Do you need to buy present for a birthday, holiday, or other special occasion, but have waited until the last minute and have no clue where to go? Forget department stores and gift cards; instead, visit these unique Austin boutiques. They all offer many gift items that appeal to a variety of age groups. Happy shopping!
1. Toy Joy
Emily Starbuck Gerson
2900 Guadalupe Street
Located just north of campus, this colorful store has a plethora of gifts for both kids and adults. The store specializes in retro toys that elicit childhood nostalgia. It also offers plenty of jigsaw puzzles, board games, novelty gifts, stuffed animals, science toys, candy, and even a unique brand of shoes. The best part? It’s open until 11 p.m. during the week and midnight on the weekends.
Located just north of campus, this colorful store has a plethora of gifts for both kids and adults. The store specializes in retro toys that elicit childhood nostalgia. It also offers plenty of jigsaw puzzles, board games, novelty gifts, stuffed animals, science toys, candy, and even a unique brand of shoes. The best part? It’s open until 11 p.m. during the week and midnight on the weekends.
2. Ten Thousand Villages
1317 South Congress AvenueIf you’d like to shop at a crafty store with affordable prices, you’re in luck. Ten Thousand Villages offers hundreds of artistic gift items, most of it hand-made, from all over the world. It’s also a fair trade store, so it ensures a good portion of money from the purchases goes back to the artisans in the developing countries who made them. If you ask, you can get the information about where each item came from, what it’s made of, and who made it. Here you can find books, toys, jewelry, tea, coffee, chocolate, pottery, purses, scarves, musical instruments, ornaments, handmade cards, and so much more.
3. Monkey See Monkey Do
1712 South Congress AvenueThis funky little boutique on South Congress Avenue is the perfect place to go for novelty gifts ranging from cute to crude. It’s ideal for buying presents for co-workers or friends; this may not be the place to shop for Grandma. Here you can find quirky journals, books, office gifts, magnets, clocks, toys, and a large assortment of other odds and ends.
4. Emerald's
624 North Lamar BoulevardAround since 1986, Emerald’s is the perfect place to go if you’re looking for something for your mother, sister, or girlfriend. The store sells women’s clothes and shoes, but it also sells stationary, jewelry, bath and body products, accessories, candles, picture frames and albums, and many other gift items.
