The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: upscale baby gifts

You’ll Love It Because: The kind of exclusive, premium gifts you want to give are stocked at BabyBox.com—and at reasonable prices, to boot.

A Gift Worth Giving: Luxury Baby Keepsake Album with Baby Keepsake Box. The memories you make, especially at the holidays, are well worth preserving. Do it in style with a keepsake album that comes with 42 album pages and matching border pages, plus a cover that can be personalized. Put that, along with other mementos, in a multicolored keepsake box crafted from silk paper, and you—and baby—will be way thankful down the line.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Personalized baby pillows. For a sweet addition to a nursery (and something she’ll keep for years to come), a pillow with her name on it adds the perfect touch. The Love Birds Baby Announcement Pillow is particularly darling, and with name, birth date, weight and location added, there will be no question that this was a well-thought-out gift.

Contact: www.babybox.com, 203.655.0185

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: menswear-inspired kids’ clothing

You’ll Love It Because: There’s more to little-kid clothes than toy trucks and pink bows. Put your kids in one of these classically cool shirts, and you’ll have them following Fat Tie’s motto: “Dress Smart, and Start Early.”

A Gift Worth Giving: The menswear-inspired tees, each hand-cut and with a cool striped tie, are the perfect mix of all grown up with a dash of schoolboy charm. Both short- and long-sleeved versions are available, and each of the eight shirts carries its own distinct personality—much like your own children.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Your kiddo will be in good company with one of these celeb-loved T-shirts. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is a fan, and the tees have been highlighted in publications such as Real Simple, Pregnancy & Newborn, Star, Us Weekly, American Baby and more.

Contact: www.shop-fat-tie.com

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: fair-trade finds

You’ll Love It Because: Forget the typical valley girl stereotype of airheaded shopping without a purpose—this is, like, the best place to scoop up art, home décor, accessories and more that you can feel good about.

A Gift Worth Giving: Finger puppets from El Mercurio. The Chilean women who produce these finger puppets don’t have the space in their homes to create their adorable sets, so they rent a one-room house for $3 a month to produce their crafts, with themes like Noah’s Ark, fruits and the rain forest. The finger puppets may be small, but with kids’ big imaginations, they’ll get plenty of use.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Quilts from Fair Trade Quilts and Crafts. The whole family can appreciate the craftsmanship of the beautiful blankets from this Guatemalan group, which supports crafting and weaving in the developing world—and the handwoven patterns are out of this world.

Contact: www.valleygirlshop.com

Get 20% off with code PimGroove

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: foreign language learning tools

You’ll Love It Because: Your world travelers in training will need to know how to communicate with people from other cultures, and now’s the perfect time to teach them—Little Pim helps you do just that.

A Gift Worth Giving: Deluxe Gift Set. Choose from Spanish or French for this comprehensive gift set, which will teach your tot 180 words and phrases with their unique Language Immersion Method. It also comes with hand-crafted flashcards, a music CD, a tote bag and a stuffed panda doll. When you hear “More ice cream, por favor” at the dinner table, you’ll know it’s working.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Little Pim offers learning sets for 10 languages all together, so whether you picture your little ones brokering business deals in China, eating pizza in Italy or exploring the Holy Land of Israel, you’ll set them up for success wherever they may roam.

Contact: www.littlepim.com, 888.641.6181

Get 10% off with the code TheFamilyGroove

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: super stuffed animals

You’ll Love It Because: The selection of animals—large, jungle, North American, domestic, marine and more—is high quality and timeless.

A Gift Worth Giving: 48" Jumbo Black Bear. This guy may not be easy to wrap, but he’s definitely easy to love. Kids will go crazy for cuddling with this supersized stuffed animal, a beary fine addition to any kid’s room or playroom.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Marine animals. Head under the sea to choose something for your little mermaid or merman. From realistic-looking turtles and soft seahorses with babies to hilarious manatees and the clownfish that gained fame in Finding Nemo, the selection will go over swimmingly well with your water babies.

Contact: www.thisplaceisazoo.com, 855.874.2900

Get 15% off with code TFG15

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: custom blankets

You’ll Love It Because: No one’s ever too old for a wonderful and warm, cuddly and cute security blanket—and these are built totally to your specifications.

A Gift Worth Giving: The original myubby. This super-soft blanket is the stuff blankies-kept-for-life are made of. Choose whether it’s one-sided or two-sided, pick the fabric type and colors, add satin edging, have an inscription or monogram embroidered, and present with a smile—it’s sure to get one right back.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: The big ubby. Sure, babies like to bundle up in blankets, but that doesn’t mean adults aren’t looking for a little comfort and warmth, too. Create a big ubby (50"-by-60") for a grown-up in your life—perfect for football games, sitting on the deck on a cool evening, or just snuggling inside on the couch.

Contact: www.myubby.com, 888.698.2291

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: monogrammed gifts for babies, kids and adults

You’ll Love It Because: This mompreneur-run business is tops for unique gifts with a personal touch, including blankets, apparel, accessories, drink wear, stationery and more.

A Gift Worth Giving: Embroidered aprons. Those holiday cookies aren’t going to whip themselves up—put your kiddos to work in the kitchen “helping” you with all that baking. You’ll get some quality bonding time, and they’ll get a super-cute apron to wear.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: After all those cookies are baked, don’t let jolly old Saint Nick be the only one who gets the fun of munching on them with a glass of milk—with this Santa’s Snack Time set, kids can jazz up their mini meals with a sippy cup, snack cup and placemat with their name on it.

Contact: www.stripesandpolkadots.com, 804.873.6629

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: sweet-as-pie girls’ clothing and accessories

You’ll Love It Because: Your precious pumpkins deserve the very best, and that’s what they get from this hand-sewn high-fashion line for little girls.

A Gift Worth Giving: Christmas tutu sets. Like the ornaments on the tree, your little girl will sparkle and shine in one of these tutu sets, a holiday-themed explosion of sugar and spice and everything nice. Whether she’s twirling around in red-and-green “1st Christmas” splendor or dancing around in the pink “Sugar Plum Fairy” getup, she’ll be celebrating in style.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Keep her body temperature warm and her style oh so cool with one of many handmade holiday casual and dressy outfits. She’ll love lounging around, watching the snow fall (or just dreaming of it!) in a snowman-covered pants set, or getting all dolled up in a red-and-green dotted peasant dress.

Contact: www.miacarina.com, 702.522.0487

Get a 15% discount with code TFG15

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: personalized presents

You’ll Love It Because: You can customize a wide range of gifts—from blankets to dolls to stockings—at no additional charge.

A Gift Worth Giving: Shark attacks may be scary, but when a precious baby is inside the shark outfit, the only sting you’ll be feeling is from how shockingly adorable it is. These animal robes—“Let the Fin Begin” shark and “Hug-alot-amus” hippo—are made of terrycloth and will keep post-bath-time babies 0 to 6 months warm, happy and just a little wild.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: The Totseat Travel Highchair. Lugging around a big high chair to family get-togethers and holiday meals out isn’t exactly practical, but this makeshift high chair, small enough to fit in a purse or diaper bag, can go anywhere you—and your sustenance-seeking tot—choose to go.

Contact: www.myembroideredgifts.com, 800.990.1658