Toy-land, meets book-land, meets card-land, meets magazine-land meets chocolate-and-sweets-land. On…read moreany visit to the Abbeycentre, my husband and I always gravitate to this shop, me for the magazines and large choice of books and novels, him for, you guessed it - the sweeties. Lord, does he have a sweet tooth. Stewart Millar offers many kinds of deals and offers on well known brands of sweets and chocolate, so cheap sometimes that I have to look at the expiry date to check that it's all above board - and their books are good value too, in particular their lifestyle books and recipe book selection. There is always plenty of staff on the tills (it is a busy shop!) and you never have to wait long in the queue for the till. I would imagine for parents its quite a good place to buy games and toys also.

Sweetie Miller may be a bookshop / newsagents (that bears an uncanny resemblance to another local…read morebookshop / newsagents), but as far as I'm concerned, it's all about the sweets and chocolate...baby. I think it's physically impossible to come out of this shop empty handed. It's certainly that way for me. Having gone in with the notion to buy a box of chocolates for a friend, I came out with a box of chocolates, three bags of Werther's Original Chocolates (my Cheepers' review explains all) and five Curly Wurly's. [Guess who Mr Dentist is going to absolutely love next month?] I couldn't resist. The Werther's Originals were only 99p, and the Curly Wurly's were unbeatable value at not one, not two, or even three, or indeed four...but FIVE for 89p. Yes, this excited me greatly. And it should excite you too. As well as the bargainous sweetie section, Sweetie Miller also stocks stationery, books, cards, magazines and all that sort of jazz. And they're all cheap as can be (except the magazines...they're just average price, but hey, we can't have it all, eh?). Now, where did my Curly Wurly go? (Apologies in advance Mr Dentist...)

This shop is in Bow Street Mall and always seems busy. I guess it can be best described as a…read morenewsagent. They carry a large variety of sweets, mainly boxes of chocolates and packs of chocolate bars and maybe just a bit cheaper in price than other shops in town. So especially good to pop into at Christmas time. The other section of the shop that interests me most is the book section. They have an alright range of books, and you can certainly find something interesting at a very good price. The only downside I can think of is can be quite awkward to move around the sweet displays near the front the of the shop when there are a lot of people about.

I have never left Stewart Millers empty handed. I'm not kiddin', honestly. It's like some kind of…read moremagnetic force which leaves me completely helpless and powerless, removing all inhibitions and barriers which prevent me from purchasing extreme numbers of goods from this fave store of mine. Or maybe that's just me shopping normally... Anyhow, Stewart Miller is a bargainous store which is primarily a newsagent and confectioners, but is also a bookshop, cardshop and toyshop. I've found books for peanuts, excellent sweetie deals, and, when I was younger, it was my first stop for TY Beanie Babies (remember those?! I still have an absolute ton of them stashed away in my wardrobe...couldn't bear [excuse the pun] to part with them quite yet). The Holywood store is undoubtedly my favourite. The toy section is huge, and they are genuinely well-priced (not always super cheap), top-quality playthings. The card section is extremely well-stocked, with a huge variety to choose from, and at reasonable prices. The book section is my favourite - I've gotten presents for my mum and dad for next to nothing, and even picked up a football book for £1.99 from £12.99 today, and I've found travel books for a fiver. Oooh, its a good 'un.

I'm lovin it. This gem on the Holywood main street has some of my favourite everyday treats -…read moreglossy mags, cold drinks and chick lit style books at very good prices. It also keeps the kids very happy as it has the best selection of football trading cards I've ever come across. My favourite thing about Stewart Millar is the magazine and comic selection. One whole wall of the front section is given over to mags and comics which means that I can happily browse Marie Claire and 25 Beautiful Homes and the kids can look at the Beano (yes it still exists) and Shoot! before making our choices. And there are none of those shouty 'This is not a library' signs either. At the back of the shop are the toys - good selection of lego- and books. The books are worth a particular mention as the prices are great. Some of the not quite latest releases can be snaffled at Tesco-esque prices which certainly floats my boat. There's a good selection of kids books too, especially quite unusual activity and pop up books which are always good for Christmas presents. All I need to do now is stop accidentally calling it Stuart Little which makes the kids fall about laughing every time as Stuart Little is of course a talking mouse. It's happened, I've become an Embarrassing Mum.

