This year, as you’re making your list and checking it twice, we want to encourage you to THINK LOCAL.
Our 10 ideas include gift items and experiences from some of our favorite local businesses – and many are offering promotions JUST for Milwaukee Mom readers.
We know there are so many options when doing your holiday shopping – but if you want to keep your dollars local to Wisconsin, these make a great start!
Mouse Magic Travel, LLC
Mouse Magic Travel, LLC plans amazing vacations for families and couples looking for their next getaway. Our friendly travel planners specialize in theme park destinations, major cruise lines, all-inclusive resorts, and more. Best of all, our travel planning services are complimentary when you book your vacation package with us! Your Mouse Magic Travel planner will uncover additional ways to save if you are on a budget, or find special upgrades if you are seeking a premier vacation experience. This holiday season give the gift of family travel and make memories to last a lifetime!
Wilderness Resort
This holiday season give the gift of quality family time with a vacation to Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells! We have 4 indoor and 4 outdoor waterparks totaling more than 12 football fields of water fun! Plus, we have Aquavia Lumina Enchanted Night Walk, Take Flight Aerial Adventure, indoor go-karts, indoor mini golf, 3 mega arcades, laser tag, an indoor ropes course, Timberland Playhouse, paint your own pottery and more!
Edvest 529
Edvest 529 is Wisconsin’s College Savings Program that offers a flexible way to save for higher education and provides triple tax advantages. It takes just $25 and 15 minutes to open an Edvest 529 account, and funds saved can be used at colleges, technical schools and graduate schools nationwide and many abroad. In addition to tuition, funds may be used for certain room and board expenses, books, supplies or other qualified expenses.
Satara Home and Baby
Satara Home & Baby offers a beautiful selection of organic and natural products with an emphasis on products that promote healthy sleep. Our organic bedding and mattresses are crafted with organic cotton, pure wool and natural latex to minimize your exposure to toxic chemicals.
We partner with reputable mattress makers, such as Savvy Rest, Suite Sleep and Naturepedic, to bring you safe, natural alternatives to conventional mattresses and bedding. And because infants are most susceptible to the negative effects of chemicals, we offer an expanded line of natural and organic baby products.
Betty Brinn Children's Museum
For a magical gift this holiday season, turn to the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum! Where imagination comes to play and wonder-filled memories are made each day. Give the gift of a Museum membership and make the magic of the season last all year long. Annual memberships start at just $145 and include a year of unlimited play, discounts on parking and special events, plus other exclusive benefits!
Baby Jack & Company
A small Wisconsin business offering educational tag toys with sensory appeal, helping with the development of babies and toddlers. The ONLY brand with sewn shut ribbons to keep fingers from getting stuck in loops. Fun fabrics designed by kids, for kids – to teach about shapes, colors, letters and even state facts! Check out our TOP SELLING Wisconsin State Crinkle Tag Toy that is perfect for exploring and travel!
Linen & Clove
Linen & Clove is an interior design studio (serving clients nationally) and brick-and-mortar home decor shop in Verona, WI. We offer residential and commercial design, from new home builds and remodels to décor refreshes, working directly with our expert team for a personalized result. Our Verona shop features all things home decor- furniture, rugs, lamps, artwork, home accessories, kitchen & tabletop, seasonal décor, and modern accents—all thoughtfully curated. Visit us at 606 West Verona Avenue, Verona, WI, or shop online at linenandclove.com.
Fred Astaire Dance Studios Milwaukee
We specialize in teaching ballroom dancing to adults. Our goal is to enrich the lives of everyone who walks through our door. Ballroom dancing is that perfect combination of physical activity, social interaction, and mental stimulation, it can bring so much to your life – and it’s FUN!!
Milwaukee Public Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum is Wisconsin’s natural history museum, welcoming over half a million visitors annually. MPM has three floors of exhibits that encompass life-size dioramas, walk-through villages, world cultures, dinosaurs, a rainforest, and a live butterfly garden, as well as the Daniel M. Soref Dome Theater and Planetarium.
Membership is the PERFECT gift. Enjoy memorable experiences and big adventures with free admission and exclusive benefits. Don’t miss out on nostalgia in 2026 during our final year in our Wells Street building! A gift membership allows us to continue to care for our priceless collections, do research, and provide educational programs for our community.
Superior Equipment Supply
Great Tools Make Great Food
Superior’s Chef Marketplace is the premiere destination for restaurant quality cooking & entertaining essentials. Superior’s Chefs Store is open to the public. Visit us, and you will find everything you need to create your own chef’s kitchen, from corkscrews to butcher blocks to professional quality cookware, equipment, and smallware’s all at wholesale prices
KUL MOCKS Craft Mocktails
Award-winning mocktails for people with sh*t to do. Started by a pregnant mom in the Midwest, KUL MOCKS Craft Mocktails are made with coconut water (you’re welcome) and nothing artificial. With only 3g of sugar and 20–25 calories per can, these dietitian-created, woman-owned mocktails let you flex-drink, host, or take the night off—no FOMO required.
Raise a glass that fits every vibe on your invite list—because the best holiday memories don’t need booze to sparkle.
Looking forward to exploring and supporting these local shops (online) for Christmas gifts this year! Covered Bridge Crafts will be our first “stop” to explore. 🙂
I’d love shirts from Brew City Brand or Raising Good- so fun!
Thanks, love the list, will be getting goldfish swim school for my daughter, and want to check out Brewers organics and Locally made — don’t see some of the Tosa small businesses on list, but plan to shop a couple of those as well!
Shopping local is so important right now! What a great resource of local shops and resources! Can’t wait to add a few of these to my shopping list! (Like a new sweatshirt from Raising Good and a pretzel from Milwaukee Pretzel Company)!
Hard to choose but I would say the garden and grow as a gift for my mom.
I love the Children’s Museum; so fun!
Goldfish swim giftcard for my 2 year old! But bundle #1 has way to many options to pick from!! Such amazing local options!
Through this guide I learned about Kul Mocks, which will be the perfect gift for a close friend who’s expecting her first baby. Also looking forward to checking out Onesie Twozie for my 9 month olds Christmas gifts!
I love hearing about all these local businesses! It makes me so proud to live in Milwaukee for the last six years since I moved from California. I found gifts for everyone that I need – from my friends out of state, to my family hear in Milwaukee, and definitely more gifts that I want for myself in the near future. From prints, to classes, plants, oils, candles…I cannot stop shopping.
So many great options. Going to pick up some wonderboxes!