Giftland

Cute little piggys, Even though someone I know bought it from the Christkindlmarkt…

Oh, Giftland. I’ve been coming to this store since I was a little kid, when going to Chinatown was a big deal and a fun adventure. In adulthood, I have a love-​hate relationship with this place.
What I love is the sheer volume of Hello Kitty items. I collect Hello Kitty things, so this is my idea of paradise. There’s EVERYTHING. Hair accessories, plushies, kitchenware, statues, jewelry, banks, clocks, lunch boxes, candy. You name it, they have it with a kitty slapped on it. However, they’re really, really overpriced. They wanted $ 5 for one pink plastic fork. Not even the set. Really?
My dad surprised me with a Hello Kitty ramen bowl set from there, and it works really nicely. He paid something crazy like $ 40 for it, but I have to admit, it’s really cute and it matches my dorm really well.
The other issue with this store is that it just looks dated. Stuff has been in there so long it gets dusty. There are still faded Pokemon posters up from when there were only 150 kinds. It’s nostalgic for me, since I remember when those posters were new, but it’s a bit off-​putting now when you walk past it in Chinatown.
I still make a point to stop in here each trip, and no doubt I’ll continue doing that.

The place had a lot or cute things like Hello Kitty stuffed animals and kimonos. I think they were a bit overpriced but comparable to other gift stores around the area. I didn’t like how the owner was eyeing/​watching me as if we were going to steal from them though. Maybe she has had a bad history of stolen goods in her store, but I don’t like being treated like a criminal. There’s another gift store in the new Chinatown Plaza that I love because they let me freely browse.

I was completely underwhelmed by this little shop after reading the Unilocal reviews and visiting the store in person. They have a great assortment of little collectables, but there’s nothing here you couldn’t find in the Chinatown Square a block away for much less. One example, I purchased green tea pocky for $ 1.99 at Mayflower Food in the Chinatown Square, and at Giftland it was $ 2.99.

It’s a good place if you want to browse for cute stuff like Hello Kitty or Sanrio related items. The items are over-​priced but if you’re willing to overlook the area, it’s a good gift shop. This store is pretty small and stocks some outdated animé stuff (posters from Gundam Seed/​Wing, some Gunpla, keychains).
They accept credit cards with a purchase of $ 5 or more.

Slightly over priced knock-​off items. The quality of these items break easily. I can find better deals online but I hate shipping and waiting. I come here to buy gifts for the little girls in my family who likes animé and little cute stationary. One thing I don’t think most people know is that the cashier will gladly gift wrap your items if you asked. Also they always have one employee on the floor that watches the customer and it gets a little uncomfortable but It’s security and I understand.

Lot of cute stuff, but don’t come here for animé unless you want knockoff merch for the first generation of pokemon or Gundam S – all their animé offerings are about ten years out of date. And forgo the snacks: they’re nearly half as expensive at the market near the red line station.

I’m an asian female type so of course this place got me. It got ME! And sucked me in so I can just take a look. Maybe a new hello kitty pen for when I bank or maybe some new cutesy hello kitty and her friends erasers so I can use it when doing math problems for fun! Or maybe a hello kitty magnetic pencil case that doubles as a hiding place for my rusty knife so I can shank a bitch trying to steal my smart phone in the gold coast.
Just kidding! Or am I…
I don’t know what happened because I grew up being indifferent to sanrio stuff but then I lived with someone that was OBSESSED with hello kitty and it got to me in my 20’s.
Decent selection and random asian trinkets that don’t amuse me, although I prefer the sanrio store because it’s more concentrated on JUST sanrio items. There’s another sanrio type shop in the china plaza that has a comparable selection. Recommended for a quick fix if you happen to be in the area but it’s not a destination for the sanrio likers like me.

Well, this is my go-​to place for Cheongsams, the sexy, skintight satin Chinese dresses that all good Dragon Ladies have in their archive. I had a great one for many years, but it eventually split a seam from wearing it. A lot.
Yesterday, though, I was sadly disappointed at the selection. The styles seem to have gotten more. .. tacky, and the offerings more limited. I think the way the real Midoris do it is to buy one that’s too big, and get it tailored.
I was mildly annoyed by the chirpy woman who ran up to me with a tape measure. I know my size. She measured my hips. Um, darling, that’s not the measurement you need to go on with me for a dress like this.
And, yep. If you want one of these, get it to fit your bust. Which means then it will fall around your hips like a baggy robe, as it did on me. Unattractive. It must be tight! And then get it tailored, which I’m going to do when I go back for one. Hopefully when the place is not mobbed with tourists.
There’s a bunch of other crap in this store, but go here for Cheongsams and cute satin slippers. And maybe weird Chinese candy, that always amuses.

