Our Gift Giving Guide for Cold Weather Babies

Baby it's cold outside! We've come up with a list of our most popular gifts for baby. Practical enough to keep baby warm, yet stylish enough to elicit the "oohs!", "aahhs!" and "OMG That is so cute!" - reactions we love!

First up, anything from Patagonia is a scene stealer, however, one of our favorites for little guys is the Puffer Vest. When their means of locomotion includes belly crawling, they've got to keep their core warm! The high-loft Puffer Vest uses heat-trapping 200-g Quallofil® polyester insulation to get the job done. If you go with the Niagra Blue color, it matches the SmartWool Stripey Earflap Hat perfectly. The vest is also available in Tender Greens and Sea Pink.

Anything teeny tiny and pink always warms hearts. The PediPed Hannah boot is the perfect contender for this category. Pale Pink leather winter boot with fuzzy white faux fur trim takes this boot from street to party! The Hannah boot can be worn tall or with the fur rolled down for two adorable looks. Pediped also makes the chocolate brown Henry version for the fellas.




Need something to accompany those adorable boots? Legwarmers never get old! They look fantastic with baby girls holiday skirts and dresses and they have the added bonus of keeping those gams warmer than in just tights alone.

We could really go on and on with the gift ideas... Patagonia makes a wonderful water resistant on one side, plush on the other, blankie. They can take it with them on a wet stroller ride, drop it in a puddle, sit in the sand or just love it.

Along with the Stripey Hat from SmartWool, baby hat, we've got over 60 additional baby hat styles to choose from. Any baby wearing a hat that features ears, dino scales, pigtails, puffballs or mohawks looks adorable and most importantly, keeps their bald little head warm through wind, rain or snow.

Our best advice it to just give us a call or drop us an email. We've got lots of baby experience and would love to help you!

Top 10 Winter Essentials

When coming up with our list of essentials items for babies, toddlers and kids, we first look to what adults are wearing. Manufacturers are making kids outerwear as technology rich as what is available for adults. They are breathable, wickable, water resistant, insulated & lightweight. A lot of new parents struggle with the last one – lightweight – the most. A major mistake can be over-bundling your child. The first rule, is to think of what you would be comfortable wearing, and apply that to your baby or child. Also consider length of time your child will be outside and activity level. Riding in a stroller will require more layers – maybe a blanket - than hiking up a hill to sled.

1. Balaclava: Balaclavas provide the best protection for babies head, cheeks, ears and neck.
Just think of what those cute cheeks deserve. Reima makes our favorite wool balaclavas.

2. Mittens: We prefer mittens to gloves for the simple reason that all the fingers can work together in a mitten to stay warm. The mittens from Molehill Mountain feature a long enough wrist gaiter to go over the coat and keep snow and cold out. If your child insists on a glove, look for ones with a zippered pocket for a hand warmer like those from Spyder.

3. Socks: Invest in a pair of merino wool socks from Smartwool. Cotton does not insulate, wick, or dry easily. Smartwool socks go all the way down to a size 6 month and work great as indoor booties as well.

4. Baselayers: Cotton shirts are not a base layer. They hold onto moisture from sweat or melted snow. Merino wool or capilene provides an insulating layer that keeps skin dry. Icebreaker and Patagonia bother offer great base layers for babies and children.

5. Down insulator: We love down for keeping babies and kids warm. A down insulator provides the warmth of a heavy sweatshirt without the bulk. The new high –tech down is also capable of functioning even after it gets wet. It can be worn on its own, or as a mid layer under a jacket on a really cold day. Many thin layers are better than one thick one - the air between layers traps extra warmth and you can regulate your temperature better throughout the day by adjusting your layers.

6. Hat: A hat is essential to keeping body heat from escaping, as well as shedding snow and rain. We look for hats that pull down far enough to cover the ears. Chin ties help keep hats on infant and toddlers heads.

7. Boots: Of course it’s important to find boots that are well insulated and keep babies feet warm, but there are a few other things to look for in a good winter boot. Good traction is important in locations with ice and snow. A boot that is easy to pull on and off will make your life much easier in the 10 step process to getting your child ready for the great outdoors. We love boots by Reima that are insulated and feature a Velcro closure – easy to get on or off even with thick mittens on.

8. Insulated Jacket: To protect kids from the elements, a windproof and water resistant jacket is essential over their layers. Depending on activity level, look for jackets with 120-160 grams of insulation. Obermeyer kids outerwear comes in at the warmest with most jackets providing 200 grams of insulation.

9. Safety Gear: Helmets are essential. Children fall just trying to stand up on skis. A head injury when they are just beginning to form their opinions about participating in a new sport does not go over well. Goggles are another must. They help keep faces warm and improve visibility. Also, apply sunscreen even on cloudy days, as the sun's rays can be extra-intense against the snow.

