If you're looking for a little shop to find any of your souvenirs at, Gleneagles of Scotland is one…read moreyou can walk into and find -ANYTHING- you might be looking for. From tartan plaid to cashmere to shortbreads to whisky it's here in this shop. There are post cards and jewelry, and dog toys and kids things. If you want it.. they have it.

Some of the touristy-souvenir shops can be awful. Gleneagles, in Edinburgh's Princes Street Mall…read moreis not one of them, and comes off rather well to the first time visitor like myself. Like all of the shops of this type, it has the normal range of gifts of every type, kind and colour. The general feel of the shop is a lot less tacky than many of the others in the city. I was drawn by the large range of shortbread - larger than I think I've seen in any other shop in the city. I love a good bit of shortbread, but managed to restrain myself this time. Apart from the shortbread, and though the shop is well presented, the rest of the content is the same as you will find in all of the shops on the Royal Mile - I wonder if all of the shops just do a bulk order from one company that sells that sort of tacky things that fill these places. On the whole, it's the same old story as every other shop of this type, though this place is redeemed by good presentation.

This is a sweet little boutique, with lovely gifts and a selection of toys and accessories for…read morechildren. I noticed they're also started selling clothes - some of them vintage! - on one rail outside the shop and another inside. There's a great selection of candles, cards and other lovely things that would make an excellent gift or treat for yourself. There's an abundance of gift shops to to choose from in the area and, whilst this isn't my first choice, I really enjoy popping in as its a pleasant wee shop to browse and staff always say hello and offer help if you need it. I also like having a peek in their ever-changing window displays!

What a sweet little shop!…read more This place caught my eye a few weeks ago, when I stopped dead in my tracks and found myself wandering in to utter: "How much is that Dalek in the window?!" I'm such an adult. The Dalek turned out to be the coolest bubble bath that ever there was and was a sweet price of £7.50. Unfortunately, I hate baths and not even the super cute container could justify my purchase. So I left, knowing that soon, the universe would give me the necessary excuse to buy nerd soap. Enter #SocialMediaSanta. If you're not familiar, this is a very nifty initiative run by Shelter Scotland to give families that otherwise could not afford them, presents for the holiday season. They ask for unwrapped toys and then distribute them throughout the city. You know what is an unwrapped toy? DALEK BUBBLE BATH! Yes, just a week after my window love fest, I found myself gleefully skipping back to this spot to take a Dalek to a nerdy kid in need. Along the way, I realized they stock a ton of other amazing toys - from neat craft kits (paint your own trucks!) to super cute baby bath gloves (the hungry caterpillar! nostalgia bonus!) and everything in between. What started as a one toy purchase turned into fifteen and I swear, I had more fun buying them then the kids who will soon receive them. This place gets a little bonus love from me because the lovely lady behind the till threw in some soap and lotions (for Moms!) free of charge to pay it forward to the folks in Edinburgh. I am the Evil Auntie to two little ones back home, so I dare say i'll be popping back here again to find them unique toys and nerdy giftables, even if it'll cost me a bomb to get them back across the point. But if you have local little ones (or ones on the way!), you should definitely poke your head in here. The prices might be a bit higher then your big box options but the cool factor is worth the price tag.

The Works is like a mish mash of random, cheap books, toys, calendars and art supplies with the odd…read moretourist tat thrown in. It is stupidly cheap and that is reflected in the crap that they sell. However it does come in handy for buying cheap books or colouring pens for my nephew. There is sometimes some good cook books in here also, as well as some quite odd books but I'm sure there is a market for it. The shop is generally consumed by rather odd people who are peeing themselves with excitement over all the bargains and take their trip to The Works quite seriously. I bought a friend who was in love with Kylie Minogue the unofficial calendar from here, he wasn't too impressed.

I had always assumed this place was just some tourist shop so never really bothered looking in-…read morethat was, until I actually needed to buy some touristy stuff to take back with me to Australia. This place is a mish-mash of so many awesome things! Tourist shop- check. Discount bookstore- check. Arts and crafts shop- check. Random kitchen items like blenders and grills- check. It was just so much fun exploring this shop! I managed to nab a few gifts to take back with me and I'm seriously impressed at the discount books on offer (brought a whole bunch of children's books on special and Joe Wicks Lean in 15 for £10!) Honestly, I'm not quite sure what category this store would fall under, but since I had such a great time exploring I'm giving five stars! Highly recommended, the prices were more than reasonable and given the stock available you'll likely end up finding something you didn't realise you needed.

