I brought my young son here because he is learning How to Browse. This store, with lots of quirky objects and zany knick-knacks to hold his interest, is perfect for this. We slowly walked around and looked at the funky merchandise. Highlights included a giant inflatable flying fish, pickle band-aids, breakfast floss pack (coffee and pancake flavours!), fake human and pet barfs, sushi shower curtain, assorted coin banks and robot paraphernalia. We conveniently ignored the racy books and NC-17 rated magnets, easy to do as there was always something else to bring to his attention. My son had a blast here, and I picked up some great ideas for future gifts and stocking stuffers. read more

On street (back-in) parking is available along the road, which is where we found parking within "Soco". I have no idea where else parking is available so, as a tourist, I stopped here :) This is definitely a cute little shop that has a bunch to look at. The items range from stuffed animals, funny emoji pillows, mood rings, games, random books, and etc. It reminds me of those random fun gift idea items from Kitson or Urban Outfitters :) I recommend coming here for a quick look around. You'll be surprised with that you find and what you take a liking to. (Btw, WARNING there are some stuff for kids, but what I saw there could have you answering your kids' questions about many other things as well in the future) Quick tip: if you check in to any of their social media listed, you get a cute little souvenir from the shop to take home with you. Don't be embarrassed, the person that worked there yesterday was awesome and very friendly! read more

Do you enjoy receiving gag gifts? What's better than receiving? Giving! Well this is your place to find those unique and interesting and VERY funny gifts for your friends. I sometimes just enjoy coming and see what else they have. read more

I could have spent all morning browsing through the vintage toys... I wanted so badly to buy all the old He-Man characters, but I know they'd get ripped open by my kids right away. Definitely a fun way to kill 30 minutes while walking around SoCo. read more

Love this place, always have and always will. There's a new girl behind the counter though, and she always seems super freaking grumpy and annoyed with every customer she checks out. Has anybody told her that she works in a toy store? Her vibe does not match the other employees who have been there forever and who I've gotten to know very well. read more

Company in town? Bring them here! Fun shopping for toys, books, gag items, and all kinds of quirky stuff. My wife and I especially love their selection of bumper/laptop stickers as well as lapel pins. We always stop by here if we are in the area. read more

South Austin's own version of a Spencer's Gifts. Tongue in cheek naughty gifts, silly fart gags, nerd magnets, and lots of other gizmos. After walking around uncommon objects this is a polar opposite example of newness and the uselessness of most of it. Despite all if this, the place is cute and feels austin. If you're already on soco walking about its worth popping in. Something is likely to catch your eye and turn your head back. If nothing else it gives you a great start on your online search for these items. Pricing isn't consistent. Some items will be WAY cheaper online, others you can catch a break on in store. So check if you fancy something for yourself or as a gift for another. read more

Gotta be my favorite place in SoCo. I've been plenty of times and hardly ever actually buy anything, just cuz I can't decide on anything. This place is kinda like a smaller version of Toy Joy over on The Drag. Basically it's a toy store for older folks, but they have stuff for all ages. Funny magnets, books on everything from last words of famous folks to how to survive the zombie robot apocalypse, gag gifts, everything. It's just a great place to go and browse for a while. Even if you don't buy anything, you'll definitely get a laugh out of it. read more

Not just another "ehh, goofy gift shop." You'll certainly stumble upon it when you're making the ubiquitous trek down South Congress, so make sure you go in! In addition to all the toys, books, magnets and cards, there's also a section of "Austin" stuff (nice for a traveler, and it wasn't airport-gift-shop-worthy, if you know what I mean). Just a cool store with a funky vibe. Go have fun, monkeys! read more

Really fun, eclectic place where you can see all types of things. It's like they go to the houses of toy hoarders and relieve them of their collections. They have all kinds of action figures of virtually every shape and size. They have a lot of key chains and tons of tiny cute collectibles. They even have some tiny Pokémon doing various activities. Matter of fact, there was quite a lot of Pokémon items here. You gotta come here to see for yourself everything they have in here. Lots of funny items and some great ideas if you need a white elephant present. Very Austin feel and it blends in very well with the rest of SoCo. read more

