15 of our favorite gifts from the L.A. Times online store
This is part of the L.A. Times 2022 Gift Guide. See the full guide here.
Since its founding in December 1881, the Los Angeles Times has never stopped growing and changing. What began as a print newspaper now includes a cluster of TV news segments, podcasts, video series and meme-generating social-media accounts. In short, it's a full-fledged lifestyle brand that's equally at home in your wardrobe as on your coffee table. And because a lifestyle brand is only as good as its merch, we've gone ahead and scoured the L.A. Times online store to find some of the coolest, newest and most popular items to help you — and your giftees — rep the hometown paper with pride.
'Support Local News' T-shirt
Like the reportage in the newspaper itself, this T-shirt's message is straight and to the point with "Support local news" printed right smack in the center chest area of this 100% cotton tee, with the ionic bold Los Angeles Times masthead logo just below it. Available in tan or white in sizes S to 5X. (Allow five to nine business days for shipping.)
$35 at L.A. Times Store
101 Best California Experiences special section
Published in May, this special section was written darn near entirely by Times staff writer Christopher Reynolds and illustrated by local artist Grace Danico and is the definitive one-stop guide to the best the Golden State has to offer. From visiting Battery Point Lighthouse (the Pride of Crescent City) in the north to wiggling your toes in the white sand beaches at Hotel del Coronado in the south with 99 adventures, venues and experiences in between, it's like having Reynolds himself as your trusted traveling companion — all to yourself. If you're the competitive sort, consider buying two copies — one for gifting and one to keep — and then printing out a couple of checklists (in color or in black and white) and making a friendly wager as to who can visit more of the 101 before the next holiday season rolls around.
$10 at L.A. Times Store
'California Person' long-sleeve T-shirt
Does someone on your nice list consider themselves a full-on, all-in, die-hard California person? Then consider gifting them this lightweight, long-sleeve T-shirt that will declare them as such in delightful balloon-like typeface designed by L.A-based artist Grace Danico, whose artwork (including the sun, moon, palm tree and cowboy-hatted cactus printed on the left sleeve) helped bring the 101 Best California Experiences special section to life. Available in black or white (just like newsprint!) and in sizes from XS to 2XL.
$45 at LA Times Store
Crossword puzzle book
If there’s someone on your gift list who’s equal parts L.A. Times fan and acrostic enthusiast, consider this booklet of more than 80 crossword puzzles in a range of difficulties. Fun fact: The first such newspaper-published puzzles were originally called Word-Cross (the name was changed after a typesetting mistake) and were arranged in a diamond shape instead of the square we're used to today.
$14.99 at L.A. Times Store
Floral crewneck sweatshirt
On this cotton/poly blend classic-fit crewneck sweatshirt from the California Collection, an eye-catching floral design is overlaid with the equally attention-grabbing Los Angeles Times logo. If you really think about it, giving this is kind of like handing someone a bright bouquet of freshly picked spring flowers wrapped lovingly in a copy of your favorite newspaper. At least, that's what springs to mind every time we see someone wearing one. Available in sizes S to 4X.
$65 at L.A. Times Store
House Rules: The Story of the Los Angeles Rams' 2021 Championship Season
This 160-page, large-format, limited-edition coffee table book follows the Los Angeles Rams football team's journey to — and winning of — Super Bowl LVI through the words and photos of Los Angeles Times journalists. Includes reprints of newspaper articles and full-color photos of the Rams' regular season, Super Bowl win and victory parade. A must-have for the Rams fan on your nice list.
$45 at L.A. Times Store
'Read the Paper' ballcap
Right off the top of our head we can't think of a better slogan to perch atop the head of a newspaper-loving loved one than "Read the paper." That's what's embroidered across the the front of this brushed, washed-cotton ballcap in vintage black (as if it had been left out to weather in the SoCal sun). One size with adjustable brass-effect buckle in the back. Also in the back? That'd be another small pop of embroidery featuring "LA Times" to remind those in the wearer's rearview mirror what paper you had in mind. It's one of the L.A. Times store's bestsellers to date.
