just depends on the sweetness of your strawberries.)
2. Add ice, filling glass all the way to the top.
3. Use the back of a spoon to slowly and carefully add the Cream de Cacao to create the white layer. (the spoon “breaks the fall” to prevent the layers from mixing.
4. Finally, add the blue layer – the hurricane mix. Again, use the back of a spoon to slow down the liquid so it can sit on top of the Cream de Cacao.
5. Carefully add a straw and serve to your super impressed party guests. Happy Birthday, USA!

 
3. Watermelon Martini

 
Here is a perfect cocktail for the Fourth of July, with fresh, juicy watermelon. Seedless watermelons are best for making this tasty beverage!
Serves: 2 cocktails
 
Ingredients
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup kosher salt
• 6 oz fresh watermelon juice (I used a seedless watermelon so mixed it in my food processor and then strained it through a metal strainer).
• 2 & ½ oz good vodka
• 2 & ½ oz Limoncello or orange liqueur
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• Ice
• Watermelon wedges for garnish
 
Directions
1. Chill 2-3 glasses in your fridge or freezer 10 minutes before making the cocktail.
2. Combine the sugar and salt and spread it on a flat bread plate. Dampen the rim of your glass with water or lime juice and dip it in the sugar/salt mixture. (Save the leftover mixture for another occasion).
3. Combine the watermelon juice, vodka, liqueur and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 6-8 times.
4. Strain and pour the mixture into the prepared glasses and garnish with a watermelon wedge.
 

4. Coconut Blue Hawaiian

 
It’s actually blue, and it has the name of a state in it. You can’t beat that for a Fourth of July celebration. This is a delicious tropical drink featuring orange, pineapple and coconut.
 
Ingredients:
• 2 shots rum
• 1 shot coconut rum
• 2 shots Blue Curacao liqueur
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• Juice of a half a lime
• Ice
• Cherries for garnish
 
Directions:
Pour the rum, coconut rum, blue curacao, pineapple juice, lime juice and ice into a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously until mixed.
Pour the drinks evenly into two glasses with fresh ice.
Garnish with a cherry if desired and serve cold
 
Pool Party Tips

 
Throwing a great 4th of July Pool Party can be easy and fun if you follow some of my simple tips.
• Keep things light and simple with lots of drinks, salads and time in the pool.
• It’s hard to keep the kids hydrated because they never want to stop to drink anything, so I make sport ice pops. Give a kid a frozen pop and they’ll sit and eat it. I freeze some red white and blue sports drinks in plastic cups in the freezer in layers with Popsicle sticks. It works great and they love them.
• As you might guess, keeping adults drinking something is a lot easier, so I keep it super simple with a big-fruited lemonade. Just fill a big serving container with fresh fruit (fresh lemons, limes and berries) some store- bought lemonade mix and serve it up or let them help themselves. Fruit punch also works and you can serve vodka or rum on the side for a kick. (Drink responsibly)
• Ask everyone bring a side dish so I have less work to do.
 
Pool parties are about everyone getting wet, right? One great way to get everyone in the pool is a game.
Try the “Greased Watermelon” and everyone will be in the pool in no time. Get a large whole watermelon (the bigger the better) and rub a teaspoon of shortening or petroleum jelly all over it and put it in the pool.
Divide your guests into two teams at opposite ends of the pool. Drop the watermelon in the center. The teams have to rush to the watermelon, retrieve it, and bring it to the other team’s side first. Only one rule: you can’t lift it out of the water. The kids will start but the adults will take over in no time. It’s hard to resist.

Note: Author gathered images from http://mixthatdrink.com/fourth-of-july-cocktails/.