Likes: A really nice place to purchase cute characters. They pretty much have everything that you want that is related to Hello Kitty /​Sanrio and Morning Glory. The staff was friendly. I was able to purchases lots of items to give out for prizes for my daughter’s birthday party.
Dislike: The store is small and compact. They need to have a bigger basket to put items in. The day that I went in, there was a field trip going on. Kids kicking and screaming because they wanted things from the store.

I gotta give a big shout out to the store where I spent hours of my life while in college. It was the perfect place to get cheap, cute housewares, last minute gifts, and, often, some nice clothing and accessories.
The staff will watch you like a hawk, probably because they’ve had a few shoplifting incidences.
Nonetheless, take your time to peruse all the shelving, stuff on the walls, and even the shoes on the floor. You’ll find some great stuff!

I like Giftland. Great place to get little gifts and trinkets for people who like that stuff. I recently bought a 2″ small porcelain Super Lucky Elephant to keep at my desk. The owner was nice. He asked me how much the little elephant was since it didn’t have a price tag on it. I shrugged and went to the shelf and found a similar sized item and it said $ 1.75, so that’s what he charged me.
Super Lucky Elephant rules!

They creep around and watch you — wait, they actually don’t really ‘creep’ per se since they don’t really make any attempt to hide that they’re watching you. Look lady (ies), I’m not planning to steal anything from you — nor are any of the other people (mostly tourists who wouldn’t have the heart or the nerve), well, not most of them anyway.
Onto the merchandise, it’s clear from a marketing level that they’ve figured out that a whole boatload of Japanophiles flock to Chinatown because it’s the closest they can get to anything Asian within the city — as such they stock the store with quite a number of trinkets, toys and eccentricities (Death Note trading cards, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Hellsing action figures, Korean Pucca plushies, etc).
They seem to stock general catchall items of Asian etymology all across the board from the aformentioned pop culture pieces to clothing and tea sets. Overall, it’s a great place for souvenir purchases and finding novelties, but maybe not for much anything useful. Keep that in mind and overall you’ll find the ten to fifteen minutes you spend browsing in here a worthwhile and fun (if not totally relevant) experience.

*Please forgive the overabundance of the word «cute».
This is just a fun store. Toys, candy, knick-​knacks, clothes, purses, gift bags, cell phone charms, Chicago souvenirs, stuffed animals… Just a jumble of stuff – cute stuff. Yeah, some of it «junky» I guess, but mostly cute. Many a time I’ve heard someone exclaim, «Oh how cute!» at something they’ve found.
This is a great place to get little gifts – especially for kids. My nieces always enjoy the little purses and toys I’ve gotten them from Giftland. They like being able to show off new colorful pencils and cute notepads when school season starts. These are not things that you’d expect folks to save forever, the prices of items will contest to that. But if you need a place to browse and enjoy some cutesy things, check it out!

This is my favorite gift shop in Chinatown.
Basically all the gift shops in Chinatown are the same (With a few exceptions like the knife shop or the book shop) they have a lot useless cheap junk and cutesy things that will probably wind up breaking sooner or later, or just collecting a lot of dust. What makes this one stand out? They have the biggest selection of Hello Kitty and other Sanrio character items out of any of the other shops. Included in that selection of items are some things that will actually probably get some use out of them.
They also have a HUGE selection of folding paper. I am a SUCKER for those kits *points ot all the boats and stars on desk and points to the attempts at flowers and cranes that were unsuccessful* If you are too, there is no way to simply walk out of the store without buying any of it. If you are feeling fancy you can even pick out a cute jar to put them in to look nice on your coffee table or give away as a gift.
One last thing. They have the biggest collection of animé posters in Chinatown too, also a plus, especially if your an animé nerd like me. (yeah yeah yeah poke fun of me I don’t care)

It was the animé posters in the window that drew me to this place. Lol. Great stop for souvenirs, although we later discovered that most of Chinatown is pretty much souvenir-​land.
I got my brother a souvenir spoon ($ 3.99) and a souvenir magnet ($ 2.99). Lol. He likes those tacky souvenir kinda things.
Juan said it was much cheaper here than at the overblown souvenir shops at Navy Pier.
Besides the tacky souvenir gifts, they also sell some cute animé stuff here and some beautiful Chinese dresses and traditional Chinese crafts and gifts, like wall scrolls, sculptures, car charms, etc.
If you are looking for quick one-​stop shopping for affordable souvenirs, this place is great!

