Parties

Bella Dolce Cupcakes creates cupcakes for just about any event. Customers can find everything from the basic vanilla cupcake with sprinkles to the exotic.

Costco, a discount shopping warehouse, seems to carry everything a family could need. This is great, if you need and have room to store a lot of each item. During the year, some products vary - for example, during the summer months, camping and beach equipment abound in the store.

A full-service pharmacy, vision center, tire center, photo center, and food court make Costco a one-stop shop.

It also carries industrial strength sheet cake - the kind you need to handle a crowd of indiscriminate but very hungry young ball players or birthday celebrants. If size is your goal, Costco may offer the best value in town.

Membership is required to shop at Costco; call or visit the website for information on joining.

We've listed a few San Diego area locations below; check the website for a complete list.

Costco, a discount shopping warehouse, seems to carry everything a family could need. This is great, if you need and have room to store a lot of each item. During the year, some products vary - for example, during the summer months, camping and beach equipment abound in the store.

A full-service pharmacy, vision center, tire center, photo center, and food court make Costco a one-stop shop.

It also carries industrial strength sheet cake - the kind you need to handle a crowd of indiscriminate but very hungry young ball players or birthday celebrants. If size is your goal, Costco may offer the best value in town.

Membership is required to shop at Costco; call or visit the website for information on joining.

We've listed a few San Diego area locations below; check the website for a complete list.

Face Painting by Damaris offers on-site face painting for private events. Damaris uses non-toxic paints and can complete up to 15 or 16 faces per hour, with a wide array of designs, including butterflies, rainbows, ice cream cones, hearts, stars, moon, sun, flowers, animals, and many more. Samples of her work are available at the website. Prices vary by location.

Clay a Go-Go brings all you need for a paint-your-own ceramics party. Full instruction, a demonstration, materials, and firing are included.

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.

Stagecoach Park is a large 28-acre community park located in the hills of La Costa, just east of the city of Carlsbad. The site of some of the City of Carlsbad's Youth Programs, Stagecoach often plays host to local youth baseball, track and field, day camps or other youth sports activities.

The vast open space makes it well suited for family outings, large gatherings, or picnics of any size. Amenities include picnic tables, three ballfields, two basketball courts, four tennis courts and one sand volleyball court. The courts are lit for nightime use. There is a cost to rent the facilities, which is as low as $8/hour for the outdoor picnic tables for Carlsbad residents.

The community facilities consist of a large recreation center, a gym, and smaller function rooms, which are available for birthday party rentals.

The San Diego Natural History Museum, dedicated to interpreting and protecting the natural world (especially in the region of Southern California and Baja California), offers lots of hands-on opportunities and fascinating exhibits for kids.

SDNHM is a highly-respected, active research institution - one of the oldest in the nation - and offers a wide-range of fascinating local- and global-themed exhibitions and IMAX films.

Educational programs include off-site family field trips through local nature reserves with museum staff, and Wacky Science Sundays every Sunday at 12:15pm and 2:15pm, hosted by Ms. Frizzle on her Magic School Bus. Check the Museum's website for the latest program information.

The Museum offers a wide variety of spring and summer camps for kids. The only problem is deciding which to attend!

The Mira Mesa Lanes boast 44 lanes complete with bumpers for beginners, an adult-and-junior league, as well as separate leagues for both groups. The lanes are well maintained and well lit, except for moonlight bowl times! This is definitely one of the more popular bowling alleys in San Diego.

Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm, families can play for a the bargain rate of $1/game, $1/shoes. For contrast, evening games run $15-$17/game and $3/shoes.

The bowling alley is a popular location for children's birthday parties. The party includes 1 1/2 hours bowling (with bumpers, if needed), shoes, and a basic meal - for $12/child. You'll need to bring the cake.

The snack bar offers all the usual snack foods: chicken nuggets and fried stuff, along with hot dogs and sandwiches. But it's reasonably tasty and keeps the kids happy.

Clay a Go-Go brings all you need for a paint-your-own ceramics party. Full instruction, a demonstration, materials, and firing are included.

The Oasis Camel Dairy is primarily about creating a dairy and developing cosmetic products from camel's milk, but they also invite the public to tour the dairy and meet their animals. Reservations are not required to go on a tour, though groups of more than 10 visitors are requested to call in advance.

The camels are also available for birthday parties. Contact the dairy for additional information.

Cyberstore's goal is to make computing a fun learning experience for kids and adults alike. In addition to classes, they offer gaming for kids, computer camps throughout the year, after-school programs, birthday parties - and even fix computers.