Parties

Balloon Celebrations is one of the first balloon companies in the world, the inventors of Specialty Balloons, and one of the first to create balloon architecture.

Quirky French Chef Madame Chocolat creates a stir at birthday parties and other events with her interactive cooking show. The chef and her assistant solicit help from the audience to make a chocolate cake.

Faces & B'loons by Lauri offers a wide variety of entertainers (balloon artists, face painters, and more) for birthday parties. The company also provides twisted balloon centerpieces, party favors, buckets of water balloons (what a time saver!), and many other balloon-themed items.

The Bear Builders arrive at a party complete with a Bear Factory machine and canopy; they provide everything kids need to design their own bears.

Each child is invited to create a bear and make it come to life using the stuffing machine. Before the seams are closed, each child also places a special heart inside his or her bear.

Then it's off to the birth certificate station where kids name their bears and - when they're through playing - box up the bears to take them home, effectively saving the party parent from the tyranny of creating goodie bags!

Basic, naked bears start at $15.99, with a myriad of accessories to choose from.

Specializing in characters, party themes, and activities for creative children, Papillons parties include dance, crafts, and games. The website offers a list of available party themes.

This big and beautiful theater presents children's musicals, mostly performed by the all-women theater company, the Nine O'Clock Players.

Cast members in costume sign autographs for fans in the theater courtyard after every Assistance League Playhouse show.

Birthday parties are available. They are not private events, but they do include banquet table seating, access to the patio beforehand, and a special song onstage with the birthday child.

A location lifestyle portrait photographer specializing in babies, children, teens, and relationships. Serving Los Angeles, Long Beach, South Bay and surrounding cities.

Movies by Kids is a creative program designed for teaching young students the exciting process of movie making and animation through workshops, summer programs, and enrichment programs.

Movies By Kids also offers music video birthday parties, using a blue screen and stage lighting to create special effect sequences. A DVD copy is provided to each partygoer.

Jessica at Lily Alva Photography specializes in maternity photography as well as babies, children, families, and even birthday parties.

Sessions may be held at the family's home or at any other location.

Creative Leap gives kids the opportunity to jump, climb, bounce, spin, slide, explore, create, design, and interact in a safe, clean and most importantly, FUN environment.

The main play structure, the Valley's largest, offers corridors of mazes, slides, see-through tubes, look-out domes, a submarine climb, magic ball popper, large ball pit, and tons of other cool stuff.

The Dinosaur Room is equipped with a fossilized climbing wall in a prehistoric setting.

Creative Leap also features video games appropriate for both younger and older children, an electric keyboard for the musically-inclined, and super-sized geometric pieces with which to build cars or castles... or whatever a kid's imagination can dream up.

The toddler area is specifically designed with the smallest children in mind. Infants to three-year-olds have a room all to themselves, allowing them to explore and socialize in a more intimate setting.

Creative Leap also offers classes in prenatal yoga, theater, art, mommy & me, music & movement, and more!

Birthday parties include an hour of open play (rock climbing wall, three-story play structure, video games, giant lego pit, and more) and one hour in a private party room where at least two hosts take care of the work. Included in the package is pizza and drinks for the kids, face painting and/or balloon animals, age-appropriate activities (activities may include parachute play, dance games, magic show, etc.), personalized cake & cake ceremony, balloons, decorations, all paper goods, birthday child's hand print on the party room wall and a return play pass for the birthday child. Call for pricing.

Themed parties, characters, shows, and special requests can also usually be accommodated.

Paintbox Kids, a hands-on arts studio designed for children, is a warm, cozy destination adjacent to Pasadena's Historic Highlands neighborhood. Murals and samples of all kinds of artwork don the walls, and Terry, the studio's owner, describes her business as "unstuffy." She's right; the set-up is comfortable and unpretentious, with throw rugs, mobiles, pint-sized chairs and tables, and neat art supplies.

Parents, grandparents, and caregivers are invited to roll up their sleeves and create right alongside visiting children, and kids ages five and up can be dropped off for themed classes. Custom classes for groups of six or more can also be arranged.

Paintbox Kids offers classes, workshops, and summer camps for artists ages five to 11, as well as teen and adult classes; check the website for more details. The venue also features weekly walk-in studio hours, when patrons can take advantage of traditional and recycled art supplies to create their own masterpieces. Call ahead to inquire about when walk-in times are offered.

Children's parties at Paintbox Kids last two hours and include the theme and art activity of your choosing, teaching staff and all materials, a story or game related to the party theme, and set up/clean-up services. Parties are $300 for up to 10 children and $25 for each additional
guest. Optional add-ons, such as invitations and party favors, are available at an extra charge.

The brain child of entrepreneurial parents of a picky eater, Giggles 'n' Hugs is a true family restaurant on the Westside with a fully decked out play area. The menu is a combination of sandwiches, salads, pizzas, pastas, and breakfast items; and virtually everything can be prepared in a kid-sized portion for $6-$7. The food is predominantly organic, and kids can dine in style with cutlery and plates in their style, fun (but not overpowering) music, and cute murals on all the walls.

One of the chef's menu specialties is Mom's Tricky Treat - an option to puree veggies into just about anything. Kids who only eat mac and cheese need never know that cauliflower and squash were slipped into the sauce, and that cheese pizza might taste even better with a secret spinach infusion. Apart from the many ways to eat pasta and chicken tenders, there are some very tasty options for adults, too; we were delighted with the Chinese Chicken Salad, and then took guilty pleasure in finishing off a kids' portion of Snow White Fettuccine.

The play area requires a sepa