Best Place For A Kid's Birthday Party 2001 | Ultimate Dive and Travel | People & Places | Phoenix
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Never having another kid's birthday party at home, even if the stains did come out of the rug after the umpteenth cleaning? Looking for something more memorable and, God forbid, more meaningful than cardboard pizza and head-splitting video games at the usual locales? For little ones 10 and older, this north Valley shop will host a "Bubblemakers" Party, a terrific and carefully supervised introduction to scuba diving for $250 for up to eight children. It all takes place in the shop's heated indoor pool, with the kids donning gear and experiencing the thrill of hanging out underwater. Partygoers get a "skill certificate" at the end of the day, which is almost as exciting as the obligatory cake, cookies and other goodies provided.
This wonderful store with the awkward name (most patrons just call it "Piggy" and leave it at that) has the funkiest, hippest collection of clothes for the preschool and grade-school set. Grown women have been heard requesting some of the more fashion-forward girls' items in grown-up sizes, but the real test of a kids' clothing store is what it's got for boys. And "Piggy" delivers: no drippy Little Lord Fauntleroy getups in sight, no precious Mama's boy ensembles that only a grandmother would love (or buy). The store's buyers have clearly scoured the market for the most colorful, imaginative and coolest duds for both sexes. A big bonus for beleaguered parents dragging around uncooperative offspring is the bounty of toys the store also sells, and the cozy playroom where kids can sample these wares -- not to mention the cheery staffers who don't seem to mind restoring order to the occasional toy explosion.
The summer heat demands that you keep the kids inside, hour after pent-up hour, day after frustrating day. Don't throw yourself under the wheels of a train. Just throw yourself near the train -- in this pretty park with a restored historic train depot, an antique carousel and a clock tower. On Saturday evenings in May, June and July, the City of Scottsdale sponsors a summer concert series at this oasis. You can bring your picnic basket and spacious blanket and mercifully decompress with others of your age group while the little ones run freely and safely in the park's wide-open spaces.

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