This is a large mall where the Kmart was located…read more It reminds me of a typical mall, but with larger department stores that cater more to you every day needs. They have a Kmart for clothing and department items, and a Woolworth for grocery shopping, inside the mall! They also had some of the typical mall shops of namebrand clothing, a food court, and downstairs a little convenient store, kiosk, and even a massage parlor! I could've easily stayed here all day and explored for hours on end!

An American mall that we wouldn't have stopped and except we were so hungry I couldn't find…read moreanything opened near the museum. We took the escalator up to the eatery food hall. We had chicken & salad, it was just okay. There were many American chain stores @ some New Zealand as well. It wasn't too busy the week before Christmas.

Oh crikey - we have found the holy grail of cheap and cheerful. This place is packed with…read moreeverything you could ever need when dressing up or getting crafty, and is surprisingly huge. There is a huge range of costumes and accessories, fake flowers, themed-decorations, crafts, and more and more and more. Around the time of office Christmas parties and St Patricks Day, the place is packed. And they order in more stuff depending on the celebration. There is a very entertaining R18 section for funny presents, or just actual stuff. But it;s not just silly stuff, head down the back and you'll find kitchen utensils, rubbish bins, frames, cleaning products, bathroom stuff, hangers and all the rest of that kind of stuff for super cheap. It's actually not a bad idea to see what you can find.

This place is Mecca for costumes and silly novelty items. It's a one stop shop for all your fun and…read morefrivolity needs: dress up parties, St Patrick's Day, sporting events, or just silly gifts. If you want it, Look Sharp probably has it, and you'll probably only pay ten bucks. I've accumulated a small collection of awesomeness from Look Sharp, including costumes, canes, hats, wigs and flags. I have also made extensive use of their wonderfully inappropriate R18 section for Secret Santa gifts - hilarity and awkwardness ensued. In short, any occasion is better if preceded by a visit to Look Sharp.

This place is the ultimate store to buy presents for women who have homes. If you are having…read moretrouble finding a good gift, and the future recipient is a women with a home, then head on down to the Homestore my friend. You can literally walk through this store with your eyes closed, pick up something at random, and you have like ninety percent chance of it being a good gift for a women with a home. They stock things which are practical, but also very gifty. There are a lot of things in this shop which people would love to have but probably would never buy for themselves - perfect gift material. After browsing this store for 5 min you will walk out with a gift that is deceivingly thoughtful seeming.

We considered doing a gift registry here for our wedding. We went into the store and an English guy…read moretold us that we would have to wait and see their wedding consultant who would not be here for a couple of hours. We asked him could we not just browse and do it ourselves but he didn't seem to want that. I must say there are some beautiful things for the home in this store - it's a very discerning choice of stock. It's pretty pricey so which is why we did not do our gift registry here in the end. Like I've said some beautiful stuff that would look great in your home but perhaps those getting married might want to look elsewhere - unless of course their guests are rolling in money!

This is a great little store, a hidden gem on Melrose Street which is behind the large BP on Khyber…read morePass Road in Newmarket. Shop at Charles have a great collection of wonderful things for your home that you would not really find elsewhere. There is a lot more of a range than what you will find on the website so don't go by that as an indication of what's in store. I suspect this is due to their small size and that they buy in small quantities of product so often it is not worth putting it online as it would sell in store quickly. This is the kind of store that is perfect to buy gifts for those who are homely and appreciate nice things, one I come to for the odd thing for myself or to buy for my mum. Take a look for yourself. You'll find things you didn't even know you needed!

We are keen bakers in our house & Shop at Charles are definitely the go-to store for kitchen…read morecookware and bakeware treats & treasures. Quality and knowledge are obviously key to their philosophy. Staff are really friendly & helpful. If they don't have what you want (not often) they are more than happy to procure it or suggest where to look. Their website is easy to navigate too. AND they are next door to the gorgeous Little & Friday cafe!

This is a fruit and vegetable and Asian grocery store. It is big and the prices are usually pretty…read morecompetitive too. They sell a lot of more tropical fruits that the supermarkets do not, due largely to the fact that a large proportion of the Asian population shop here and these more unusual fruits are what they know and love. This therefore makes getting your fruit and vegetables more exciting. They also seem to have extremely large kumara here, absolutely huge. That aside, great store. They also stock Asian grocery items like noodles, miso, cookies, drinks, dried fruits, crackers and so on. Other things like Swiss chocolate, honey, Danny's pita bread, coconut butter and fortune cookies can be found here too. The staff are really polite, the quality of the produce is good and so are the prices. There is lots of parking on site too which is great because parking in Newmarket can be a bit of a hassle so if you're passing through give it a go.

