Shopping like a pro in Hong Kong

In the spirit of the last days of the December shopping frenzy, I thought I’d blog about one of my favorite pastimes: shopping in Hong Kong!

People have said its heyday as a shopper’s paradise is long gone, but I disagree. Prices might not be super inexpensive anymore, but it’s still fun and Hong Kong still has things we can’t get back in the US.

On my recent trip, I had three glorious days in Hong Kong to shop for my kids, husband, friends, and for my kids’ school. Combine that with lunch, dinner, and drinks with friends, and a Lit Fest appearance. Time was limited to say the least.

First up were my kids. I bought them a toy double-decker bus and mini-bus. They both move on their own if you pull them back a couple inches and let them go.

I also bought these music boxes. The dim sum one doesn’t work that well, but it’s still nice to look at. Any tips on how to fix music boxes?

For number one son, I bought this fun shirt at Goods of Desire. I could buy out the whole shop and still want more! Number one son was made in Hong Kong in the literal sense (I moved back to the US when I was five months pregnant with him), so I thought it was fitting.

Tom is difficult to shop for because he has everything he wants and isn’t demanding. So on the advice of a good friend, I bought him a box of cookies from Kee Wah Bakery. The whole family devoured these before I’d been back home a week.

I was on a mission from a friend to buy a dim sum cookbook. It was so much fun to look for it and then find (through the investigative work of a good friend) that it was out of print. We found this one below from the same publisher that’s more current.

My kids’ elementary school is studying China this year, so I was entrusted with shopping for games and toys to bring back for the school. Three cheers for shopping with other people’s money! My friends brought me to a market in Wanchai known for traditional Chinese toys and games.

I found this Chinese chess game.

And another game called Flight.

Here is a bean bag game that is played like jacks.

And a vintage wind-up toy.

A dim sum card game.

Shh! I also bought some kaleidoscopes for school, but in Shanghai. What other Chinese toys would you have bought?

I bought my niece some slippers at Goods of Desire.

I also went kind of crazy there and bought two qipao-inspired dresses and a qipao-inspired blouse!

The saleswoman was so helpful and talked me into a packet of A4 folders. I have no idea what I’ll do with them, but I couldn’t pass them up! For more of the other folders included in the package, check out Goods of Desire’s webpage here.

From The Lion Rock Press, I bought these adorable notecards!

Also from The Lion Rock Press, I also bought these super cute Hong Kong ornaments, even though we don’t have a Christmas tree! Any suggestions for how I can display them?

And this doesn’t include the things I picked up in Shanghai (besides the kaleidoscopes) and all the fabulous gifts friends in Hong Kong and Shanghai gave me. Hooray for friends!! (I had a slight debacle with a lovely Art Deco umbrella I bought in Shanghai, but I’ll write another post dedicated to that story. Stay tuned.)

I could barely haul these treasures back in my carry-on suitcase, but I’m not complaining one bit.

Next time I’ll just have to go with a larger suitcase!