10. Fun Outerwear: At Montkid.com, we believe in the power of fun and fashion to help build skills and excitement. This is the time when kids can get away with head-to-toe pink or a fierce Mohawk hat. My girls skiing ability improved exponentially the year one wore pink zebra and the other wore black zebra because they were so excited to put on their ski gear.

What's the Warmest Kids Outerwear?

We spent the morning researching the various brands of children's outerwear we carry at montkid.com to determine what we'll recommend when customers email or call us. Since we recommend all brands we carry for certain situations, we'll focus on the question we get the most: What brand of children's outerwear is the warmest? The best way to answer this question is to look at how many grams of insulation an item of children's outerwear has.

Children's Obermeyer
The top rated brand of children's outerwear for warmth is Obermeyer. The warmest kids winter coat for the season is the Girls Posey Jacket at 240 grams and the Boys Sport Jacket also at 240 grams. Both of these jackets are under $100 which is an incredible deal! Most of the other Obermeyer Kids Jackets are roughly 220-240 grams. Obermeyer Kids Snowpants are roughly 100 grams which seems to be the industry average. When we move up into the larger sizes of Children's Obermeyer Jackets (6-18) the insulation drops down to 140 grams.

Children's Patagonia
Patagonia ties for the top spot in our review of warm children's outerwear (Obermeyer gets a tiny edge in terms of number of choices, but we're not allowed to talk about style choices in this article). Patagonia's excellent construction, quality use of materials and strong environmental messages appeal to bajillions of parents. The Puff Rider Jacket features 200 grams of insulation plus a durable water repellent finish to keep them dry when the skies unload.
The good news here, is that this jacket, with all of it's warmth, is available from size 3 months to 14 years! Patagonia edges out Obermeyer in the snow pant department. The Puff Rider Pant features that same 200 grams of insulation but are only available in size 3 months to 3 years old. After that, the kids have to tough it out in the 100 gram Snow Bum Pant.

Children's Spyder
Rounding out our group of brands at the top is Spyder. Spyder's Mini and Bitsy kids jackets in sizes 2-7 feature 160 grams of insulation. The Spyder Girls and Boys Jackets are at 140 grams. Spyder's kids snowpants are between 60 and 80 grams. The warmest little girls and toddler coat from Spyder is the Noatak Down Jacket with 600 fill power goose down. Even though the Noatak is a kids down jacket, it has a water repellent finish.

Reima, Deux Par Deux & Bogner
Of course, we also love Reima for the babies with about 140 grams of insulation in their one piece snowsuits and sets. Deux Par Deux is extremely warm, but doesn't list grams of insulation so we couldn't compare them. Just based on the number of years we've been in the business and our uncanny ability to judge insulation based on touch, we're guessing they have about 140-160 grams for their snowsuits and sets. Bogner is another brand that we love, but does not list their grams of insulation. I think they think they are above such a thing because when we ask, they roll their eyes at us and tell us their outerwear is made of the finest quality materials in the world. The down from the underbelly of the Eider Duck (superior to the goose)! We agree it is awesome. Eiderdown tests at approximately 700 fill power so that's all we can really say about that.

Children's Columbia
Winter wouldn't be winter without a mention of Columbia. Columbia is a wonderful value brand. And warm, too - we think! Columbia is another brand that does not list insulation in grams. It varies piece by piece but we believe it has roughly 100 - 120 grams of insulation. Perfect for most climates -especially toddlers or babies who are not exposed for hours and hours. We especially like their sets, like the Arctic Andrea and the Whoosh.

Did you make it through all that? Has the wave of cold weather hit your area yet? Let's try another private sale. Enter coupon code: warm at checkout for 25% off all regular priced merchandise. Sale runs through November 20th. At which point, we will probably kick off our very public annual Thanksgiving sale (same discount). So, we're giving you the chance to shop early and get the best selection.

Farewell to Reima

Reima was founded in 1944 in Kankaanpää Finland. Reima is the Nordic region’s leading manufacturer of children’s clothes. They have been a personal favorite at Montkid.com for several years. Reima's development of it's Reimatec™ product family was a breakthrough for babies, toddler and children's outerwear that protects in all weather conditions.
All Reima garments are made of waterproof, windproof and breathable Reimatec™ material. Reimatec™ shoes – with the same qualities – protect feet against the wet and cold.

Some of our favorites and best sellers have been the Fivel one piece snowsuit for infants. The Liro one piece snowsuit for toddlers and the Reima Footwear such as the Frozen Flower and Panda. The single item that is always on our list of winter essentials, however, is the Reima Balaclava. Made from a super soft wool, the balaclavas protect those super soft, super kissable cheeks!

Sadly, Reima will no longer be distributing to the US market. Montkid.com bought up the remainder of inventory available for the season, but it won't last long. And once it's gone, it really, truly is gone.

So, we find ourselves on the hunt for a replacement brand. Something that is of equal quality and style. If anyone has any suggestions, let us know!