and king-size puppets that fill
the trunk of her Jeep, she mes-
merizes the preschool set with
interactive stories and echo-
style, singalong songs.
Little ones love to make
barnyard noises and don ani-
mal hoods for "Down on
Grandpa's Farm." They also
enjoy wearing spider finger

V

5328 Highland Rd. • Waterford, MI 48327
810.673.0100 • Fax 810.673-1084

$1.0 OFF GOLF TIME

NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER DISCOUNT

OAKLAND YARD ATHLETICS

EXPIRES 2/28/97

F EB RU AR Y

Tulip, the skunk; and a chick-
en/ostrich-like puppet named
Zoe.
She charges $50 for a 30-45-
minute birthday party show
designed for 2- to 6-year-olds.
You haven't lived until
you've seen 3-to-7-year-olds do-
ing the Macarena! Using a mix
of classical, rock and roll and
children's music, Diane
Urquhart keeps the
birthday party set on
Sooner or later, every Jewish family faces that ultimate of all birthd ay Par
their feet with such
ties, the bar or bat mitzvah.
games as 'Round the
And, as any parent who has masterminded such an affair knows, once
Block, tic-tac-toe bean-
you get started there's no end to what you can spend.
bag toss, popcorn-pop-
As one Huntington Woods mother,
who survived her daughter's "mod-
est" $17,000 bat mitzvah last year,
observes: "We started saving a long
time before, but it just starts adding
up and up.
"There's the place, the party plan
ner, invitations, food, liquor, sweet
table, entertainment, flowers, center
pieces, artwork, videographer, pho-
tographer, favors and the list goes on.
"It's like a mini-wedding — you
hope your kids elope after something
like this."
"Pink-a-ling" entertains
the guests.
Families seeking an alternative to an elaborate, spare-no-expense party
with a band (expensive) or deejay (somewhat less expensive), might want ping parachutes, and
to consider budget-friendlier sports or swim parties:
rhythm sticks.
* U.S. Blades Family Fun Center, West Bloomfield Township: (810)
The prettiest number
476-2200
is a scarf dance done to
* Ambassador Roller Skating Rink, Clawson: (810) 435-6525
Tchaikovsky's "Nut-
* Skate World of Troy: (810) 6894100
cracker Suite."
* Jewish Community Center: (810) 967-4030, Oak Park; (810)661-
"Even the shyest
1000, West Bloomfield
child will dance with a
* Area health and racquet clubs, roller and ice skating rinks
chiffon scarf," says Ms.
-- Susan R. Pollack
Urquhart, who teaches
creative movement to
puppets for such favorites as
The couple's mix-and-match
preschoolers at Oak Park's
"Itsy Bitsy Spider" and
rates are under $100 for one
Temple Emanu-El and at the
"There's a Spider on the Floor."
entertainer for one hour, rang-
Fieldstone School (formerly
Ms. Shaw, family camp di-
ing upward to $300 for the
Workmen's Circle). "We actu
rector at Camp Tamarack,
works, both entertainers for
ally work on skills, but it's so
preschool teacher at Shaarey
two hours.
much fun they don't know
Zedek and a freelance puppet
Helayne Shaw is one of
they're doing things that are
lady at area synagogues and re-
those rare entertainers willing
good for them."
ligious schools, writes much of
to take on that toughest of all
Rates start at $50 for a 30-
her own material for Ratso,
audiences, toddlers. Drawing
45-minute birthday party.
the rat; Bearnadette Bear;
upon six big bags of songbooks
CHILD'S EYES page C36

fee) with his specialty, balloon
sculpting.
Last year alone, he used
82,000 balloons to create 350
different objects, including air-
planes, giant flowers, Daffy
Duck, Pluto, the genie from Al-
addin and other Disney charac-
ters. The kids, he says, get a
real bang out of it.

C35