The Ten Best Sydney Shops for Unique Christmas Gifts

You've found it! The perfect gift. You go to hit 'add to cart' and then you see it — a Christmas shipping deadline date that has long since sailed past you, leaving only that sinking feeling of losing something that was never yours. But there's an easy way to avoid that mini tragedy: shop local, and shop good old-fashioned bricks and mortar. The unique gifts right here at home are sure to please even the most difficult, seen-it-all giftees.

For more great Sydney stores, check out our shops directory.

STERLING BY GAFFA GALLERY

Focusing a bunch of contemporary Australian and New Zealand artists and designers into one space, Sterling, the Gaffa Gallery retail store, offers unique jewellery pieces and objets d’art as well as giving you a bit of insight into how they were made. Each piece is handcrafted and gives your loved one a chance to wear a little piece of art everyday. Or, if you’re more interested in giving experiences rather than objects, why not invest in a seven-week jewellery-making course for that special someone? Pop next door and you’ll find Kakawa, the mouth-watering chocolate boutique, for chocolate Christmas decorations. Can’t lose.

281 Clarence St, Sydney

PUBLISHED ART BOOKSHOPS

Basically the hub of all coffee table books, Published Art stocks everything and more on art, design, photography and architecture. You’re unlikely to just stumble into this stuff anywhere else. Every book on the shelf goes through a careful screening process, each being hand-picked and directly sourced by the store manager, Rebekah Lawson. Expect to find titles such as Henri Cartier-Bresson: Here and Now housed alongside children’s books of full-colour Pinocchio illustrations. Prices won’t break the bank either; most items can be bought for under $100.

Level 1, 52 Reservoir St, Surry Hills

MITCHELL ROAD ANTIQUE AND DESIGN CENTRE

This graffiti-clad emporium is what you’d if you crammed together a year of Saturday garage sales, binned the dud items, and arranged the gems in one enormous warehouse in Alexandria. There are over 60 different stalls within the Centre’s walls, stocking all the vintage, industrial and retro furniture, knick-knackery and ephemera you’ve ever fantasised about, with a range from Victoriana through to 20th-century design. Searching for something specific? Use their ‘wish list’ feature to have the Centre’s dealers try to hunt it down for you.

17 Bourke Rd, Alexandria

KAKAWA CHOCOLATES

You can’t go wrong with chocolate. You just can’t. Kakawa, the gluten-free chocolatiers, make chocolate masterpieces with only natural ingredients and have a whole heap of goodies just for Christmas. Get your hands on a Christmas tree decoration, a chocolate Bambi along with a forest of chocolate Christmas trees for him to frolic in, or go all out and splurge on a ‘ginger breadless house’ made entirely out of chocolate (hold the gingerbread). And for the especially cool character in your family, a chocolate cigar is all they’ll need at the end of a big Christmas lunch.

5/147 William St, Darlinghurst

BERKELOUW BOOKS

There are a few Berkelouw stores and we like them all, but if we had to pick our favourite it would have to be the landmark Berkelouw Books on Oxford Street. Three storeys of new, second-hand and rare books complete with a cosy cafe and wine bar. The super helpful staff will only bother you if they have a better recommendation than what you’ve got open, and the selection of knick-knacks, stationery and vaguely literary novelties is as good as at any gift shop.

19 Oxford St, Paddington

REPRESSED RECORDS

If you’ve got a loved one who’s losing all their funds supporting the local Sydney music scene and buying the latest LP from the newest punk/alt act, why not help them out this Christmas by getting something they actually want — a gift or voucher from Repressed Records. The guys at Repressed are champions of Australian independent music and always have something amazing in stock they can’t wait to get you listening to. Introduce your mate to their new favourite band or get them a voucher and help feed the habit.

DINOSAUR DESIGNS

Instantly recognisable in their freeform design and luminescent colours, Dinosaur Designs has become somewhat of a household name when it comes to homewares and jewellery. So when it’s time for Christmas gift shopping, they’re always the kind of place you can rely upon. Each of their items – necklaces, bangles, bowls, jars, vases – are meticulously handcrafted from coloured resin so not one object is ever the same as another.

339 Oxford Street, Paddington

SORRY THANKS I LOVE YOU

Sorry Thanks I Love You is a deftly curated online stores of handmade accessories, homewares, gourmet foods, fresh flowers from boutique florists and craft beverages sourced from around the world. And now you can see and try out all these goodies for yourself at Sorry Thanks I Love You’s pop-up store in Martin Place, open right up until Christmas. The store will feature tons of products, including knives carved from Scandinavian reindeer antler, hand-woven Kashmiri scarves, wheels of Bruny Island cheese and premium single malt whisky distilled in highland Tasmania, which you can taste test in the store.

Sorry Thanks I Love You Pop-Up, Shop 2, Ground Floor, GPO Building, 1 Martin Place, Sydney

THE SOCIAL OUTFIT

Make the gift you give really mean something by buying it from The Social Outfit, where each purchase means you're supporting hyperlocal industry (the main product line is made right there in the store) and helping welcome new migrants into the community (through training and employment in the organisation). This isn't the Oxfam Shop, though we love them too; the fashion and accessories here have a contemporary Australian aesthetic that would be at home in any Paddington boutique. Check out the donated prints from the likes of Ken Done and Dragstar.

353 King St, Newtown

THE GROUNDS OF ALEXANDRIA

The Grounds of Alexandria is not strictly a shop, but it's also so many things that it's not not a shop. And there's only one gift you need from the massive cafe and mini city farm this year: their Santa Sack, aka the hamper to end all hampers. Filled with goodies like homemade jam in paint tubes, tins of 'Farm Friends' cookies, Egyptian ice tea and indulgent black truffle salt, they're priced at a very reasonable $120. If you need yet more foodie gifts after that, just head next door to Salt Meats Cheese.

Building 7A, 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria

Find more unique gifts by browsing our shops directory.

By the Concrete Playground team.