Holiday plaid boy's shirtWith my family spread out around the country, my husband, kids and I often spend the holidays alone, which means I don’t have the greatest excuse to buy my children fancy holiday-best clothes. So instead, I tend to look for festive clothes for the holidays that still work the other 364 days out of the year.

Take the Holiday Plaid Shirt from one of our favorite special occasion boutiques, Velvet and Tweed. The bright red accents in the plaid pattern give a definite holiday-inspired look to this boys’ button-down, but the neutral brown and khaki undertones make this 100% cotton shirt stand out in a sea of bright red and green holiday outfits — and the understated style means my son can continue to wear it throughout the year. Plus, since he’s already a frequent khaki pants wearer, his holiday outfit is complete.

Sure, the Holiday Plaid Shirt costs a bit more than I’d usually spend on my son’s clothes. But considering I’ve easily spent that on dresses for my girls that aren’t as versatile (shhhhh…), I think it’s only fair that he get something extra special for the holidays, too. -Kristen

Visit Velvet and Tweed for a gorgeous selection of special occasion clothes for boys and girls.

Find more great holiday kids’ clothes that your kids can actually wear more than once in the 2009 Cool Mom Picks Holiday Gift Guide.