I think there is a new consciousness arising with this generation of kids, or at least in my surroundings, that the holidays are not about gifts and abundance, but rather gratitude and togetherness. As a mom, it’s super important to me that I teach my children that lesson. We are surrounded by so much and we have everything we could possibly ask for, so this holiday gifting season, my children got a little something each, but it was more about getting them something that spoke to each of their characters and less about opening gift upon gift.

I love supporting local stores – especially the ones that are a one-stop shop. There are a few in this city that I have hitched my wagon to, and those are namely Billie le Kid and Jack & Jill. I walk in with my kids and I just know we could spend hours looking through all the incredible stuff. There’s also Chapters Indigo that I can basically get lost in for hours – and since they have so much to choose from for all ages and interests, it’s kind of a no-brainer.

Some kids, regardless of their age, love cute dolls, stuffed animals and other adorable furry things they can throw on their beds or decorate their rooms with. I got these at Billie le Kid.

I also nabbed the most incredible book series called Little People, Big Dreams by Isabel Sanchez Vegara – they tell the stories of powerful women throughout history – kind of right up my alley when it comes to raising girls. I got the French books at Billie le Kid, but you can grab the whole English series on amazon.ca. Lia really wanted a hydro flask and I looked everywhere for the perfect one and found it at well.ca. Lev is still really into playing restaurant and learning the motor skills involved with cutting and sorting, so I bought a little pizza set at amazon.ca.

No matter the age, books are the best, best, best gift for anyone! Kids, grownups, hosts, teachers, moms, husbands, you name it! We read at night and in bed, quiet time around the fire, on a car ride, vacation, I can name you the countless places you can read, and also decorate with books! The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is fan favourite, as well as our newest addition, When Your Grow Smaller by Alecs Kakon. My kids also love Dear Zoo and Three Times the Fun. All of these can be purchased at amazon.ca. To make things even cozier, we read in bed whether it’s night time routine or not, and relaxing in our Maison Tess sheets makes everything even snugglier.

My almost tweenager had a short list of must-haves and I was able to find them all at Jack & Jill. I trendy purple Champions sweater, a fortune cookie best friendship bracelet, a metallic pink boom box (so cute!) and headphones.

Some kids are more fashion inclined and love a cool graphic-tee or slick outerwear. Lia’s tee is from Show and Tell, but Billie le Kid also carries Spiritual Gangster so you can find it at both. She loves colouring a cute message on her Ardene pineapple – don’t ask!

All of our boots are Geox, which in our climate are basically the best boots. Weather-proof, water-proof, whatever proof you want, these boots slay winter! And, they’re super cute. Lia’s jacket is from Mackage (yes they do kids!).

Personally, decoration makes the season. I don’t know about you, but I can only really get into the holiday spirit if I’m surrounded in got and snow globes, lol! Most of the décor featured can be found at Zone Maison. It’s also the best time to really spend enjoying a little creativity with my kids. They are getting to the most fun ages where they want to contribute and get into the decorating vibe with me. I love it!

If it’s not a tear-open-the-wrapping-paper kind of gift, you can also do a gift card to Apple – my kids love buying music or games, so that’s a great way to add to their wallet. We opened ours early this year in our cozy Billie le Kid pjs (mine from Billie Boutique).

Coming up with a gift guide for the holidays started to become a bit of a hefty challenge, so I broke it up into two parts – so stay tuned for the hostess and for him/her gift guide coming up soon!

Photography by Patricia Brochu