Text by Michelle Smith

Warsaw has loads of shopping malls, and Arkadia, Galeria Mokotów and Złote Tarasy deserve a particularly noteworthy mention. Though they contain all the usual suspects (clothing shops such as H&M and Zara, jewelry shops such as Swarovski and Apart and home decor centers like Almi Decor), they do have subtle differences between them. For example, Złote Tarasy, located right next to the main railway station in the city center, is the only mall in Poland with a Body Shop, for example, and a MAC cosmetics store, as well as a Harnn & Trann. For these reasons, it is a real draw for Poles, who have spent years hearing about these places but only experiencing them on jaunts abroad, but their appeal to foreign visitors may be limited. After all, why come to Poland to buy what you can easily get on sale back home?

As such, though a trip to a Warsaw mall is recommended for those in a rush of gift-buying, serious shoppers after something unique for a souvenir or Christmas gift would do well to take the time to explore outside of the usual shopping circuits. Warsaw has some amazing little shops and boutiques, many hidden away down side streets and in courtyards, all of which offer something different. And your patience and persistence will be rewarded when you return to the UK with a one-of-a-kind piece of amber jewelry, or a tea set designed by a young Polish artist.

Style and beauty
Though Kraków has the best and widest selection of amber, if a trip out there is not on the cards, then drop into one of W. Kruk's Warsaw stores. Located at pl. Konstytucji 6 and Złote Tarasy shopping mall among other places (for a full list of stores, check out www.wkruk.pl), W. Kruk is internationally renowned for its luxury jewelry and its uniqueness of design. Established in Poland in 1840, it has won awards and accolades for its stuff, and its website shows how successfully the company has moved out of amber-only settings and designs. Diamonds, pearls and other precious and semi-precious stones now array its store display cases – meaning that there is truly something for everyone.

Moving away from sparkly things to pretty things: Poland is a beautiful country - and the beauty sector in the country is booming. Whilst in Warsaw, visit Polish company Fridge by yDE (ul. Wiejska 17,www.fridgebyyde.com), which has done the impossible and sells all-natural products with absolutely no preservatives or alcohol. The upshot of this is that none of the products are kept on shelves – they are stored in special marble fridges – they have a shelf life of 10 weeks once they are opened and they must be kept in the fridge. Having said this, the range of luxurious creams, lotions and scrubs for face and body are impressive, and they smell wonderful.

For the home

Red Onion (ul. Burakowska 5/7, www.redonion.pl) sells furniture, lamps, luxury beauty products, ceramics and glasswares, sourced from all over the world - from as far away as Indonesia and as close as Poland. Much of its unique and original jewelry is designed by talented young Poles and Tomasz Magusiak's colourful mugs, plates, cups and tea pots are really stunning. My last trip to Red Onion saw me humming happily as I looked at Chinese cabinets, a fabulous tri-coloured bracelet, a vibrantly-coloured fabric Tahi lamp in red and gold and colourful wooden toys hand-made in France. This is the perfect place to buy gifts big and small, for everyone on your list.

To get a bit of Polish culture and history on your table, visit Bolesławiec Pottery (ul. Prosta 2/14, www.ceramicboleslawiec.com.pl). These handmade plates, cups, saucers, bowls and pots are the stuff of Polish legend: with 700 years of tradition and a very distinctive blue-and-white flower pattern, Bolesławiec pottery graces the tables of some of the country's best restaurants, as well as many people's breakfast tables. If carry-on weight is a problem – the pottery is very solid – then stick to the sugar bowls or spoon rests.

So you have the dishes; now you need some traditional Polish food to put on them. Drop into Krakowski Kredens (ul. Nowy Świat 22) and stock up on tastes from the Małopolska region. Known for its spicy smoked meats, concentrated fruit preserves, pickled mushrooms and herring stuffed with plums and chillies, the region's cuisine will keep your belly full and happy and will be a lovely taste of Poland once back home.

And what would a trip to Poland be without vodka? Though there are many good brands, Chopin Luxury (Złote Tarasy shopping mall, www.polmos-siedlce.com.pl) is renowned. The vodka itself is beautifully-packaged, but more importantly, it is of the higest quality possible: it is alone in the 'Super Luxury Vodka' category. Pricey, sure, but well worth it.

