The Times may earn a commission if you buy any of these gifts through links on our site. The items were independently selected.
Does your family push you over the edge when visiting during holidays? Migraine? Winter blues? Jetlagged? Plus Products, partnered with John Legend and Casper, launched a nationwide line of CBD gummies focusing on three common health reasons: balance, uplift and sleep. If you need something stronger, their THC edibles are No.1 bestselling in California.
$35. Purchase here→
International commercial stores are great. But if you want shirts that reflect L.A. sensibilities, buying from local brick-and-mortar stores is key. Often these spaces turn into multi-use performance venues, art galleries and community hubs like Harun Coffee in Leimert Park, Giant Robot in Sawtelle-Japantown and Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights. harunintl.com, giantrobot.com and espacio1839.com.
Prices vary. Purchase here, here, or here→
Ferrero Rocher isn’t exactly a luxury brand. The faux gold-wrapped chocolates are stocked year round in both corner stores and major drug stores. Yet the chocolate became the treasured gift to bring to parties and holidays. (A must read: Liana Aghajanian’s piece about how the brand became a status symbol for immigrant families, particularly in the ‘80s and ‘90s, on Thrillest.) If you like Nutella, you’ll appreciate this chocolate.
$2.99. Purchase here→
The Baby Foot peel comes in a pair of plastic booties filled with a gel of natural extracts that gently remove the roughest calluses. After application, dead skin slowly loosens layer by layer throughout days to about two weeks. End results look like your feet are ready for a close up shot in the next Quentin Tarantino film. Most reviewers agree it’s disgustingly satisfying.
$25. Purchase here→
We had two earthquakes during our summer holidays. If this wasn’t enough of a reminder to build an at-home emergency kit, maybe this multi-function radio and flashlight will do the trick. It’s hand cranked, solar powered and comes with a mini USB port to charge your phone.
$24.99. Purchase here→
Social media influencers and YouTubers like David Dobrik created separate Instagram accounts dedicated to disposable camera photos instead of opting for filters offering the same look. Kodak Fun Saver gives you 35mm color film with 27 exposures and flash to follow the 2019 trend.
$15. Purchase here→
Inundated with late night TV, “Hot Ones” makes celebrity interviews worth watching again. Guests and Sean Evans, the cool, calm and collected host, eat wings marinated in hot sauce — one hotter than the next. The YouTube show tapped into what audiences love: thoughtful, deeply researched questions and celebrities losing it. Hot sauce bottles featured in the show are sold individually, gift packaged in threes or in subscription boxes.
Starting at $8. Purchase here→
Brujita Skincare makes lip balms, facial masks and hydrating mists with an ingredient list you can count on one hand and find in other big-brand overpriced products. Leah Guerrero, an esthetician and creator of Brujita, sources ingredients from Mexican mercados and makes all the products herself in her downtown L.A. studio. Check Instagram for availability, as her products sell out fast.
Lip balm $6, Facial Mask set $27. Purchase here→
The Tamagotchi is back. The arcade-like toy is a digital pet — a cross between a Pokemon and a baby simulator doll you might get during high school health class . You feed it, play with it, give it medicine and flush after it’s used the bathroom. It’s most likely the first pet that millennials killed in their childhoods, though nostalgia doesn’t seem to die.
$16.99. Purchase here→
Acid wash jeans. Oversized denim jackets. Animal print. Bike shorts. Nineties fashion is in and so are the decade’s hair accessories from scrunchies to hair clips. Dolls Kill, an online boutique, carries a wide selection tinged with goth, punk, skater and anime influences. It’s a gift aimed for the crowd who have TikTok accounts.
Starting at $5. Purchase here→
Ms. Monopoly launched in 2019 with new rules designed to promote gender pay equality. It was received with mixed criticism — some calling the revamped game patronizing. Better stick to a classic game that isn’t trying so hard to be woke. Uno is a solid game idea from the start.
$5.99. Purchase here→
PopSockets make it easier to hold your phone or use as a kickstand. But they don’t have to be a completely utilitarian device. There is an array of designs or you can customize for those on your gift list.
Starting at $10. Purchase here→
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