Surprizes

We don’t often come out to Sylvia Park as it’s a bit of a hike from Te Atatu but when we do I usually have a browse in this place. It can be good for just a browse or if you urgently need a gift for someone. I don’t think the gifts are quite as good or original as shops like Flying Saucers or Acquisitions. For me, a lot of the gifts are cliched such as the vast array of photo frames — while some of them are quite pretty I think buying a photo frame as a gift shows a serious lack of imagination. I also find the joke and novelty items to be a bit on the irritating side or perhaps I am just getting old. Having said all that there are some nice, original items here which are a great help if you need to buy a present and can’t find what you want anywhere else. If you are in Sylvia Park, it’s worth checking out one way or the other.

This place is pretty cool. It’s riiiiight down the end of the mall, right next to the Warehouse. It has pretty much everything you’d expect from a gift shop… little ornaments, trinkets, novelty items, decorative items, clocks, prints, shot glasses and jewellery… you’re bound to find *something* in here to appeal to anyone. I always find something cool when I’m just having a browse, making me wish I had someone to buy for.
There are fragile and breakable things everywhere, and sometimes the place does get busy which worsens the situation.

I tend to visit Surprizes when I’m after something and I don’t quite know what is it yet. Basically, I go to Suprizes to be inspired. There’s just so much to look at here and they’re always adding new items– its hard to keep up!
From mini glass sculptures of… well, anything really, to canvas prints and shot glasses, they cover a lot of ground here and for a gift shop they’re definitely stocked up on almost anything you could imagine. Unlike other gift shops, I’m always a little scared that I’ll knock something over here– there are fragile items everywhere!
One of the best things I’ve ever seen at Suprizes was a modern take on the 21^st key; it was a beautiful silver key that doubled as a giant bottle opener. I’m not sure how common those are, but it was my first sighting of one, and I instantly want to rewind time and tell my 20 year old self about it. I also enjoy their section of photo frames and albums– its really hard to find nice, elegant and plain frames like the ones at Surprizes.
The only bad thing about Surprizes is that I can’t take my Tank smoothie in there with me for a browse– rough times for a multi-​tasker.

Surprizes is really just another way of saying ‘we sell whatever we like’. There’s a great variety of ornaments, toys, useful cooking implements, pens, notepads, etc. Nothing particularly stands out from the rest of the gift shops, as this place looks a lot like Acquisitions at the other end of the mall. However, it’s worth a squiz if you’re looking for something a tad different, quirky or just to kill some time while you’re waiting for a friend to arrive. They always have an intriguing window display, and a big smile to offer when you walk in, so that’s something to look forward too.