$30 at L.A. Times Store
The L.A. Times Guide to Hiking in Southern California
If there’s an outdoor lover in your life — or just someone you wish would, you know, take a hike — we’ve done the footwork (literally) to compile the most comprehensive hiking guide The Times has published to date. Clocking in at 24 broadsheet newspaper pages (it’s printed in the same format as the daily newspaper), it includes more than 50 routes all around Southern California, from the cities to the mountains, and hikes for every skill level, from newbie to veteran. Think of it as gaining altitude with attitude. (If you’re giving this as a holiday gift, don’t dawdle because shipping can take up to three weeks.)
$10 at L.A. Times Store
Los Angeles Times Birthday Book
No matter how old we get, we can’t stop believing that the world revolves around us. So why not embrace that inner child with a gift devoted to everything newsworthy on your recipient’s birthdays? The Los Angeles Times Birthday Book is a handsome, leather-bound book that contains the front pages of The Times from your recipient's birth date, available to 1933, and every birthday thereafter. It’s a sweetly narcissistic stroll down memory lane, especially for history buffs. (P.S. If this is meant as a holiday gift, order ASAP because it takes about three weeks for delivery.)
$124.99 at L.A. Times Store
3-pack of zines
This troika of limited-run, 32-page zines (if you're unfamiliar with the zine format, think of it as a lo-fi, indie-vibe mini-magazine) includes some of The Times editors' favorite stories on three of our readers' favorite topics. The @latimesplants Little Book of Plants Zine, made by The Times creative design team, for plant-loving people culls some of the best tips and advice from L.A. Times Plants, as well as plant comics, memes and features on people prominent in the Los Angeles plant community. The Beginner’s Guide to Griffith Park Zine features information from our previously published online guide to Griffith Park, and the @latimesfood Back to Basics Zine kicks fussy cuisine to the curb and focuses on explaining fundamental cooking techniques and easy ways to use them in a story-plus-recipe format.
$25 at L.A. Times Store
Los Angeles Times subscription gift card
We’re all about Southern California at The Times, and we never stop gathering news offering a West Coast perspective. The price below is for a web-only subscription. Subscription gift cards don’t expire and are nontransferable.
$98 at L.A. Times Store
'California Person' bucket hat
The bucket hat trend is back in a big way, and this version allows you to get your head in the game and proclaim your (or your giftee's) affinity for the Golden State at the same time. Features a two-tone embroidered version of Grace Danico's joyfully inflated "California person" balloon typeface.
$40 at L.A. Times Store
L.A. Times: Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Beyond
You don't need to have the wisdom of Jedi Master Yoda to know that what George Lucas unleashed on the universe 45 years ago (in Earth time) from a dusty moisture farm on Tatooine has become part of the pop-culture fabric itself. But what you might not know is that R2-D2 and C-3PO weren't the only ones with a ringside seat to the whole affair. The Times' reporters were along for ride too, chronicling the whole affair as only they could. This 96-page special edition magazine takes a look at the legacy of "Star Wars" by compiling archival pieces penned since the first film came out in 1977, as well original perspectives on the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and the countless other heroes and villains who populate the most successful movie franchise in entertainment history.
$14.99 at L.A. Times Store
The Voice: Vin Scully Is Dodgers Baseball
Los Angeles — and the sports world — lost an icon earlier this year with the death of broadcaster and Dodgers baseball legend Vin Scully, whose career is covered extensively in this hardcover commemorative book that draws on nearly seven decades of stories from the L.A. Times archives as well as transcripts of his biggest calls and photos of iconic Dodgers moments.
$45 at L.A. Times Store
Legend of the Lakers: A Look Back at the Lakers’ 17 Championships Spanning 75 Years
Before there was the HBO version of the Lakers history ("Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty") or the Hulu version of the Lakers history ("Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers"), there was the history of the team as chronicled by the writers and photographers of the Los Angeles Times. That history — all 75 years of it — has been gathered into one full-color, 160-page book, "Legend of the Lakers: A Look Back at the Lakers’ 17 Championships Spanning 75 Years," that follows the team from its early days almost to the present and showcases the team's 17 NBA championships through the words and images originally published in the hometown newspaper.
$45 at L.A. Times Store
More gift guides
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
