Treasure Haunts : The Perfect Gift May Come From a Museum--or a Mortuary

Finding the perfect holiday gift isn’t easy. Crowded malls, long lines, snarled traffic and conventional gifts can leave your spirits anything but merry.

But there’s help for imaginative, last-minute gift-givers anxious to escape the madness, while searching for something “different.”

Throughout Southern California there’s an assortment of alternative shopping haunts--museums, airports, libraries and, believe it or not, even a mortuary--that sell non-traditional gifts sure to excite the senses and keep you sane.

So this year, why not venture out a little? You’ll be surprised to discover how quickly these harried holiday shopping days become a thing of Christmas Past.

* The Hollywood Bowl Museum Store, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 850-2058.

Located on the grounds of the Hollywood Bowl, this tiny store is geared toward music lovers. An array of merchandise for adults and children includes books, musical games, cassette and CD recordings, and stationery items. Also for sale is “Exiles in Paradise,” a 96-page catalogue of the current exhibit in the Hollywood Bowl Museum.

Hours: 1-4:30 p.m., Tuesday-Friday; closed Dec. 21-30. Free admission.

* The Library Store, Los Angeles Public Library, 433 S. Spring St. (ground floor), Los Angeles. (213) 612-0512.

It’s no surprise that here you’ll find a variety of merchandise related to books and reading, including T-shirts, posters, a small selection of toys, tote bags, mugs, letter openers, games and, of course, books.

The newest addition is puppets that range from $12 for a mouse to $45 for a three-foot bullfrog. The store also sells greeting cards, some featuring illustrations from children’s books. There’s also a limited selection of new and used books.

Hours: 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Free.

* Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles. (213) 667-2000.

As a tribute to America’s frontier, this museum’s gift shop boasts an appealing array of gift selections fashioned in a Western motif. Shoppers will find mugs shaped like cowboy boots, reversible cowboy blankets, collectible Christmas ornaments and lots more.

For children, select from a variety of books about the West, leather chaps, vests and cowboy hats for boys, and leather skirts and vests for girls. Inexpensive toys include arrowheads, cowboy and Indian figures and kits to build totem poles, Indian masks and pots.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday. Free.

* The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd. (in Exposition Park), Los Angeles. (213) 744-3466.

This museum is home to the Museum Bookstore, Ethnic Arts Shop and Dinosaur Shop.

The bookstore carries a wide selection of new stationery products with animal motifs for the holidays, special Christmas tree lights in the shapes of lizards, fish and cacti; books on dinosaurs, and T-shirts and sweat shirts with the museum’s logo.

For game lovers, select from puzzles and card games such as “Constellation Station” ($35), a glow-in-the-dark night sky adventure game, and “Keep It Green” ($27.50), a discovery game for the environmentally conscious.

The Ethnic Arts Shop has festive Christmas tree lights in the shape of chili peppers along with tree ornaments from around the world. Additional gift items include porcelain from China, Navajo Indian rugs, caps, knapsacks and shawls made from hand-woven Guatemalan textiles, South African Zulu baskets, and Zuni Indian fetishes carved from minerals.

For youngsters, don’t miss the Dinosaur Shop, which boasts glow-in-the-dark dinosaur posters ($9.95), dinosaur replicas priced from 50 cents to $100, a 62-piece “Big Bucket of Dinosaurs” set ($7.95) that includes a mini-volcano, and “Curiosity Kits” that let children make their own American Indian moccasins, rattles and pottery.

In addition, the museum’s Gallery Store, in conjunction with the “Festival of Indonesia,” features note and post cards, books, formal velvet handbags, rattan handbags and sterling silver jewelry with semiprecious stones.

Hours: 10 a.m.-4:45 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday. Free admission to Bookstore, Ethnic Arts Shop and Dinosaur Shop. Admission to the Gallery Shop is included in the price of museum admission. Admission is $5 for adults, $3.50 for students and senior citizens, $2 for children aged 5 to 12.

* The Forest Lawn Memento Shop, Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks and Mortuaries, 1712 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale. (818) 241-4151.

Only in Los Angeles can you shop for holiday gifts at a mortuary. The newly remodeled Forest Lawn Memento Shop sells a vast selection of religious gift items ranging from rulers ($1.25), to commemorative tea and sugar spoons ($2.98), to sturdy brass key chains ($2.50), and genuine leather book markers handcrafted in England ($2.50).

Here, too, you’ll find matte and smooth-surface prints of “The Crucifixion” and “The Resurrection” paintings ($3.95); handsome bubble-view paperweights; six-coin packet reproductions of coins mentioned in the Bible; silver-toned bells ($3.95) and post cards featuring 35 views of Forest Lawn (15 cents each).

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Free.

* The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Store, Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 621-2766.

Delicate blown-glass ornaments in exotic pear and leaf shapes ($15 to $35), playfully designed watches ($50), alarm clocks ($32), an elaborate selection of hand-painted silk scarves complemented by delicated handmade silk ties are among the unique gift items sold here.

The MOCA Store carries an assortment of mobiles, contemporary glass perfume bottles, candle holders, recycled paper sketch books, and bamboo and sterling bracelets from Indonesia ($40).

In the children’s section are games, blocks, playground chalks, clay, playing cards and cubes.

For adult patrons of the arts, the MOCA Store offers a full line of books on architecture, art criticism, exhibition catalogues, artist-designed jewelry, posters, post cards, special MOCA T-shirts, bags and gift card packets.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free.

* The Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda. (714) 993-3393.

You don’t have to be a registered Republican to enjoy the gift items sold at this cultural and historical museum that chronicles the life and times of America’s 37th President. Holiday ornaments include a 24-karat gold finish, three-dimensional birthplace scene.

Visitors can purchase golf balls adorned with Nixon’s signature; red, white and blue pens and pencils; GOP elephant neckties; playing cards, baseball caps, sweat shirts and T-shirts.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Free.

* The Gift Shop, Museum of African American Art, 4005 Crenshaw Blvd., third level of the May Co. at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. (213) 294-7071.

Inside this tiny museum, artistic expressions of African-Americans abound in art, prints, sculptures, baskets, jewelry, books, catalogues and other artifacts from around the world. You can choose from a wide selection of dolls, specialty holiday ornaments to celebrate Christmas and Kwanza, including angels and Santa Claus.

Calendars with black themes, ebony and stone carvings from Africa, books, greeting cards, black memorabilia, figurines, museum sweat shirts and coffee mugs also are available.

Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday., and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Free.

* Los Angeles International Airport

The nation’s third busiest airport boasts 12 gift shops located throughout its eight terminals, including the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Frequent flyers, out-of-towners and residents will find shelves stocked with electronic games, ready-to-wear clothing including active wear with team logos, T-shirts and Walkmans. Here, too, is where you can find “only-in-L.A.” souvenirs, plush toys for children, hardback and paperback bestsellers, candy and assorted wines and champagnes.

Hours: 6 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. Free.

* The Museum Shop at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 857-6146.

In celebration of the museum’s major exhibition, “Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries,” the museum is selling an array of colorful and unusual items. There are more than 50 books on Mexico, posters and framed and boxed sets of note and holiday cards.

Exclusive items include iron sculptures handcrafted in Mexico ($55-$425), hand-painted linen and tableware, and glasses from Mexico ($8.50). Other gift items include 1992 wall calendars ($10.95), traditional Mexican Christmas tree ornaments ($3.50) and hand-painted ceramic balls ($12-$18).

The museum’s Pavilion for Japanese Art features a shop specializing in items relating to the collection of Japanese art.

Museum hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Closed Monday. The Pavilion for Japanese Art hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday; Closed Monday. Free.