The gift suggestions here all have two things in common: They’re small enough to stow in a stocking, and they give off serious big California energy. What’s big California energy, you ask? It’s a radiant Golden State swagger that’s easier to identify than it is to explain; it comes with being not just the most populous U.S. state but also home to the bulk of the country’s agriculture, the birthplace of its aerospace industry, the home of Hollywood and the epicenter of the legal weed movement. And it imbues the foodstuffs, home goods, clothes, paraphernalia and tchotchkes that hail from here with a sort of unquantifiable, ineffable, sun-kissed, surf-adjacent vibe that wraps around you like a cartoon bear hug.
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Buff Yosemite National Park neckwear
I’ve been a fan of these neck gaiters — essentially tubes of 95% recycled fabric — for years because they’re so versatile. I can scrunch a gaiter up around my forehead as a sweatband, roll it over the top of my head for sun protection (the fabric has a UPF of 50), pull it over my mouth and nose in a dusty situation and keep it around my neck in between. This particular one, which depicts California’s crown jewel of natural wonders, is part of a collection designed by artist Gretchen Leggitt that also pays homage to the Grand Canyon, Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.
$24 at Buff
The Jonsteen Co. California poppy seed grow kit
Spread the floral emblem of the Golden State far and wide with this tiny round tub that contains enough seeds (almost 30,000) to fill an entire meadow with California poppies (Eschscholzia californica). Each tin also contains a guide packed with growing tips and fun facts abiooout the flower; for instance, the person who first introduced the California poppy to the scientific community in the 19th century was German naturalist Adelbert von Chamisso; the year it became California’s state flower was 1890. Bonus: The round, easy-open cardboard container — roughly the size of a tuna-fish can — is cute enough to keep around long after the seeds have been planted.
$10.99 at the Jonsteen Co.
Kuali Salsa macha clásica
I discovered this Oakland-made condiment at a Bay Area farmers market last fall, intrigued by the addition of pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds to what looked like a traditional Asian-style chili crisp base of oil and dry chiles. What I didn’t know then — and have since learned — is that what was delighting my taste buds was a Mexican chili oil with roots in Orizaba, Veracruz, known as salsa macha. The dialed-back medium heat (think of it as smoldering as opposed to blazing) in concert with the seeds makes for a cross-cuisine utility player in the kitchen, adding just the right amount of spice to quesadillas and stir-fries and everything in between. Launched by wife-and-husband team Janeen Mendoza Cruz and Rodrigo Cruz Ayala in 2020 based on a family recipe, this chili oil is available locally in just one shop — El Sereno Greengrocer on North Huntington Drive — but ships (for a $5 flat rate) once a week via UPS.
$18 at Kuali Salsa
SF Mercantile California Bear Hug glass ornament
If you’ve lived in California long enough, you’ve likely come across some version of a bear hugging the slightly bent-elbow outline of the Golden State on posters, coasters, T-shirts, sweatshirts, stickers, coasters, totes and more. But you might not know the bear’s origin story, which I only recently discovered while searching for this Christmas ornament I spotted at my friend Heather’s house. SF Mercantile’s design (and I’d wager every single one of those other items, either wittingly or unwittingly) was inspired by the 1913 sheet music cover for California’s state song, “I Love You, California.” That gives this tiny trinket an outsize dose of big Cali energy, no?
$16.95 at SF Mercantile
See’s Candies milk chocolate Santa
An anthropomorphic sweet treat in the holiday stocking is a must in many a household (in Vermont when I was growing up, it was little men and women molded from maple sugar). If you’ve been tapped for hosiery-stuffing detail, consider the quintessentially Californian option of a 5.5-ounce, 7-inch-tall, foil-wrapped milk chocolate Santa from the company that’s been making confections in the Golden State since Canadian chocolate salesman Charles A. See moved to Los Angeles and opened his first shop in 1921, using his mother Mary’s recipes. Today there are more than 250 stores across the country and five kiosks scattered throughout Los Angeles International Airport terminals, which, when the holiday travel rush gets underway, may be the perfect place to stock up on last-minute stocking stuffers — Santa-shaped or otherwise.
