Place to go after school
YMCA of Greater Charlotte
Nearly 1,500 students in the Charlotte region leave school each day and head to the YMCA. Instructors promote important traits and values such as honesty, respect, responsibility, caring, and faith. And kids participate in indoor and outdoor sports as well as crafts, cheerleading, cooking, foreign and sign-language classes after school, thanks to the Y.
Various locations, 704-716-6200

Place to buy kids’ clothing
Chocolate Soup
No, it’s not frou-frou fancy. Yes, it’s a fabulous place to stock up on kids’ shirts without losing yours. Chocolate Soup ladles out lots of pants, skirts, and dresses. Its namesake clothing line is joined by Petite Ami, le top, Baby Lulu, Anavini, and others, most at discounted prices. Choose from boys’ clothes in sizes newborn to seven and girls’ clothes in sizes newborn to sixteen.
4732 Sharon Road, Sharon Corners, 704-556-0889

Place for a birthday party
Your own home—with Oogles ‘N’ Googles
No kidding. With the help of Oogles ‘N’ Googles party services, you can host a dinosaur hunt, teddy bear tea, or pop rock party for your child’s next birthday and maintain your sanity, too. They bring all the supplies to you and do it all—setup, clean up, and everything in between. No muss, no fuss, and you’re an instant hero. A complete package for twelve kids costs about $350.
Waxhaw, 704-849-7942

Place to buy a birthday cake
Suarez Bakery
This family-owned bakeshop has been dishing up confection perfection for Charlotteans since the 1950s. Whether you’re honoring your eighty-year-old grandmother or paying homage to Barbie for your eight-year-old daughter, they’ll whip up something that fits the bill. Describe what you want and they’ll come up with an original gateau that looks great and tastes sublime.
4245 Park Road, Park Road Shopping Center, 704-525-0145

Daycare
Cranfield Academy
Not only is this four-star-rated, privately owned daycare and preschool clean, colorful, and well-managed, it provides free Starbucks coffee for parents each morning, fruit in the afternoon, dry cleaning drop-offs, haircuts for the kids, and optional in-house soccer training, music lessons, gym classes, and computer classes for the older children (for an added fee). It also offers infant and toddler daycare through transitional kindergarten.
11330 Carmel Commons Boulevard, 704-341-2233

Kid-friendly restaurant
Red Robin
With three area locations, kids get full on food and fun while parents can enjoy a hefty burger and grown-up beverage. A great kids menu (Grilled Cheesewich, Carnival Corn Dog) includes bottomless baskets of steak fries (fry refills—brilliant!) and is served up in a colorful environment. In addition to the requisite balloons

and crayons, there are also in-floor TVs and video games.
8304 Kenbrooke Drive 704-971-2060; 8425 Northlake Commons Boulevard, Northlake Mall, 704-494-4660; 3415 Toringdon Way, Toringdon at Ballantyne, 704-541-3233

Free outing
Imaginon
You don’t pay a penny (well, unless you count those property taxes) to visit this public library/children’s theater. Kids are encouraged to use their imaginations at exhibits such as the StoryLab, where they can become writers and illustrators, and Once Upon a Time, Imaginon’s first major traveling exhibition, which invites kids to become part of their favorite fairy tales. The kid-scaled trolley lets them experience a make-believe trip in Car #85 (and now that CATS has garaged the real one, this may be the only chance they get).
300 E. Seventh Street 704-973-2780

Kids’ hair salon
Snip-its
Walking through the door here is like walking into an alternate, brilliantly colorful world. Your child can watch movies or play video games while a patient, friendly stylist cuts and coifs. Afterward, she can pop a bit of her hair into the “magic box” in exchange for a prize. You get a prize, too—no more tantrums and tears at haircut time. A wash, cut, and blow-dry, including a choice of fun and fruity shampoo scents, costs $16.95.
8625 Lindholm Drive, Birkdale Village, 704-987-0940