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Another one of my go-to spots while in Austin. Have you ever wondered how did you live without banana dental floss or gum? What about absurd amounts of bacon candies? Does your mini action figure collection need updating? Do you like pop art and fan fiction? Do you love monkey paraphernalia and need more of it in your life?! Do you love nostalgic or just downright strange toys? Do you like collectibles? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you don't want to miss stopping by Monkey See Monkey Do. This store has some hilarious novelties and gag gifts coupled with some great toys and one of a kind items. This store is just fun! read more

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You can get any kind of novelty in this shop. Gag gifts galore and lots of other cool things at a reasonable price. I could have spent quite a while in here just looking at everything and taking it all in. I just couldn't believe my eyes at everything that they offer. read more

Had a great time wandering and browsing the selection. I found some neat vintage packs of WWF/E trading cards, which made the trip completely worth it! read more

Monkey See Monkey Do - Toy Stores Near Me - Austin, Texas

OMG, this place has all the things you need that you didn't even know existed. I was laughing the entire time. We didn't buy anything in the end and it would probably been cheaper to buy these items on Amazon anyway but the creativity in curating a store like this is worth applauding. I thought it was a kid's toy store but many of these items are not kid-appropriate at all. Be careful with your children. read more

Now that it's the holidays and I'm working on finishing all my Christmas shopping I wish that we had a store like Monkey See Monkey Do in Honolulu! I have a bunch of friends on my list who are impossibly difficult to buy for and a gift from this shop would be perfection under the Christmas tree. Although the gifts from Monkey See Monkey Do may be looked at by some as being wasteful, there are just times when you need to buy silly things that have absolutely no practical use. Filled with everything from mildly offensive coffee table books to transvestite paper dolls, this store is made for gifting that obnoxious co-worker or rambunctious brother-in-law. There is something comforting about novelty items made for the adult who doesn't really care to be a grown-up. Because let's face it, sometimes being big completely sucks. Besides, who wants to receive another meat and cheese box or a mound of inedible fruitcake? Not I, so please take note. Give the gift of not taking yourself, or life for that matter, very seriously. read more

Anyone who follows my reviews (Hi! How are you? Are you feeling okay? Can I get you anything?) knows that I'm a dork. Actually, I think everyone on the planet knows I'm a dork. Certainly anyone has read my review of a certain shop in Sacramento that starts with the letter E. But we're not here to talk about that place, we're here to talk about Monkeys. You know, those beguiling little creatures who will just as soon throw poop at you as they are to do something cute that makes you giggle. Much like live monkeys (and they are available for viewing at the Austin Zoo, but that's another note), this store will make you giggle. This is the type of store where you could most likely find that gift that's just right (kind of like Goldilocks. Oh wait, those are bears). From a previously mentioned bacon wallet to an offensive card to various monkey items- this store has a lot of stuff despite it's size. Sure, it can get a little crowded, but that just proves it's got what you need. No dodging poop necessary. read more

Another stop on Friday's Yelp SoCo tour, Quani really wanted to check this place out. It reminded me of a combination of Toy Joy and Big Top Candy Shop. Why Big Top? Because Monkey See has an even bigger selection of absinthe-flavored stuff than Big Top has. My floss was there, as well as mints, lip gloss, and I can't even remember what else. And why Toy Joy? Because both stores have those hysterical historical action figures, like William Shakespeare, Sigmund Freud, and Marie Antoinette. Monkey See also has real-life action figures, two of which applied to me at different points in my life. There was the librarian action figure, complete with books ('cause I worked in a library about ten years ago), and they had the crazy cat lady action figure (gimme twenty years...), complete with toy kitties. My favorite thing I saw here was the cat butt stickers (See? Crazy cat lady in the works!). I didn't buy them, but I came close. They also had some cute coin purses. One coin purse had fake candy buttons all over it. I almost bought that, too. They may also have had a cat butt coin purse, but I can't remember. If you need a scalp massager, you should probably buy one here, as they're really trying to move those things. Every time I turned around, I saw those wiry scalp massagers staring me in the scalp. They were on almost every shelf, in almost every section of the store. I think these people are mistakenly operating under the Monkey See, Monkey Buy theory in this case. read more

