Oh boy, oh boy…read more.. I'm one of these people who always wanted to be artistically creative. My mum can paint, sketch, knit, crochet, and all the rest of it, but unfortunately I didn't inherit her arty farty genes. Stick men and colour co-ordination is really the height of it for me. Well, at least my stick people will be well dressed... Thank goodness for Craftworld, a haven of every possible kind of art form known to man. To my delight, this includes those colourful beads which you place on a random plastic shape, cover with iron-proof paper, and iron. Cue excitement. I actually made one of these a number of years ago. A blue and red place mat in the shape of a star which sits on my desk. Craftworld appreciates the lesser forms of art. Happy days. If you're not one for fusing together beads (and let's face, apart from a five year old and myself, who really is?), do not fear. Everything from dolls houses to thread, from glitter to polystyrene shapes can be found in Craftworld. There's a lovely wee wedding section at the very back too. Lovely jubbly.

This place is unbeatable for everything craft, ribbons, buttons, wool..everything…read more I had the very frustrating experience of going here to pick up stuff everyday for two weeks before my wedding...men beware it may just dooo your head in unless your the president of your local sewing club. Prepare for a busy stuffy room with way too much choice!!!!

This store is really good. much needed as lots of dedicated toy stores have closed. It covers 2…read morefloors and the toys are often at a much discounted price. Def worth nipping in.

Pretty funky little shop that caters for kids, and the inner geek inside us all! They sell toys,…read moregames, crafts, puzzles, etc. They have a Star Wars section with toys and games for sale, RC Helicopters, drones, collectible diecast cars, beanie babies, mugs, musical instruments, you name it. Would be absolutely ideal if you are having a kid's birthday party and want some inexpensive fillers for party bags, or indeed if you need to get a fun present for your Secret Santa!

The Disney Store is a cleverly named shop as it is a huge store that is dedicated to the machine…read morethat they call Disney... Sometimes a name says it all. However in this case, there is more to be said for what some parents would classify as the biggest nightmare on Earth. Disney is aimed solely at children, so why should their shop be any different? Complete with plush toys, Dvds, outfits, towels, and other general tat from all of your favourite movies, this place is painfully busy coming up to Christmas day so Brian's Handy Hint of the Day is AVOID THIS ON FESTIVE OCCASIONS. It's also in the middle of a pretty huge refit so it has been moved two or three units down the street until the refit has been finished. Worryingly, the refit looks like it could be twice the size the shop used to be so if you thought you could distract your children on the way past before, now you are going to have to work harder. I did come in here to buy a present for my girlfriend and after shoving a few unruly little children out of the way, I finally made my way to a checkout where the staff were more interested in the paint on the walls than the fact I was infront of them paying their wages. Perhaps a constant barrage of cheeky children is enough for these members of staff to hate all humanity, but I have found from my job that for every annoying customer, you should chat the nice ones to make up for it. These staff members might not hate life as much if they tried to be a bit more chatty and friendly. The shop is quite expensive (as you would expect with Disney) but when it comes to buying toys, this is as good as you are going to get.

Who doesn't like Disney?! This shop really brings me back and I'm always happy to accompany my…read morenieces just to see their excitement. This store has an interactive princess mirror which talks and sings when you touch it. They also have a life sized storm trooper statue and a small play area with a large screen showing Disney Dvds. They stock plush toys, school bags, towels, toys, drinks cups and clothing for all of the big Disney movies. The staff are really friendly and have the shop really tidy which I'm sure can be a difficult task with lots of excited kids running around. Products can be expensive but they are all of very high quality and make great gifts. Definitely worth a dander round every now and again.

Located opposite Urban Outfitters…read more Good place for gifts. Have quite a few local items. Expect to pay on certain items more than standard retail due to the handmade aspect. Lots of wee cute toys etc for kids. Also lots of house soft furnishings. It's the sort of place you would like to buy lots of stuff you don't need but it looks nice. Lol Lots of chalk paint colours can be bought in here. The shop is packed with gifts etc. You have to hoke a bit as its jammed packed with things laid out on wooden dressers and tables etc. It's a bit kitch compared to just browsing the rails. Shop has a sort of Cath Kidston feel about it.

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.

Tiger is really just a modern 'junk shop'. It's a bright, light, contemporary space filled with…read morecheap, mass produced, predominately plastic 'Made in China' tat (yes, even though it's a Danish store). I think of it as being like a car boot sale full of random items including candles, nail files, beads, cheap craft and art materials, games, toys, coffee, spices, makeup brushes, napkins, sweets, yoga mats, hand wash, notebooks, novelty knick-knacks, pots, pans and picture frames. Despite the fact that Tiger peddle a pile of rubbish, I quite enjoy a good riffle through it. Since everything's so cheap I tend to lose my mind and am tempted to buy all I see. Thankfully, sense intervenes just in the knick of time, so I always manage to leave the shop empty handed. However, when I next need napkins, candles or a new yoga mat I might consider heading straight to Tiger. I envisage it as being a useful shop to pick up Christmas stocking fillers or novelty items to bulk out 'proper' birthday gifts - for people I don't like or for when I can't be bothered putting any effort or thought into gift buying. Much to my shame I must admit I do like Tiger, in spite of my better judgement. Thus is the seductive and dangerous appeal of such shops. After all, surely we need more plastic and rubbish in the world....or do we...

This is my type of shop! I wanted to buy everything and walking around gave me so many ideas for…read moreevents! Tiger really has everything - it's sort of like little snippets of life, that as quite a strange thing to say but what I mean is that it's not a shop selling specific products, it sells a little bit of everything. I saw craft items like canvases and paints, as well household gym equipment. It even had a gourmet food section. If you're planning a party visit Tiger. It's the perfect place to pick up novelty items like quirky straws and party games. Cost wise it's not expensive - the price tags are weird though - they try and encourage you to buy multiple items by pricing things as 4 for £2 for example. Even for singular items the tag says '1 for £10'. Strange. A few people have compared this to Ikea - I can see the resemblance - it oozes Scandinavian coolness. I loved it - was really quiet when I went in so I got to have a good nosey around.

Utopia is my first port-of-call when I know someone's birthday is coming up, or at Christmas…read moretime...you're pretty much guaranteed to find something in here you know that person will like. The variety is huge - massive wooden chess sets to quirky key rings and everything in between. There's nothing cheap or tacky, just beautiful gifts at incredibly affordable prices. The last time I was (it was only last week, due to their being a friend's birthday on the horizon), I was served by the most friendly lady I've ever had the pleasure of speaking to. She really was genuinely lovely, and that really made the trip for me. There's nothing better than decent customer service, and I definitely experienced some top class service that day. With some of the loveliest ranges in town, and wonderfully helpful staff, Utopia really is a must see...you won't be disappointed.

Yeah I have no complaints about Utopia. I'm glad there is only one of its kind in Belfast as that…read morekeeps the family who run it in trade and the customers flocking back. I love to go in at Christmas time as my mum has a thing for Christmas decorations and this is the best place in town to get a quality piece at a really good price. It houses such a mixture of goodies you could spend hours just browsing. There is a massive selection if ornaments such as statues of dogs, animals and fairies. They also have a large collection of really nice inexpensive costume jewellery. You can pick up anything in here from a rubber chicken to a ceramic panda. It is definitely the place to go for gifts of any sort. I was bought a poker set from here many moons ago and I still treasure it as although it wasn't really expensive it has the feel of a luxury item.