Besides the fact that it's very dark inside and a bit of a mysterious maze, I quite like Gift…read moreEmotion. I thought despite the gloominess, the wonderfully friendly shop man brightened up the place with his laughter and attitude. While I was finding my way around the ins and outs of the isles, I could hear him having a happy chat to his customers and being extremely helpful. There is pretty much everything you can imagine here. There's toiletry supplies like cotton buds and dress up outfits. Toys and books too. I thought the books were great. They seemed to be great quality reads for kids and they were very affordable. There were also hats and fake flowers and pots and wrapping paper... so much stuff. I think this would be a great option to visit if you were after a kids birthday present! You couldn't go wrong.

Sunnynook is ten minutes from my house and yet I very seldom go there for some reason - it's one of…read morethose little centres where you only really go for the supermarket and everything else is a bonus. Still, the place does have a couple of wee gems, and Gift Emotion fits this category. Imagine a typical $2 shop mixed with Looksharp with a smaller floor area than either, and with an owner that gives a shit. There, you have Gift Emotion! This is a place I like to come for those little kiddie presents where you need something quick and can't splash big bucks but you still want something cute - think toys and books. Also they sell cheap tennis balls which I seem to be constantly purchasing.

I needed to buy some presents before my recent trip to visit a nephew and niece under the age of 14…read moreand Smiggle was the answer to my calls for help. This store has a crazy cool amount of options to choose from for the young and hip kid. I loved that there was a different style and colour for every pencil case, folder, writing book, journal, and money safe. It did make trying to decide on a design quite hard at first, but with help from the really friendly and chatty sales assistant, I was on my way with a bag of Smiggle gear for the kids in less than 15 minutes. Smiggle has everything the kid would need for school. For example bags, wallets, lunch boxes, drink bottles, funky slap bands to swap with friends, writing tools. It's completely endless, and mind boggling what they have come up with, it's like they have entered the child's mind and asked- what would you want? Always a fun time shopping here, I get to be a kid for a bit.

Superb! Everything was a breeze. I ordered from Christchurch and figures arrived really packed and…read morein great time. They constantly kept in touch throughout the delivery. Thank you so much, 10/10!!!

Just when you thought that a game you really wanted was just out of your price range, in steps…read moreVagabond Games and comes to the rescue (this store seems to be a collaboration with Livewire Games). These guys have some pretty good deals that can sometimes even beat the other gaming giants like JB hifi and EB games. They have a fair number of games for sale as well as some other game related products like figurines and other collectible stuff like that; you know, nerdy stuff that you don't need but want anyway. This store used to be located in a really hard to find part of that ridiculously designed Metro building (seriously it's so stupid with its escalators that miss out entire floors!), but thankfully they are now located on Chancery Lane) . They also have plenty of Anime DVD's and other related products. Check out their website as they often have a few good specials on there.

King of Cards is easily the best card shop in Auckland. The staff are friendly, personable, and…read moredirectly responsible for getting me into tabletop gaming and MTG. They also make a point to have the cheapest prices possible, and almost always beat out any of their competitors when it comes to Board Games, MTG Singles, and Wargaming product. An Easy recommend.

King of Cards is my gaming Nirvana. The staff a knowledgeable in their area and are genuinely good…read morepeople. Their range of board games and magic singles is extensive, diverse and well sorted. Playing in the store is a thoroughly enjoyable experience as there is ample space, comfortable furniture and most importantly the store owner structures their events to appeal to gamers that want to have fun. It is also worth mentioning that King of Cards has a great weekly schedule for gaming which is great if you like formats like Legacy or cube.

Gorgeous Art gallery in the heart of Auckland! My husband and I enjoyed strolling the gallery…read moreduring a recent trip. I really enjoyed their Manet and Picasso pieces. If you have a few hours to spare, there's a really nice outdoor space to sit and read a book!