I would burn money in this place. I'm what you would say "a mouse in a cheese factory". Of course I wanted to buy things to decorate my office cubicle. But I haven't because I've been good with my money. Well sorta! But one day at a time they say. There was a reproduction of one of The Clash's poster gig, bacon wallet, ugly dolls, message pads saying "while you were f--king around", rubber duckies...etc.... I'm so tempted you have no idea...but I can't have more crap...crap...! Someone please get me a gift certificate!!! Please!!!! I beg of you!!!! read more

Do you need a toy store fix with adult toys? No I'm not talking about those toys. I'm talking about gnarly toys like Sigman Freud, a kick butt librarian, and other outlandish action figures. Not convincing enough well there was stickers, funky bottle openers, hilarious pencil sharpeners, and a list of more crap that you don't need but really want for some reason. One of my favorites was the dreams analysis magic ball. Tell it your dream, shake, and receive the answer to your unconscious. This comes close to the Freud magic ball I already own. It's therapy on a budget. And if you're not into funky novelty gifts there is a collection of books and magnets. I'm pretty sure that there was every Chuck Norris magnet possible available there. So what did I bring home with me that I really didn't need? Absinth flavored lip gloss! Somehow taking a shot of the potent poison is much easier then wearing the flavor of black licorice on my lips all day. Oh well it made for a fun conversation piece at HH later that day. Pretty much anything in this store will. I'm sure to be back when I just have to have those cat butt stickers. read more

Not been in this store in ages. Was excited to go but all the clerks talked about was a movie he was making and recruiting people. Then they moved on to the dentist experience. Wouldn't have bothered me at all but they were so ridiculously loud. I doubt they even knew they had a customer. You guys need to be let go. read more

Proof that there are plenty of dorks out there with a third grade sense of humor, not just me. We stopped in here today to turn up a White Elephant gift, and if *ever* there was a place made almost solely for that purpose, it's Monkey See Monkey Do. We laughed our ass off, and that seems to happen over and over again in this store: from the ridiculous to the sublime, it's all present and accounted for. I found myself openly coveting the Banksy coffee table book, chortling at the Wilco weebles, mortified at the wisecracking Triumph the Insult Comic Dog toy, curious as to the sarcastic magic 8 ball. No question, this won't be for everyone, but damn, I'm a fan. Inner Goofball: activated! read more

Four words: Blind Box figure exchange. There's quite the selection of blind box toys and, if you open them (after purchase) at the register and find something you already have or if their "collection" has something you want more, you can exchange it! SO MUCH WIN! read more

What a fun store to get lost in!!! There's atleast one gift in here for everyone you know! The staff at this store care about the items there and are more than helpful when picking something out. Will be back! read more

This place is a little misleading because of the name and all of the monkey toys in the front window. At first, while driving by, I thought, "How the hell does a store specializing in monkey merchandise stay open?" Silly me. I walked in, later, by mistake. I thought I was in a kid's toy store, but it turns out I was in a toy/gift store for adults (in the vein of Kid Robot). This place is awesome because they carry all of the fun vinyl designer toys specialty shops in New York and LA boast, as well books on graffiti artists, Bruce Lee lighters and vintage pin-up postcards. I got my friend one of those small, collectible Dunny figurines - the ones you don't know what they look like until you open the box. The funniest thing about walking into this store is watching grown men drool over Hell Boy figurines and flip through the Found book while their girlfriends eagerly tug on their sleeves, begging them to leave. I guess it brings out their innery dorky boy selves... read more

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This place is a shoe-in for BEST TOY AND GAG GIFT (NON-X-RATED) STORE award, if there was such a thing. Something that you might overhear at MSMD: "Dude, Pirates are the new Ninjas." "Yeah, but Unicorns are the new Pirates." "Guys. Robots with moustaches." "Whoa.Totally." "I concur." Anyway, other the massive overload of merch with dick/fart/Bush jokes and hipster iconography on them, probably made by some chinese factory worker who thinks americans have gone completely daft, this store also has.... Vinyl Toys! in Austin! Woot! No, I probably would never pay $100 for a 6-inch Dunny, but they sure are cool to look at. Probably the biggest collection i've seen in Austin. Also, this place plays SOMAFM, which is just good music and supportive of bay area pirate radio :) read more

