After doing them for five years in a row, last year I took a break from sharing gift guides. It takes a good amount of time to prep and post them, and if I wasn’t all-in, I wasn’t interested in throwing up a few J. Crew links and calling it a day. (Though let’s be real, most people I know would love a gift from J. Crew! :))

That means I have an overflow of ideas stored up, and I’m excited to share a few this week! One of my favorite parts of gifting is getting to support independent brands, and to share them with my loved ones. Today, I’ve rounded up 14 gift ideas from Etsy shops and small businesses, all perfect for the sweet, stylish kiddos and parents in my (and your!) life. Several of them we already own, several of them I’m planning to gift this year, and several June and I would love to receive! All the details are below…

Tiny Dancer tee | Soft, snuggly, and perfect for the baby of this former-ballerina.
Poppy bow set | These are our favorite mini bow headbands! My June has the two solid pinks shown here.
Teepee | NOT CHEAP. However, the detailing is incredible (pom poms! swiss dot!), and I think this is a plaything the whole family could love for a long time.
Great Day plate | I love gifts that are experiences, and these plates by my friend Emily Ley are a perfect compromise – they offer something fun to wrap, as well as the promise of lots of sweet “great day” memories for years to come!
Pearl the Mermaid | With the sale of each Cuddle + Kind doll, 10 meals are provided to kiddos around the world. Plus, they’re adorable!
Soft bib set | A comfy and stylish solution for teething drool. Yes, I just used the word drool in a gift guide :)
Buffalo check bow | The bows from this line come in the best patterns (including Rifle Paper Co!!), and the oversized scale is aww-inducing.
Knot headbands | One more bow favorite! We loved these thick, soft headbands when June didn’t have much hair, and I know they’ll be back in the rotation once she has enough for a ponytail! :)
Patterned crib sheets | It was nearly impossible to stop at just three patterns (peach, flamingo, floral) – this shop has dozens of them, and they’re all gorgeous! I’m partial to the crib sheets, but they also sell swaddles and pillow covers.
Buffalo check bell sleeve dress | This is way more than I usually spend on baby clothes, but for photos or a special occasion, I love this stylish shop! Give me all the buffalo check, please.
Bunny-print bin | Again, so hard to choose just one Pehr pattern to share. These soft bins are perfect for nursery storage!
Felt pennant | I love the old-school styling and Southern flair of these pennants.
Classic silhouette | We had June’s silhouette made locally this year, and I think it would make such a sweet gift! Try A Family Print Shop, Heart Paper Scissors, or an artist in your community.
Simple pushwagon | This is a toy that would have totally captivated me as a kiddo. I hope my girl feels the same way, because I’m pretty sure it’s in her future! :)

I’m sure it goes without saying, but if you’re thinking of purchasing from any of these shops, hold tight until Black Friday! I’m almost certain they will all be running sales.

Any other favorite kid brands I should know about? I have lots of nieces and nephews to shop for this year!

Like so many lovely and marvelous things, I was introduced to Farmhouse Pottery via my friend Meredith – and immediately put one of their pieces on my wish list. Their elegant, rustic pottery is deceptively simple, but instantly recognizable. (I think it’s that unglazed bottom!)

I’m not even sure if they knew about my wish list, but when my in-laws visited Farmhouse’s workshop and store in Woodstock, Vermont a few months ago, they came home with a beehive crock for me! I probably looked like the heart-eyes emoji when I unwrapped the box :) It’s been the most beautiful spot for cut flowers, like the prettiest leftovers from the V9 launch party, above.

Fingers crossed I’ll get to visit their workshop myself some day, but in the meantime, I’ll follow along with their GORGEOUS (but also real-feeling) Instagram feed and add more pottery to my Christmas list! Starting with this and this :)

Any marvelous discoveries y’all have made lately?

Updated: Kate is our winner and has been emailed! Thank y’all so much for participating! :)

I’m sure I’ve mentioned here before that I have a strict moratorium on almost all things Christmas before Thanksgiving. There are two exceptions. First, I will shop for Christmas gifts early (can’t miss out on Black Friday!). And second, I always make sure our Christmas cards are ordered before Thanksgiving. And our cards always come from Minted! Want to help me choose which one we’ll send this year?

1. Charming Gingham | 2. His Wondrous Love | 3. Joy to the World the Love is Come | 4. Angels Sing | 5. Bright New Life

It’s killing me, because they are SO CUTE, but we will likely be using a photo from our upcoming session with Nancy, not our newborn photos with Graham, for our card. I’m sure the new photos will be cute, too, but BABY JUNE!! Killing me.

Speaking of killing it, Minted’s card designs are as delightful as ever. This year, I was really drawn to all the Christmas carol designs, including this one, this one, this one, and this one in addition to the ones above. The great thing is that with their sophisticated design software, you can easily adjust your photo as well as the placement of text elements, fonts, colors, and sizing. (But, a tip: if you’re taking a photo specifically for your card, try to choose a favorite design before your session, so that you can coordinate your outfits and poses accordingly!) Minted also offers the most darling envelopes, shiny foil designs, free addressing, extra-thick stock, and custom card shapes – whew.

Now for the extra-fun part: I have a $150 Minted gift certificate to give away!! To enter, just comment below with either your favorite option from our Christmas card finalists, or the Minted design you’d most like to order for your family! (Or both!) I’ll randomly choose a winner next Monday! If you’re ready to get started, you can use code CHEER for 15% off orders. (Or just take a peek at their site whenever you’re ready to order – they almost always have a discount code!)

Minted has graciously gifted us our Christmas cards, but I chose to write this post, and the opinions are my own! I have loved everything about Minted — especially their crowd-sourced designs — for many years, and I love sharing what they’re up to with y’all.

November holds so many things for which I’m grateful: a visit to meet my new nephew, a week with my family, a visit from both grandparents at once, family photos with my dear friend, Thanksgiving, the highlight of my work year, and June’s welcome into the church family through baptism. I have lots of fun plans for EFM posts this month, too, including June’s nursery, a Marvelous Money installment, my Triangle guide, and Christmas card plans! :)

P.S. I love using the PowerSheets to track my professional goals (and sometimes personal ones, too). The 2017 version just went on sale yesterday and it is awesome!

Revisiting my goals for October:
Make plans for June’s baptism celebration (Erm, not really. Need to get on this.)
Finalize our family Halloween costume (Yes!)
Host the fourth annual pumpkins and soup party
Take our Christmas card photo (or at least set a date for our session with Nancy)
Post my guide to the Triangle
Finish our will

November goals:
— Vote!
— Make reservations for June’s baptism celebration
— Buy June’s baptism gift
— Choose our outfits for family photos
— Finish our will
— Post my guide to the Triangle
— Begin crafting for June’s birthday party! (Yes. I know it’s not until January. But there are a lot of holidays in between now and then and I want to get a jump on things! :))

As a reminder, here are my 2016 guideposts. If you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see – or just drop them in the comments!

P.S. Any suggestions for sweet, classic baptism gifts? I would like a cross for her room that can be customized with her name and baptism date. Not too baby-ish, but still sweet. I found a few on Etsy, but would love to hear any suggestions, if you have them!