We had just finished eating on Queen Street and were wandering around the area when we stumbled…read moreupon this art gallery museum. We decided to walk in and I'm glad we did. The first floor is free and features several exhibitions, so we took our time roaming around. One of the main exhibits focused on Māori art, and we spent about an hour exploring the pieces and learning more about Māori history in New Zealand. It was genuinely informative and beautifully presented. There was also a display by a Korean artist on the first floor. I don't quite remember the theme, but the design of the house-like structure had some Chinese influences, which made it visually interesting. Overall, if you have some time to spare and want to cool off from the scorching sun, this gallery is definitely worth a visit. Bonus points for clean restrooms, too!

I love this store - I found gifts for several people in my family, mainly females and I must admit,…read moresomething for me of course... Beautiful scarves and fashion Jewellery, picture frames, cute clocks and candles with heavenly scents from Living Light Candles hand made in Golden Bay. They also have baby gifts and clothes, leather handbags and wallets - silk and cashmere scarves. The selection of Sterling silver Jewellery is fantastic, the best I have seen in a long time. Mainly from 2 NewZealand companies: Sterling and Evolve. And then a great selection of fun and inspiring greeting cards!

The best thing by far about Inspired is the massive range of jewellery. It's all laid out on the…read morebig central table and includes necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. It's mostly all silver-based and is good quality, but best of all, it's really cheap! So it's a nice place to buy a little something for yourself without breaking the bank. Inspired is quite a big shop and the rest is filled with gifty type stuff - clothes, scarfs, handbags and that kind of thing. There's nothing particularly stand-out about the rest of the stock, but it's definitely a solid gift-shopping option in the CBD that isn't either top-range or The Warehouse.

This is a great gift store in Newmarket which sells things mainly for males, hip flasks, hunting…read moregear, wallets, that sort of thing. It is only a small shop, but they have some great items inside, and it all looks like really good quality. Of course you have to pay for the quality, but there's no need to be a cheapskate on your gift giving. They have quite a few chess sets for sale here, really beautifully crafted pieces and boards, especially the full table set. These chess sets are actually at quite a good price too, considering how it's so hard to find a good quality one in New Zealand. For the ladies there are some things, but like I said it is a small shop and unless your mum is keen on hunting and/or drinking whiskey I'd probably go somewhere else for her birthday present.

As gifts shops go, this one has little something special. Quirky is how I'd describe it. Inside…read morethere are a ton of presents for people (as described on the shop window) who have everything. This is pretty accurate I thought. The gifts were the kind of cool things that could brighten up someone's day but certainly weren't essential. My absolutely favourite were the money tins. Each tin specified something that warranted paying a fine (putting a coin in the tin). I very nearly bought the farting one for my brother-in-law. Now that I'm home I wish I had. I might have to go back and get it - they were only $7!

What a wonderful store, such a great range of product. If you needed to buy a gift for a female…read morethen this would be a good bet. I often come through Newmarket and admire their window displays which are lots of fun, but inside, there is so much to take in. You cannot go by what you see on their website, you have to go into the store. There is stuff in here you would not need until you saw it, such as an owl ornament and bright coloured candelabras. When Mothers Day is upon you, come here. You could pretty much by anything in here, the store buyers have made the gift selection edit, all you need to do is pay for it. To make things easy, they do have gift wrap and cards too so it is a one stop, Mother pleasing gift shop. Either that or good for female friends.

When it's my mum's birthday, this is the first place I'm going to come to look for a gift to send…read moreback to the UK for her. The store specialises in inoffensive jewellery, nice smelling soaps and body lotions--Mum Mecca. They've got a great selection of Kiwiana- so perfect for gifts to send abroad- and they have a really good selection of jewellery from popular NZ brands such as Kagi and Karen Walker, so it's nice to know that what you're buying is locally sourced. It's not a place you're going to find the most fashion-forward or out of the ordinary gifts, but what they do sell is of great quality and reasonably priced. The store is clearly aware that it is a "gift" shop and that they are selling things for people to buy for other people. The staff are attentive and clearly know what they're talking about, which I imagine must be a godsend to men looking to buy gifts for the women in their life!