Parties

Aloha Bounce Company provides quality bounce houses for childrens parties and other group festivities, and offers bounces with different characters and themes to choose from. The artwork on the units is officially licensed.

Best known for its Swiss Black Forest Cake, the European Cake Gallery can whip up more modest, yet delightful, birthday cakes of many varieties.

Party Pax is a children's party rental business that provides themed dress-up costumes, props, games, activities, and a party guide to facilitate parties and play dates.

You can also order custom invitations with your child's photo, matching supplies, and unique party favors. Or rent a "character" costume to save on the price of hiring an entertainer.

Former Miss San Diego, Victoria Robertson, dresses as a princess and visits your daughter for her birthday party or special occasion at your home. Parties scheduled through Princess Parties and Friends include music, games, treasure hunts, crafts, and glamour-related activities. Victoria has 10 years experience working with kids in community theater, music lessons, and sports camps, and specializes in keeping kids entertained. She is a professional singer and brings her guitar to every party so the kids can sing along!

Birthday Ever After creates parties that celebrate and fulfill childhood dreams and wishes. At the all-inclusive themed parties, care is taken care to ensure a worry-free and successful celebration in the comfort of your home with dancing, crafts, games, costumes, makeovers, prizes and lots of make believe. Face painting and character entertainers can also be provided for an economical, memorable, and fun addition to any party, picnic, fundraiser, or corporate event.

Party themes for children ages four to seven include Princess Ball, Princess Tea, Magical Mermaids, and Enchanting Fairies. Select from Spa Queens, Murder Mystery, Superstar Idol, Dancing Divas, Glam Tea, Broadway Musical, Jewelry Making, and Island Luao for slightly older children (ages seven to 11). Great parties for boys are also available.

Let the kids (and grownups!) go wild in a room filled with giant inflatable slides and jumpies. An event at Pump It Up is held in a private, indoor, air conditioned room with huge interactive inflatable play structures. Consider this location for any kind of celebration or fun event: birthday, team sports, school, corporate team building, church groups, fundraising, field trips, or mothers group. For idea of how good it is, Pump It Up is an award-winning party franchise.

Birthday parties: Each party is two hours long with plenty of time for jumping on the inflatable equipment in the private arena. Following the jumping, enjoy the last half hour in a private party room designed for celebrating the birthday. Invite up to 25 kids! Pizza and drinks can be arranged. All parties at Pump It Up include supervision in the arena, invitations, paper goods, and cleanup of the party room.

Darin Fong specializes in photojournalistic style children and family portraits. His photos are considered more "artsy" or "edgy" than those of traditional portrait photographers. Using his system, any of the photographs can be printed in black and white, sepia, color, or a combination of styles.

To see samples of Darin Fong's work, visit his website. For links to sites showing sample portrait sessions and custom DVD slideshows, send an email to info@darinfong.com.

Pacific Martial Arts offers karate, jiu jitsu and yoga classes for kids, teens, and adults. A summer day camp program is also available and features crafts and other activities in addition to martial arts training.

Birthday parties include an hour of safe and fun movement, tied into a fantasy story, followed by an hour for food, cake, and games. Children earn "warrior" headbands while they pass the "tests" of strength, speed, and strategy - and participate in a foam "combat sword clash." Call to schedule a date.

Interested families are welcome to take a free introductory class.

Pacific Martial Arts offers karate, jiu jitsu and yoga classes for kids, teens, and adults. A summer day camp program is also available and features crafts and other activities in addition to martial arts training.

Birthday parties include an hour of safe and fun movement, tied into a fantasy story, followed by an hour for food, cake, and games. Children earn "warrior" headbands while they pass the "tests" of strength, speed, and strategy - and participate in a foam "combat sword clash." Call to schedule a date.

Interested families are welcome to take a free introductory class.

At Play Town, parents are invited to relax and socialize while children run and play in the clean, safe, indoor playground. Play Town features a variety of structures and activities for youngsters. With a bouncer, tube structure and more, kids can be busy for hours. Special areas are designated for various age groups such as infants and toddlers. Feel free to bring snacks.

Several birthday party options are available, including semi-private parties ($13/child); a basic space rental package for up to 30 children that includes two hours private use of Play Town, one dozen balloons, two assistants to help set up and clean up, and a return pass for the birthday child ($295); and small (up to 15 children - $345) and large (up to 25 children - $395) all-inclusive packages that include all of the above plus balloons, paper goods, party favors, face painting, tattoos, and pizza and juice for the children.

In an atmosphere that's more fun than fancy, Pigtails & Crewcuts offers hair cuts, styling, and grooming services for the younger set, and parents can also get their "do" done at the same time. The waiting areas are packed full of toys, and the actual hair chairs are planes, fire engines, or automobiles - in perfect position for viewing overhead videos. And for those having their tresses trimmed for the first time, the salon offers a first haircut package so that moms and dads can have a keepsake memento of the occasion.

Stylists seem especially skilled with kiddie clients - and are pros at fixing cuts-gone-wrong from home or elsewhere - and can handle even the most nervous child with patience and a smile. Although cuts here might be a bit more than other kids' salon chains, the experience is worth it. The requisite lollipop is offered at the end of the cut, and girls can get fun gems or ribbons in a mini-style following a trim.

The in-store boutique has an impressive array of hair ribbons and bows, accessories, lip glosses, bath items, special kid-friendly gifts, and (of course) a line of private-label hair products, including shampoos, conditioners, detanglers, and gels.

Parties include hairdos, makeup, themed crafts, and nail art, and can accommodate or be tailored to boys' tastes. The salon also helps with party planning - everything from identifying the right invitation to selecting a to-die-for glamour cake.