This independent toy retailer has 2 outlets in Belfast and is the stuff of every child's dream…read more They're called super stores for a reason - they are vast spaces filled with everything a boy or girl from babyhood to teens could possibly want. And probably quite a lot of stuff they don't even know they want until they see it. You name it and you'll find it in Smyths - electronics and games consoles, educational toys like jigsaws, lego, dolls, playhouses and kitchens, guns, dressing up costumes, cars, Barbie and rows and rows of soft toy animals looking for a home with big sad eyes. My favourite aisle is the one filled with board games. All the old favourites and the new inventions are there. Really traditional games like Cluedo, Monopoly and Charades, all of which we own and enjoy. Newer games like Deal or No Deal (complete with Noel Edmund's voice on the phone), Hullaballoo and Don't Wake Dad have all been bought in Smyths recently and are all good fun for a family night in. Smyths staff are knowledgeable and helpful, even when things are manic at Christmas. You could believe they feel your pain when you just cannot get your hands on a lego police station or Nintendo Wii. There is a good online reservation system which promises you a £7 voucher if your item has gone by the time you get to the store as they don't actually set it aside for you. Clever idea.

I love smyths toy store, they sell everything from balloons to baby feeding kit and skateboards…read morethere is a lot on sale here. Our toddler loves in here its also great that they have some toys out of the packaging for you to try before you buy. There is a good baby section that sell prams, baby toys, cots, toddler beds and lots more. We got a car seat from here and a few buggies from here too and we were allowed to try them out before we bought them, staff were very helpful and friendly. Video game consoles also on sale and bikes, skateboards etc. We bought our toddler a electric powered mini from here we ordered it online from their website which is very good as you can pick and choose a store to collect your item in and the website lets you know which store your items are in stock in. Collecting the item was easy as the item was brought to us quickly, good service. Smyths also have a good children's outdoor toy section, pools, trampolines, swing sets etc. The children's birthday party equipment section is good , lots of invitations, balloons, pinatas, party bags and lots more to choose from , great when your trying to organise a birthday party. Great big store with plenty of selection, trolley bay outside and lots of free parking.

I really like The Works, you can pick up all sorts of interesting books here for a bargain price,…read morethey are arranged out by category like they would in a library, children's section, thriller, local history, cookery, reference books etc. They also stock a wide range of craft goods, such as easels, all types of paint and paintbrushes, scrapbooks, stickers, wool, needles, you name it! The Works is a good shop for giftware too, for example if you have secret Santa, there are loads of fun items, themes such as Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Hello Kitty, and more. This is actually one of the nicer The Works stores I've been in, it's not too crammed as some others are, and is easy to navigate without knocking things over!

This is a great wee shop inside connswater shopping centre. There are a vast selection of books…read morethere are every book you can imagine in this shop, I like the cookbooks as I like to bake at home , most of my cookbooks are from here and theres lots to choose from and the prices are decent too. The works also sell children's books and children's toys and sweeties at the till. Theres a small craft selection which has a good selection of boxes ec to keep your crafting supplies in. If your an artist theres a brilliant selection of canvas's and paints and brushes even charcoals and pastels. Theres a great selection here for anyone into painting. Also a selection of DVDs, calendars and diarys. Theres gift sets and gadgets in store. Shop is always crammed and well filled with stock!

Oh. My. Word. I think I'm in love. No, I KNOW I'm in love....with this extra-fabulous shop. Sigh…read more Trade Winds is quite possibly my favourite ever gift shop. It stocks such a wide range of, well, everything really, that you'd never be tired looking. It was pretty busy when I went in yesterday, with mainly young girls eyeing up all the beautiful gifts / toys / accessories / jewellery, and their mums keeping a careful watch over them. Amongst the wide variety of stock were gift bags, cards, candles, novelty toys and games, funky clocks, wall-hangings, beaded curtains, bags...and so much more. I discovered the cutest little wooden cat light pull for £3 some odds, and immediately knew I had to buy it. Nothing to do with the fact that it was incredibly sweet and lovely, and everything to do with the fact that my mum had smashed the previous one off the bathroom wall, causing it to break into a thousand pieces. Indeed. Staff were exceptionally pleasant, but kept a business like atmosphere about the place. That sounds like a bad thing, but I guarantee is really wasn't...it was an incredibly well run shop. All I need now is an excuse to go back. Mmmm, when is the next birthday I have to buy for...?