The Smart Stork is definitely for the more sophisticated child!…read more I like to think I'm all grown up, but I couldn't resist heading in there as I'm a sucker for any pink and mini sized! This is probably the only toy store in Bruntsfield, and when one walks past the initial room, which is filled to the ceiling with toys and games galore, there's the most adorable children's clothes section in the back. The clothes are exactly what I picture children wearing; pastel colours, cute and innocent looking! I have no children, and had a little too much pride to buy myself any toys, so I have no idea of the price range, but I just have to stress how adorable this shop is.

The Smart Stork is yet another cute children's clothing boutique in the Bruntsfield area. If you're…read morelooking for gifts for newborns then this is the kind of place you could get gorgeous presents or christening items that they can keep until they're older and think back at their younger years. They stock all manner of toys, pictures, room decorations, teddies, christening mugs. Most of the toys you wouldn't give to a terrible tot to play with but keep them for decoration, perhaps on a shelf in their room. You could spend ages in here "oohing" and "awwing" at all the cuteness on offer and although it's not the cheapest store, the prices reflect the quality and I wouldn't begrudge paying the prices for the beautiful items for sale here.

This gift shop and emporium of pretty items for the home is like a little treasure cavern of things…read moreto look at and go "awww", while whatever male you're with rolls his eyes and lurks at the side of the shop uncomfortably. Sorry to stereotype, I'm sure lots of boys secretly, or not so secretly, enjoy a scented candle or fluffy baby slipper as much as most females do. I'm somewhere in between, I like loveliness and items of a girly nature, but I'm not outrageously emotional over such things either. I'd say Flux and its multitude of goods is also somewhere in between, mixing pretty and practicality. Considering that the shop space isn't too huge, they've managed to fit countless cute little bits around it, so your eyes are always darting about looking at some other colour or miniature item that catches them. There are some great dinosaur lamps and wine bottle accessories, those little Japanese dolls which look amazingly cute, but I'm not entirely sure what their function is, plus some really pretty jewellery from local designers, lots of greetings cards, colourful glasses and a wee corner of baby clothes.

Positioned in the ever "up and coming" part of town, The Shore, it might be the only gift shop in…read moreEdinburgh that doesn't have 40 similar shops in a one mile radius. But in typical of our city's style, it's so overpriced, but pretty things fills itself and the brunette behind the counter is always really helpful, even when you're just looking aimlessly without the intention of buying anything. Surprisingly, it has a great collection of dirty cards and as I used to work round the corner, it was perfect for important clients birthdays which my boss would wince at. Hurrah!

This store was a random fine when I going down Leith Walk. I was brought in by the name...surely…read morethey must have some good cat stuff. Well, I wasn't disappointed! There are a variety of small gifts and trinkets. Not everything is cat-oriented but there is a good selection of feline-themed items. I was able to get a small book by a local author, as well as locally made soap. I also saw some interesting felt cats, unfortunately a bit out of my price range. If you're going by, definitely worth a stop!

If you're looking for little knick knacks for your own house, that put a smile on your face, or a…read moregift to spread more smiles, then this little place is a great place to visit. If you're not from Edinburgh, it's a little walk out of town on the way to Leith, but it's a nice walk along a road filled with shops and restaurants. The little shop certainly isn't massive, and it is a little difficult to negotiate around it if you're wearing a rucksack (like I was), but it's worth the weird shuffle-like walk around to find hidden treasures. They have filled every nook and cranny with sweet and endearing items ranging from artwork to keyrings and everything I'm between. A lovely little shop where I bought my "I've-moved-to-Edinburgh-so-I've-got-a-Scottish-keyring" keyring.

What a fun stop for us. This is Scotland's leading licensed sword retailer located in Edinburgh's…read morehistoric Old Town. Selling beautiful handmade swords and amour. This is a small place and they only allow so many people in at a time but you are free to take whatever time you want to explore the store. Many unique gifts and if you live like we do in the US you can have items like swords shipped to you. They have a helpful staff who assist with shipping items internationally. This is definitely worth a stop.

Nice shop with a collection of arms and gifts. I purchased a hand made sgian-dubh, a traditional…read moreScottish dagger. It's really lovely, with a handle made of red deer antler. We also enjoyed the homages to LOTR and GoT, with their respective weapons. The staff were friendly and helpful without being overbearing.

Such a cute gift shop. I got some really nice cards and they had a great selection for Scottish…read morechocolate that made great gifts for my family. The cardamon and bramble chocolate was a favourite!

A great little shop for interesting books, journals, cards and stationary…read more Definitely worth a look!