Bespoke gifts and experiences: our top gift-giving ideas this festive season
With three speciality retail stores and Koorie Krismas coming up, there are some great opportunities to get your Christmas list ticked off quick smart and pain-free at Fed Square. Check out our top picks.
Explore a curated First Peoples makers’ market, this Koorie Krismas
- Explore the First Peoples makers' market for gifts, at Koorie Krismas. Photo: T J Garvie.
Want to get all your shopping done in one go, and support local First Nations makers and designers? Easy peasy – come along to Koorie Krismas on Saturday 13 December, where the Main Square will become a pop-up market with more than 30 stalls, all showcasing crafts, jewellery, pantry staples, apparel and art from local First Nations businesses, makers and designers.
Shop for statement jewellery by Haus of Dizzy and Haus of Ziggy Lee, pick up teas and sauces featuring native ingredients from Kara Meta, and upgrade your wardrobe with apparel from Clothing the Gaps or Gammin threads.
Koorie Krismas is on Saturday 13 December from 10am–3pm, and is presented by the Koorie Heritage Trust, with support from Fed Square and the City of Melbourne.
Gamer gifts with a twist, at the ACMI Shop
- The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook, available at ACMI Shop, $55.
In celebration of the Game Worlds exhibition at ACMI, the ACMI Shop features exclusive collections from beloved videogame brands. There’s everything from wearables, like the Hollow Knight: Vessel Hoodie ($139.50) for fans of the cult Aussie indie game, to a Stardew Valley Cookbook ($55), which extends the world of the farming and foraging game into the kitchen, enabling fans to savour your very own homemade Pink Cake, or get through the week with a Survival Burger. Yum!
Check out the range of ACMI Shop exclusives online or in-store.
Lightweight leather earrings by Bronwyn David (Trawlwoolway), at shopKHT
- Bronwyn David Half Moon Earrings, $85. Available at shopKHT.
shopKHT’s range of Trawlwoolway artist Bronwyn David’s earrings are a guaranteed conversation-starter, and an ideal gift for someone who loves a pair of statement earrings. It’s worth a visit to the store, as there are heaps more options of shapes, styles, colours and sizes (with different price points) available. And made of leather, they don’t weigh down the ears, so you can wear them as your go-to everyday pair.
And while you’re gift-giving – buy one for yourself. You deserve it!
‘Half Moon’ Earrings, $85 – available online or in-store.
Cushion cover, featuring art from the NGV: Australia Collection, at the NGV design store
- Cushion Cover – Rene Sundown, Ngura Tali – Sand Dune Country (2023), $79.95. Available at the NGV design store.
Perfect for the art-lover in your life, this high-quality linen cushion cover from the NGV design store is a striking addition to any home. It’s part of a range of products at the NGV design store at Fed Square featuring art from the NGV’s Collection. The work, Ngura Tali – Sand Dune Country (2023) is by Rene Sundown, a senior Yankunytjatjara artist, and the work depicts the landscapes of shifting sand dunes and spinifex grasses near Erldudna in the Northern Territory, where she grew up.
Cushion Cover – Rene Sundown, Ngura Tali – Sand Dune Country (2023), $79.95 is available at the NGV design store at Fed Square on online.
An experience to share: discover some of the First Nations history of Naarm/ Melbourne
- KHT Birrarung Wilam Walking Tour. Photo: Damien Raggatt
If you’re more of an experience gift-giver, KHT run daily hour-long walking tours exploring the First Nations history of around Fed Square, hosted by experience First Peoples guides.
It’s a great opportunity to learn about the significance of the Birrarung (‘river of mists’) and the history of this important meeting site, for the people of the Kulin Nation.
Birrarung Wilam (River Camp) Walk public tours depart from KHT at 1pm, Monday to Friday. Book online (tickets $20–40).
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