Well what a wonderful wee shop, highly attractive both outside and in. I could have spent hours in…read morethis delightful wonderland looking at all their pretty pieces of pleasantry. What captivated me most were the gorgeous jewellery boxes, sweet note pads / writing books (teeny tiny small ones to super big ones) and amazing mirrors (even one whose frame was made from vines of trees.) All the items were being sold for very reasonable prices. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how cheap most of it was. Maybe that's what a day shopping on the Lisburn road does to you though! I'll definitely be back in here when I've (a) more time and (b) more money. The staff were pleasantly talkative and left us to our own devices after greeting us, not in your face nosy or shyly secretive, just a nice in between. A superb shop selling some splendid stock!

I am not really too sure about buying toys from the Early learning centre, I obviously do not buy…read morethe toys for myself but I have nieces' and nephews and they seem to have birthdays all the time so I am in and out of here a lot and I never tend to buy their gifts from the Early Learning Centre. My main complaint is that it is a bit samey and if you buy a present from here you can almost guarantee that your niece/nephew will already have the toy or someone else will have bought them it for their birthday/Christmas. So basically what im trying to say is that there is no individuality in the Early learning Centre but I suppose that is how big chain stores work. I have always found the staff to be very helpful in ELC and I remember one time I searched invain to find a particular engine from Thomas the Tank Engine for my nephew and the girl in ELC really went the extra mile but failed in the search. But that was not her fault, she was probably just trying to spend as much time as possible with an adult before being dragged back to toys by screaming kids.

As the other reviewer has said in his review, this is a place that I do not visit on a particularly…read moreregular basis. I don't have any kids, nor do I want any in the near future. In fact, I kinda feel a little bit sorry for anyone who is my age and has kids but thats just my opinion on the matter, but anyhow back to the old Early Learning Centre. However, I have been in here on a few occassions and found it to be an average and completely inoffensive shopping experience. The staff are dead on enough and the prices are ok for what you get, although it all seems ok to me because I don't really know anything about it. Not bad, I guess.

Oh wow. This is the kind of shop where your Mum says "Don't touch ANYTHING" (and mine probably…read morestill would given half the chance), and you're consistently pretrified of knocking into stands or attempting to pick up an ornament only for it to fall and break. And yes, I have been there and done that (not in this shop though, thank heavens). Mortification x 100. The walls are absolutely brimming with a huge array of gifts. The mind boggles at such variety, and in fact, I can't even remember what all was in Little Heart, but I think that's the beauty of it. I was in sheer awe and how much choice there was in such a teeny shop, but you literally have everything from goregous jewellery to fragrant candles to beautiful bags and accessories. I'm definitely popping back in for my sister's birthday, having heard the continous demands of "I want this" and "Oh, look at that", or indeed a simple "Oh my word!". Do pay a visit to this snug little shop, tucked away in Queen's Arcade. It truly is a hidden treasure.

Little Heart is a lovely little boutique shop in Queen's Arcade. It's great for birthday /…read moreChristmas / special occasion presents for any ladies in your life (I'm presuming most men wouldn't be too keen on most of the items in here, but I won't rule it out!) they sell a lovely range of jewellery, knick knacks, purses, teddies, note books, writing sets and so on. They also have a great range of kids toys and items. As mentioned previously, they sell the Pilgrim range (sometimes at great discount) and my personal favourites from the shop are the Sesame Street teddies, and the amazing new range of home ware which includes notepads with '1980s style laptop' written on them or coasters with 'elbows here' or 'protect the table!' etc. It totally appeals to my sense of humour. Take a wee peek in to this lovely little Aladdin's cave.