$9.50 at See’s Candies
Broken Plates cuff links
Chances are, if there’s someone on your gift list that’s into cuff links, they’ve already got a lot of cuff links, which makes finding wrist candy that’s truly unique a challenge. The Academy Museum comes to the rescue, with some links that are forever linked to the former May Co. Building the museum now inhabits. That’s because Broken Plates glass artist Gillian Preston used pieces of the 1930s Venetian gilded-glass tiles from the building’s original golden mosaic to craft these.
$80 at Academy Museum Store
Lantern Press Southern California beaches coaster set
These ceramic, cork-backed coasters, which come in sets of four, may be made in China and sold by a Seattle-based company, but what they showcase while supporting your beverage of choice is pure SoCal. The front of each matte-finish coaster features artwork depicting an image of the sandy coastline and a signpost that name-checks some of our more familiar beaches and beach cities, including Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice and Manhattan Beach. All of which rank among The Times’ 50 beaches in Southern California.
$22.99 at Lantern Press
L.A. Times’ ‘50 Best Beaches in Southern CA’ zine
Speaking of which, there are a couple of reasons why the zine version of that beach guide is worth stuffing in a stocking for the surf-and-sand-loving set on your nice list. Chief among them is that I know firsthand the vetting process that went into these picks. In addition to that, the zine’s compact size (8.5 inches by 5.5 inches) is easy to stow in a beach tote and won’t blow around in the breeze like the newspaper version would. (Have you ever tried to read a broadsheet newspaper at the beach? It’s an exercise in futility.) Lastly, it also includes a handy checklist so your giftee can chart their bucket-list progress up and down the SoCal coast.
$12 at Shop LA Times
Heidi Merrick ’70s SRF socks
These bamboo-fabric socks with a serious 1970s vibe and “SRF LA” print would channel big California energy even if they didn’t have a deep connection to SoCal surf culture. That connection? Designer Heidi Merrick — her SRF LA collection includes sweatshirts, T-shirts and hoodies perfect for a post-wave beach hang — is the daughter of legendary surfboard shaper Al Merrick, who founded Channel Islands Surfboards in Santa Barbara in 1969.
$18 at Heidi Merrick
YCosmetics Hand Solo personal lubricant
Sure, you could dismiss this tiny bottle of lube with a punny name out of hand (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) as a stocking stuffer suggestion. Or you could get the snicker out of your system and get real about the fact that a lot of the lotions and potions used to make us feel good down there aren’t exactly doing the same for Mother Nature. Enter the “If I Say Yes” collection of sexual health and wellness products from the folks at Huntington Beach–based YCosmetics. Instead of silicone (which takes forever to biodegrade) for slipperiness, this stuff uses an all-natural alternative called Floramac 10 in a vegan squalane and meadowfoam seed oil base. The end result is a clear, unscented, biodegradable liquid about the viscosity of baby oil that allows you to indulge in a little guilty pleasure without feeling guilty about the environment.
$29 at YCosmetics
Griffith Observatory Periodic Element magnet
Is there someone on your holiday shopping list who’s truly in their element when they’re at Griffith Observatory? Then acknowledge their enthusiasm by tucking this 3¼-inch-by-2-inch magnet into the toe of their stocking. Designed to resemble a square on the periodic table of elements (and therefore instantly recognizable to science geeks worldwide), it includes the year the observatory on the hill was founded, the ZIP Code of its location and the two-letter abbreviation of its hometown. Available both online and in the bricks-and-mortar gift shop. A portion of proceeds helps support the museum.
$12 at Muze Merch
Rancho Gordo black-eyed peas
One of the New Year’s day activities in my family is the Southern custom of eating black-eyed peas to ensure good luck. That makes tucking a bag of the dried beans into the stocking of a loved one who also celebrates a logistical (luck-gistical?) smart move. But not every bag of luck-bringing beans makes the same impression on Christmas morning. And that’s why I turn to this Napa Valley–based purveyor of specialty beans. Not only do the luxe legumes taste top-notch, but also the company uses packaging that leans into the seasonal superstition to elevate otherwise basic beans (tasty as they are) into something thoughtfully gift-worthy.