Kraków's one-stop shop

Though Kraków also has some very good malls – special mention goes to Galeria Kazimierz – there is simply no beating its Sukiennice and small specialty shops. For those who wish to buy all their goodies in one go, the Sukiennice is a bit pricier, due to being smack in the center of the Old Town Rynek, making it the perfect tourist draw, but it has a bit of everything and is very convenient. A single long gallery with individual stalls set up on either side, the Sukiennice (Draper's Hall) has a dazzling array of gifts – and it is very hard to enter it without buying something. Though most of the stuff is quite good quality, there is some typical tourist tat like key chains and t-shirts and beer mugs. But if you are after something really lovely, here are a few things that I can recommend, after countless trips to the Sukiennice to poke around.

Ranging in colour from a warm gold to a light purple, amber is the ideal gift. This fosselised resin with bubbles, insects and leaves is especially valuable but remember that fakes abound, so if you see a lovely ring with huge bubbles for 15 PLN, be aware that there is no way that it is good quality stuff. For very high quality amber, visit stalls number 23, 29 and 36 in the Sukiennice.

For something really Polish, consider some wood carvings. The charm of this gift is the roughness of the work: although they are lovingly painted, the carvings retain their 'blockiness'. Despite this, they are very light and easy to jam into your over-stuffed luggage, as I know very well. Angels playing harps and violins and old men with long beards playing musical instruments are especially popular and can be found all over Kraków. There are some very good quality samples of this art at stalls number 1, 37, 47 and 48.

A sub-branch of the wooden carvings idea is traditional Polish iconographic art, which encompasses a number of potential items, such as wooden triptychs, wood carvings of the Holy Family and reproductions of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. The religious triptychs at stalls number 30 and 42 are delicately lovely, and stalls 22 and 27 have a really good selection of other items, while the carvings of the Holy Family at stall 37 are truly breathtaking.

Another hand-made option is the exquisite selection of clothwares on offer. Hand-made tablecloths, napkins and traditional Polish mountain blouses, dresses and vests with bright, colourful flower patterns (all hand-stitched) are a great gift idea. The clothing comes in a range of sizes, from doll-sized (quite literally) right up to busty female, so take a good gander through the stacks of clothes on offer. You'll find an especially lovely, lacy selection of cloth for the home and for your wardrobe at Sukiennice stalls 22, 30, 31, 32, 50 and 51.

If you are looking for something traditionally Polish to hang on your tree back home, then pick up a handful of exquisiste eggs: they are all hand-painted with very individual designs, either on wood or on glass. Some are meant to be displayed in a lovely bowl on your coffee table; others have a hook for hanging and come in Christmas colours like gold, red and silver. You can look at the selection of these delicate eggs all day long and never see two the same. There are especially gorgeous ones at stalls number 4 and 54.

And now my personal favourite Christmas gift (actually, it's the perfect 'anytime gift') from Poland: foil szopki. These brilliant and colourful foil constructions of Kraków's architecture and specially-produced for Christmas Nativity scenes are very tricky to pack – this is definitely a gift for the carry-on, and it must be safely stored in a box beforehand – but well worth all the effort of transport. The foil used is not the typical silver stuff only, as every imaginable bright and cheery colour is used in the mini reconstruction of the city's churches, main market square and Wawel Castle. Reminiscent of the dollhouses of my childhood, they are actually very sophisticated and detailed and as such, are quite literally tiny works of art. Try stalls number 5 and 15 for some of the best szopki I have ever seen.

Boutique shopping

Although the selection of amber at the Sukiennice is very fine, some of it is – quite admittedly – of not superior quality. If this does not bother you, then shop away. But if you really desire a high-quality, luxury piece to take home, then there are a few shops that are very highly recommended. Staff speak English, pieces can be one-of-a-kind and documents of authenticity can be produced upon demand. Two worth checking out are Ambra Stile at ul. Grodzka 11 or Mikołajczyki Amber, with stores at ul. Kanonicza 2, ul. Floriańska 16 and 42, and stalls number 23, 29 and 36 in the Sukiennice.

Another exquisite gift well worth the trouble of transporting home in a box and careful wrapping is Polish glass. In terms of this gift, I can really recommend Polish master crystal artist Mr. Jabłonski. Each of his pieces is hand-made and truly original and he works with all colours of glass and crystal, so you can dither happily between a traditional blue blown-glass vase or a modern purple whiskey tumbler – before buying both. Find his work at Polskie Szkło, at ul. Grodzka 36.

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