The eternal quest of a parent in a cold climate is finding reasonably priced winter clothing for kids. Late winter/early spring, e.g. right freakin' now, is the time to score the deals. The Gearflogger household was lucky enough to score the Marmot Boys Guides Down Hoody on sale at REI.
A tortured name for a down parka, the MBGDH brings big-boy features and construction down to scale. 700 fill down is treated with Down Defender to provide some water resistance, and large baffles let it loft to trap heat. It features Marmot's angel wing cut for maximum freedom of movement, because you can't keep a good kid confined.
There are two zipped handwarmer pockets with easily manipulated zippers, a full length draft flap up the middle, and a zipper garage at the top to prevent dreaded zipper bite. The hood is a typical awesome Marmot hood, in that when fully zipped up it covers your chinny-chin-chin. It's hard to overstate how nice that is, and how much you miss it in lesser jackets.
Elastic cuffs help keep the little guys mittens on, and parents can adjust the hem drawstring from inside the pockets. The hood is not adjustable, but because it zips up so far that's not an issue. Overall the MBGDH is a great jacket for little kids who venture bravely forth in subfreezing temps. Make sure you look around to find the best deal; we scored it for $69.83 at REI, and even though their website might say it's not in stock we've found things there that they insisted didn't exist, so go in and look.