Do you like satan? Ninjas? Pirates? Japanese toys? Then go here. Tons of cool toys and knick-knacks - they remind me of how cool kid robot USED to be before they only started selling 100 dollar dunnys. MSMD is an awesome toy boutique with a plethora of amazing stuff. read more

Nothing in this store is a necessity but if you feel like splurging on some fan geared swag, it's worth checking out. If you've ever browsed FredFlare before the website closed down, this is essentially the in-person version of the webstore. It's in a nice location of South Congress and theres a lot of free parking in the area. read more

Being a child of the 1980's this store is right up my alley as there is a lot of nostalgia to be found. Though I have to say one of my favorite parts is the wall of sarcastic/funny magnets. This is the place you would come to for a new whoopee cushion after your old one breaks, the place where you can get rubber barf that looks real or an air freshener to hang from your rear view mirror that looks like Jesus. Another super-fun-idea is to come in here and buy some Mad Libs (they have several different kinds) then go get drunk off margaritas from Guero's down the street (or maybe Mexican Martini's from South Congress Cafe) and then fill them out with your friends. It feels good to be 12 years old again. Thank you Monkey See Monkey Do. read more

Neat store RUDE employees! I took my phone out to text my MOTHER. The guy tells me "no pictures of the magnets". I say OK just texting my mom thanks. I unlock my phone it was on instgram so he says..."oh OK texting your mom on instgram...sure" EXCUSE me. I put everything I was going to buy down and left. I understand him not wanting pictures in his store but at no point in time was his sarcastic rude comment needed or necessary! read more

When I was in high school and my bff and I had a bad day, we always went to the Hallmark store together (very small town; nothing to do) and stood in the aisle reading cards for hours. Not all the cards, just the funny ones, like Maxine the old, smoking, sarcastic, bird-flipping b. We annoyed everyone with our cackling and, well, our rolling around on the ground in stitches. Who cares. We were cured of our ills. Never since have I found a more effective mood-changing, life is grand, screw what those people think place until Monkey See Monkey Do. Don't get me wrong, Toy Joy is a blast, but they don't have The Wall of Magnets! (say it like it's echoing into space or like you are announcing it on a game show...in your head, of course). It's huge!! I can stand there all day long, alone or with friend in tow, and laugh until I cry. They have something for everyone: Bush haters, Dick and Jane fanatics, Women's Libbers, Sex Fiends, all of the above rolled into one taco. They're all funny. Some giggle funny, some pee your pants funny. All funny. You really stop taking yourself too seriously, you know? Bad mood? Quit your crying and go! read more

Walk in for one 1950's movie poster, leave with 5 other things, and not the tonto poster. Keep me the hell away from here after Thanksgiving. Too many robots, comic-y paraphernalia, Money Bunny piggy banks and Subversive Cross Stitching tutorials to let me out without spending less than $60. DAMNit. read more

Fun, fun, fun. Monkey See, Monkey Do is a toy store for adults. Coy store name+the word "adult"+toy store would normally equal sex shop. But it's not. Monkey See is chock full of fun and creative gifts, trinkets, vintage-ish paraphernalia, fun magnets, calendars and toys that will make you say, "Oh, do you remember these?!" There is nothing in this store that could be considered a necessity, but you'll find yourself saying, "Oh, I HAVE to get this for so-and-so!" at each display. The always-good-with-words Austin Chronicle put it best when it voted Monkey See, Monkey DO "Best Place to Buy a Gift for Simi-one Who is Hard to Shop For." Fair enough. A South Congress must. May not be ideal for kids at an impressionable age. Patrons see, Patrons buy. read more

This place is like the Spencer store in your local mall, only cleaner. I think. I come here everytime I stroll on S. Congress because you never know what new stuffs they got in the store. I love the Bush corner, it is especially bushy... good corner to get stuffs for your friends and family oversea for sure. They love Bush. read more