$6.25 at Rancho Gordo
Heath Ceramics bud vase
Handcrafted tiles may have put this 76-year-old California company on the map back in the ‘80s, but it’s the dinnerware and housewares that keep it there. Case in point is this bud vase designed by co-founder Edith Heath back in the ‘80s. It’s not quite 4 inches tall and it looks as good empty as it does sporting a bloom. Order online or swing by the L.A. showroom on Beverly Boulevard and pick one up IRL.
$57 at Heath Ceramics
Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Co. family blend EVOO
In the pre e-commerce days, I’d bring this light green liquid gold home from the St. Helena shop by the half gallon every opportunity I had. While that size jug would be far too big to squeeze into a stocking, it certainly wouldn’t go unused, thanks to its mild, slightly spicy (as in olive spicy, not chile spicy) flavor profile that gives depth to anything you’re drizzling or sizzling.
$15 at Napa Valley Olive Oil
Flamingo Estate spicy strawberry fruit snack
If California decided to pick an official state flavor profile, I’d head to Sacramento with a jar of this sweet treat in hand and plead my case. Organic strawberries from Harry’s Berries are given a light dusting of California-grown guajillo chile, a squeeze of Key lime and a sprinkle of Big Sur sea salt before being slowly dehydrated. The result is a punch of spice, a tickle of tang and a soupçon of sweet. Why not snag one 6.5-ounce jar for their stocking and one for your pantry while you’re placing your order? You know, for research.
$80 at Flamingo Estate
Embarc Devil’s Lettuce T-shirt
Styled like a vintage movie poster and not-so-slyly poking fun of those who unironically consider the cannabis plant the evil weed, this was the bestselling T-shirt at the state fair’s California Cannabis Experience merchandise booth earlier this year. The Northern California–based company behind it, Embarc (you can see the name in the lower left in white), has carved out a niche in the cannabis event space and was responsible for bringing the first legal consumption lounge to the California State Fair earlier this year. You could probably get away with giving this gift to both the plant lover on your list and/or that special someone who genuinely fears the forbidden frond. It all depends on whether you’re feeling naughty or nice.
$33 at Devil’s Lettuce
Proto Pipe Classic
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: This is the single best pipe you’ll ever give (or get) as a gift. Practically indestructible, it’s a perfectly palm-sized piece of machined brass that features a lid that swivels closed, a permanent screen, a stash pod that stows about five bowls’ worth of herb and an onboard poker that holds the whole shebang together — when it’s not being used to clean the screen or bowl. Although I featured Proto’s newer, round-bowl Rocket pipe in a long-ago gift guide, I figured it was high time to give the original design its due. A a word of advice: Don’t trust all those websites (including Amazon and Facebook) that claim to be selling this pipe, often for much, much less. The one-and-only real deal is made in Willits, Calif., and the only legitimate online place to buy one is through the link below. You’ve been warned.
$89.95 at Proto Pipe
Last Looks Grooming Co. ‘Saltburn’-inspired candle
Although I’ve softened my stance on gifting candles somewhat, I’m still not quick to recommend one to take up the space in a stocking. That being said, one whiff of this soy-based candle — and the other film-inspired ones I waved under my nose at the Los Feliz flea market recently — and I knew I had some winners. Hand-poured in Hollywood by actual struggling actors (including the brand’s founder, Michael Filippone), these candles take their olfactory inspiration from the silver screen. The Obsession candle, for example, realistically (really!) evokes “Saltburn,” with a scent profile described as “manor hallways, old tapestries, hedge maze, memorial stones, bath water and grave soil.” Other films candle-conjured into existence include “Barbie,” “The Shining” and “Oppenheimer.” Local stockists include Filippone’s booth at the Los Feliz Flea at Vintage Land and Sumi’s in Los Feliz.
$24 at Last Looks Grooming Co.
Prices and availability of experiences in the Gift Guide and on latimes.com are subject to change.
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