With Christmas not far away, there are a few must-do Auckland activities. Get into the festive spirit and enjoy one of the city's unique Christmas markets. Some new, some annual, it's a great way to spend the day and pick up some one-off, novel and unique gifts for your friends and family.

An annual affair, the Mercatino di Natale – Italian Christmas Market is the perfect place to start gift shopping. This market is run by the Auckland Dante Alighieri Italian Society, an organisation that aims to promote the Italian language culture and encourage a love for all things Italian. As such, it will be filled with authentic Italian food and wine, plus jewellery, handbags, Italian books, decorations, presents and more.

The market will run from 10am to 3pm inside Ponsonby's Freemans Bay Community Centre. Auckland's Dante Alighieri Society organises the market to support the Dante Alighieri Italian school.