Ask Maxwell: The Funnest/Funniest Thing I Found This Summer

Dear Troublemaker,

When I saw your question come in a smile ran across my face — for two reasons! Number one, I was glad you were holding my feet to the fire and putting me on the spot in my own current life, and, number two, I HAVE THE PERFECT ANSWER FOR YOU.

This is going to be a very simple and short answer.

During my lovely week break, I had — count them — six children in my house in ages ranging from three to fourteen, and I also had a wonderful babysitter who was there to help take care of one of the kids. We spent a lot of time hanging out, while the kids played in the pool and she said to me, after a long day, “Have you ever heard of a foam party?”

“No,” I said, “What’s that?”

“Oh, you don’t know about a foam party?! They’re VERY big at the hotels in Jamaica. Let me show you some pictures.”

She then showed me FABULOUS pictures of people sipping drinks in a hotel pool in Jamaica totally surrounded by foam bubbles that covered the water and even the sides of the pool.

“Wow!” I said, “I’ve never, never seen that before.”

“Oh yeah,” She said, “It’s the best. So much fun.”

Whereupon I jumped on my iPhone, pulled up Amazon, and found exactly what she was talking about.

I’d seen Slip’n Slides. I’d seen Zip Lines. I’d seen trampolines. But I’d missed this, AND given that my inner age hovers around 10 years old most of the time, I was hooked. I ordered it that night and it arrived three days later. The rest is history.

Best, M

PS. Yes, I know it’s expensive and I know I was nuts to buy it, but I will say this…. It’s super durable and blew us all away AND I would buy it with friends and share it. It even made the adults think about using it in photo shoots (they were stylists).

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Maxwell Ryan is a father and was an elementary school teacher in NYC before founding Apartment Therapy. He’d love to answer your question: askmaxwell@cubbyathome.com. This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids.