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Best Flea Market

A Paris Street Market

What could be better on a sunny Saturday morning than this stroll through a wonderland of hand-picked junk and one-of-a-kind treasures? Spearheaded by the folks who run Details, a downtown Littleton bath and body shop, the market debuted last summer to delighted crowds, and this year expands from four to five shopping opportunities, offered on the first Saturday of the month, from May through September. And it's a small but classic market, with a little bit of everything -- from the perfect sturdy covered cake platter to a hand-sewn cotton girl's pinafore in aqua, festooned with purple flowers, for only four bucks. What else? The usual what-have-you, including garden ornaments, cheerful salt-and-peppers in the shape of a family of robins, rustic handcrafts, old and new jewelry and vintage linens are only a few of the things that await patient shoppers. Wear a sun hat, as it can get warm on a summer day, but if you start to fade, you can always duck into Details or truck down Main to Olde Town Antiques for indoor browsing.

Best Antiques Market

Cherry Creek North Open Air Antique Show

Market founder Leslie Lee of the Cherry Creek North shop Willow Antiques says last year's early-September cold snap put a damper on this event's debut, but face it: It's an opportunity just begging to happen, a classy array of local and out-of-town dealers offering high-end jewelry, pieces of eight and gold doubloons, cabin furniture, shabby chic furnishings, lacy christening gowns, quilts and camp blankets, prints, and a little of everything under the sun in outdoor booths at a convenient and central location. So, Lee notes, the market will go on, bigger and better, expanding to two sessions this year -- one at the end of May and the other in early September.

Best Place to Have a Garage Sale

Dairy Queen

There's no better rite of summer than spending a blistering-hot Saturday or Sunday casing garage sales looking for toys, trinkets and good buys. But, darn it if garage-sale-hopping wouldn't be even better with something to cool you off -- something like ice cream. At least that's what Dalene Walker and Myron Peterson were thinking when they decided to let people hold garage sales in the parking lot of their northwest Denver Dairy Queen franchise. They got the idea after holding their own garage sale in the lot, which faces the high-traffic 38th Avenue, Peterson says, adding, "I don't know of any other Dairy Queen that does this." Holding a sale in the lot is free, and although not a lot of people took them up on the offer last year, the couple hopes to have a blizzard of activity this summer.

Best Sale Alert

Cherry Creek Shopping Center's weekly e-bulletins

In this hectic day and age, we can't all spend our days cruising the mall for deals; even the most dedicated shopper could pop an artery (or at least twist an ankle) trying to keep up with every store. But in the last year, retail foraging got a little quicker and a little easier for Cherry Creek shoppers: Log on to the center's Web site, and you can register to receive these handy e-bulletins every Thursday, filled with personalized information on featured and sale items at your favorite stores. You'll never have to shop without an agenda again. Buy-buy, now.

Best Mall to Visit When You're Eight Months Pregnant

FlatIron Crossing

Women heavy with child or parents wrestling with strollers aren't handicapped in the traditional sense, but neither is it very easy for them to shlep a mile or two before reaching a store. Recognizing that, FlatIron Crossing has designated two spaces near handicapped spots at every major entrance to the shopping center for "new and expectant parent parking." Talk about a special delivery.

Best Snugli Revival

Weego

You may recall Snuglis, those front-slung baby carriers created in the 1970s by Mike and Ann Moore of Evergreen, who modeled them after an idea they picked up in the Peace Corps in Africa. After their grandkids came along, the Moores saw a need for new, improved Snuglis. The new carriers can hold children in many positions and -- bonus! -- can be adjusted to fit children as they grow. Also, Weego now manufactures Weego for Preemies, currently the only baby carrier around for premature babies. Here Weego!

Best Online Store for Cloth Diapers

Wee Bees

Many people shy away from using cloth diapers for fear of leaks, accidents and irritated, wet babies. But Rhonda and Gary Wiebe, owners and founders of Wee Bees, assert that having a dry baby in cloth diapers is entirely possible. Although their Web site offers a wide variety of baby products, they specialize in anything having to do with diapering. Their pitch: Cloth diapers are better for the environment and your pocketbook.

Best Nursery Outfitter

Cradle and All

In the best of all worlds, babyhood should be like a little slice of heaven. This downtown Littleton shop -- heavenly itself with its faux-cloud murals as a backdrop -- is the place to furnish the right nursery for the job. Among its treasures: Heirloom-quality, hand-painted, child-sized furniture, cuddly pastel chenille toys and pillows, hand-knit veggie sweater-hat combos, fancy rattles and bath soaps, teddy bears, rocking horses and sets of matching crib bedding. Next stop, paradise: On-site custom nursery design services are now available, making it possible to create an Elysian environment for baby from the floorboards up. Rock on.

Best Kimonos for Your Kiddos

Pacific Mercantile Company

Though the Sakura Square supermarket has long wowed LoDo dwellers with its array of exotic miso pastes, fresh fish and Asian spices, Pacific Mercantile also has plenty to please the little doll in your life. Japanese toys and candy, as well as beautiful pint-sized silk kimonos and slippers, are available in the housewares portion of the store (where you can also find good deals on grown-up stuff like sake sets or sushi plates). Pacific Mercantile is an international sensation.

Best Supplies for Blooming Babies

Red Carpet Baby!

One thing Montessori-trained proprietress Emelia Metzger knows for certain is babies. And one thing she learned during her former career in early-childhood care and instruction is that our everyday retail world is pathetically lacking in good old-fashioned, quality educational toys in natural materials. So this new cubbyhole on South Broadway, as wet behind the ears as the clientele it's meant to serve, was designed to rectify the situation, one baby step at a time. Metzger's growing inventory at Red Carpet Baby! includes sturdy three-dimensional wooden puzzles and other hard-to-find imported wooden toys, tiny silverware and bake sets and imaginative graphic mobiles for over the crib, as well as such boutique items as bath soaps for tender skin, cloud-soft fringed fleece blankets and simple, toddler-scaled furniture. In time, she also hopes to roll out the red carpet for neighborhood play groups conducive to parental networking. What a way to grow.

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