Yesterday, I had to talk Rich out of buying 3 of the $13 11X17 posters. He wanted them really bad but told me I had to make him abstain. Luckily, I did it, and "Eraserhead," "Metropolis," and some French movie I'd never heard of had to wait. We spent 20 minutes wandering around this store, checking out fly swatters that involved two red hands smacking together with targets on them, my favorite collection of clocks ever offered for purchase (they have the ones with the kitties that look side to side, matching angel and devil ones, elvis ones, etc.), report cards you can buy and fill out to give to friends as greeting cards, Jesus gift wrap AND bacon gift wrap, tons of magnets hating on Bush, purses that look like mini bowling bags and more. A few years ago, I bought a clear shower curtain with flamingos printed on it. As a girl, I still found lots of temptations in this store that didn't involve comic books or monkeys. read more

I stop by here every time I'm in Austin! It's just fun to look at all the interesting products. I've bought some interesting patches and every time I go back there are diff types to choose from. read more

I can get lost in this store for hours. They've got a a wall of magnets for the politically non-correct, office gadgets/toys, potato guns, LESLIE magnets, Japanese toys, and gifts for all your proudly homosexual friends. If you're looking for a good gift for someone, or you just want a good giggle, stop by Monkey See Monkey Do! I bet you'll walk out with at least a grin. :) read more

This place is full of those novelty gag gifts that you get your friends when you don't have any other ideas! It's one of those places you go in intending to just look and always walking out with a couple of things, a thinner wallet maybe, and a guilty, but satisfied conscience. They have those cute teddy bears that look like they've recently mauled something. They also have those spinners that tell you exactly what you're supposed to do in a given situation. It's like a Spencer's on crack, and a bit happier. Do you guys have Spencer's in Austin? It might just be a West Coast thing. Anyhow this place is great. If you can't find the perfect souvenir to bring back to your friends, then you might as well get them a gift that'll make them laugh. And if you're sad, then come in to at least pick up your spirits some. read more

i freaking love this place!!!!!!!!!! So, i guess i will let you in on my little secret. The bf and i are addicted to kid robot blind box toys. sigh. it feels good to have finally let someone know. We can't stop. We haven't tried, but ya know. We can't stop ourselves from buying them! We drive all the way from Pflugerville (practically) to SoCo to buy these toys. The first step is admitting you have a problem.... Right?! It's one of the only places in town to get them.... But other than my "issue", the place is awesome. It's full of fun, zany and one of a kind items. This is one of the places that helps keep Austin weird. The staff is amazing and always friendly. There is a wall of magnets, a case of stickers and a big collection of flair that i can never resist. It's just a fun place to spend time. Seriously, anyone could spend hours looking at all the cool stuff. Also, if you need a sock monkey, this is your place. read more

Gift heaven - if you've got easy folks. I saw a monkey multiplier just like this one, and I knew my dad would love it: http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Mates-50201-Monkey-Multiplier/dp/B000OZRUCW Sure enough, there were a few post-Christmas days filled with wonderment and "oh wow COOL!" (put that in my dad's accent and you'll understand how cute it is). He kept playing and asking, how did they make it!? For the little price it was worth his reaction 1000%. The little goodies I collect over the year from MSMD always serve as perfect little gifts and stocking stuffers. I haven't had one-of-towner be disappointed by this place yet. read more

Great store full of useless, hilarious stuff. This is perfect place to pick up a gift for the lovers of the absurd in your life. The store is loosely divided into standard humor-themed sections - nuns, politics, meat, office supplies, Buddhas, internal organ jello molds, and so on. It is hard not to find something you never knew existed but all of a sudden cannot live without. It's that kind of place. When I went, I had to have a set of bright yellow warning stickers from "Stickman in Officeland" - the one with one stick figure tossing a pair of scissors over a cube wall and landing them in the skull of another stick figure really spoke to me, for some reason. I actually like this place a lot more than Toy Joy - the merchandise is better edited, there is a lot less cheap plastic crap to plow through to get to the good stuff, and you don't feel claustrophobic trying to squeeze past the one other person in the aisle to get by. Two sarcastic, money-wasting thumbs up. read more