This is a great Asian grocery shop, stocking a good range of fresh produce, and a lot of grocery…read moreitems. They also have a small, very reasonably priced meat section! I've taken to shopping here over Countdown for all my fresh fruit and veg - the prices are much better, and everything tastes great. Yesterday I bought apples almost as big as my head! I also buy stuff like coconut cream, curry pastes, canned vegetables and other stuff from here at good prices, and they have some drink fridges in the back with a weird and wonderful range of different Asian drinks. The staff here are always friendly and efficient, and the store itself is clean and well stocked.

Japan Mart has multiple locations in Auckland. We were passing by and I decided to go in hoping to…read morefind a cheap umbrella. Luckily, we were able to buy one here. There is also a large selection of Japanese products- food and household goods.

Not all Japan Marts are the same, I found this one stocks different products to the one in…read moreAuckland's CBD, they are worth checking out, it isn't just 12kg bags of rice. This one has way more candy, a huge cracker range, rice crackers, seaweed crackers, prawn crackers, you get the gist. You can pick up all the usual, rice, the soy sauce range is impressive and there is a lot of tofu, miso and noodles. You can even buy massive bags of those little fish shaped soy sauce capsules that come with your take out sushi.

'Nest' is an urban, chic, contemporary brand that oozes style. If you haven't ventured to 'Nest'…read moreyet - go now! They offer (Winter) wool 'moss' (dark grey/light grey/indigo) blankets for $299, charcoal/duckegg/seafoam linen sheeting and duvet covers from $59 (pillowcases)... Stunning. I adore the marble enamelware in grey that is both practical and stylish. There is a bargain table of discontinued product (by the entrance) which is worth looking at... From $6 for duck egg facecloths and other essentials. You are left to your own devices to browse and do as you please. It would have been an exceptional experience if the staff interacted with me about the product! Maybe next time?

I was going to go to the Newmarket store for a few things, but I was told this one had a larger…read moredisplay of stock. It's in a warehouse, not a storefront, with easy parking outside. Brimming with beautiful bed linen, home decor and tableware, I was easily able to make my choices. Must bring my daughter here, there's loads of things that would appeal to both of us. Love the blush pillow, copper baskets, wooden hooks and the classic white risotto bowls for only $8. Great city find.

Bendon is a place I go when I'm feeling like I want to buy something. They sell underwear, and one…read morecan really never have too much underwear, so you feel okay about spending money there. It's practical. Or something. Bendon stocks a bunch of brands as well as Bendon itself - Elle Macpherson, Stella McCartney, etc. You're not going to really be able to buy cheap lingerie there, but you will be able to buy nice lingerie. That Stella stuff is actually amazing. There's always a dude or two sitting in the corner trying to melt into the wall near the changing rooms. He's that boyfriend that's been dragged into the store. They do sell men's underwear but I don't think men seem to care about going to specialty lingerie shops to get it so they always look awkward. Just saying.

I am all about independent bookstores these days and this one is an absolute gem! Doris, who owns…read morethe store is kind, knowledgable and most importantly passionate about books. When I last went in they didn't have the book I was after (City of Thieves by David Benioff - if you haven't already, you should read it - it's fantastic!) but were happy to order it in. They are also happy to host other people's book clubs after-hours complete with wine and sweet treats for FREE, which I think is pretty cool! Doris goes through some of the new and interesting books they have in-store and then you share with you B.C comrades what you have been reading of late. Book swaps are also allowed! I think it's important that we support small independant stores like this and am happy to make the extra trip over the bridge to do so!

I'm into a lot of historical books, so this book store isn't one of my favourites. However, I do…read moreadmire all independent bookshops like this one that still operate, especially when it's so easy to get stuff online. This bookshop in particular has a great selection of cookbooks and children's books, which means it's perfect for gifts. They seem to keep pretty up to date with all the latest new releases, and they can also order something in for you if they don't have it in stock. One of the bonuses of coming to a bookstore like this one is that you get good service and advice from the person who knows a lot about the products that she sells. Definitely ask if you are stuck for gift ideas.