I just want to elaborate on some of the reviews already made for this place and add a little bit more.
1) Yes, this place is Asian Cuteness Central. Luckily, it’s not just your standard seven Hello Kitty pieces of merchandise that are poorly crafted and likely to fall apart if you ever chose to use them, rather than put them in your Hello Kitty shrine of collectibles. The variety here is amazing, and the kinds of random crap with Asian characters on them is enough to make your head spin.
2) Yes, this place sells non-​cuteness Asian goodies as well. There’s clothing/​shoes in the back, like in most gift-​type shops in Chinatown. You can also find a wide variety of cookware and teapots and sake sets, although I’ve already got a nice sake set at home and it would be nicer if they sold SAKE here instead of just the sets for drinking it.
3) Yes, this place also has RANDOM stuff. I have never really been in the market for a Kimono-​style or Chinese dress cover for my cell phone, but if I ever suffered enough brain damage to be looking for one, I know that it could be cheaply found and purchased at Giftland. And if cellphone dresses aren’t random enough for you, like all gift stores in Chinatown they offer «Mystery Boxes». That’s right, it’s a box wrapped in Chinese newspaper and you buy it and the mystery is what you just spent $ 2 or $ 4 to get! (My one attempt at a $ 2 box led to a scented candle and a scented bar of soap, so it’s up to you if you want to go for it.)
4) Yea, they’ve got animé stuff here, too! This is my one-​stop shopping location when I decide my apartment does not have enough animé posters adorning the walls, or if I’ve discovered a new series and want to find out if they’ve got a poster for it as well. And they also have wall scrolls, if flimsy posters aren’t badass enough for you when it comes to celebrating your love for Bleach or Inuyasha or whatever. And check out the register area for keychains and medallions and whatnot as well.
5) Yea, you’ll likely NEVER use anything you buy here. Although that’s not the case, frankly. While I can’t say I’ve «gotten much use» out of my collection of posters, other than admiring them and talking to them in broken Japanese like a true fanboy, I can say that my most random purchase at this store has been used multiple times, both for practical use and for silly use.
I bought a pink Sailor Moon facemask. Not like one you use as a costume for Hallowe’en. but the kind that you use to prevent catching disease or spreading disease. And yes, there were days that I was sick but still required to show up at the office, and I brought along my Sailor Moon facemask and everybody got a laugh at the creepy pink mask I wore all day, but they also were happy I wasn’t spreading my germs everywhere.
So if you’re in Chinatown and you NEED to cruise the giftshops for crappy cheap merchandise — I recommend this one because it’s got some of the same crap that’s in all the other stores, but this one’s got some awesome stuff to look through as well. You never know when your random purchase will wind up being useful!

Welcome to Asian cuteness central! Giftland offers a variety of cute Asian character adorned merchandise from erasers and pens to eating utensils and bowls. When visiting Chinatown this is the place to hit up to get your dose of totally cute merchandise. They have shelves filled with authentic Sanrio products. Unlike other stores the who sells generic Sanrio products where the Hello Kitty is looking questionably unreal this store sells many products of Hello Kitty and her friends. They have a huge collection of chic erasers to choose from. Recently they have a batch of erasers shaped like actual food such as sushi!
In the back of the store they sell Chinese kai po dresses, Chinese shoes, and other Chinese attires. The store is all the way at the end of Wentworth, but I would recommend making the trek there to be immersed in the Disney Land of cute Asian merchandise!
The ladies that work at Giftland seem like they are always stalking you. Watching your every move to make sure you are not stealing or breaking anything. It’s a hostile, unfriendly environment which shouldn’t be because they sell light hearted items.
Though they do have a lot of extremely cute Asian things lots of the things are useless. It is very cute, but when would I ever use it? Mini rulers that are too small to really measure anything or even draw a long straight line. What is the use of that? But maybe it is the thought of knowing you have something extra adorable that counts.
Interesting Note — They sell a wide variety of star folding paper. Pick a package up and learn how to fold paper stars. Once you learn how you can make enough to fill a little bottle with paper stars!

Growing up. I despised all those cutesie Sanrio toys and hated that my mom forced that type of stuff on me. Now that I am older, and it is my choice, I secretly love them.
This store sells tons of cool stuff… they sell San X… the line that makes Pucca dolls. I love that they sell everything under the sun. stuffed animals, candy, slippers, cheong sams, ninja gear, Chicago Souvenirs, things that you didn’t know existed but upon seeing them you strangely feel the need to possess them.
This is a great place to take your kids. or if you need to buy a gift for a kid… it seriously rocks. We found a really cute Jack Skellington key chain that flutters… you pull the string and it moves and a cute stuffed doll as well. They also have kissing Pucca dolls!
We did have to buy an outfit for my son in back. The lady that worked there was very nice and accommodating. I am so fortunate that I can still speak some Cantonese!

Hello Kitty coughed up a pink and red furball and they turned it into a gift shop. Lots of stuff no one really needs, plus a few things you might!
It’s worth a stop to at least take a peek and see what you or your loved ones could be missing from your home. Anything here is better than doilies.