Updated for 2022
It’s gifting season and that means it’s time for us to showcase some of our favorite gift ideas for Los Angeles kids and their families. We always like to include Experience Gifts as well as ones you can unwrap!
Whether you’re hitting the Mall on Black Friday, Shopping Small at a store in your community on Small Business Saturday, or grabbing an online deal on Cyber Monday, we’ve got a great list of ideas for you this year.
We’ve got gift ideas for Dads, Moms, older kids and younger ones, and gift ideas the whole family can enjoy together. And check out our special list of Made-in-Los Angeles gifts!
This article contains some affiliate links and some sponsored placements from our partners. The rest are our editorial team’s picks.
Experience Gift Ideas for the Whole Family
Little Kitchen Academy
Westfield Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles 90067
This season give the gift of independence and practical life skills with a session at Little Kitchen Academy! To families seeking educationally enriching activities for their children aged 3 – 18, Little Kitchen Academy is the first-of-its-kind Montessori inspired cooking academy providing a safe and empowering environment to learn practical life skills, confidence, independence and healthy eating habits to last a lifetime!
Registration for our Winter Season is open now, including our very popular winter camps. Visit our website to register now and use code MOMSLAGIFT for 20% off any Winter session with 3 or more classes.
Little Kitchen Academy is an advertising partner.
Trapeze School New York (TSNY) Los Angeles
Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA
(310) 394-5800
Where else but L.A. could you give your child the opportunity to take a trapeze class – at the beach? Here students learn flying trapeze and aerial arts. In addition to a range of classes, the School is also a popular site for hosting parties and special group outings. Classes are designed for ages 6 and older. And it’s more than about trapeze skills here. “At the heart of our School’s motivation is a desire for greater health: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.”
Marina del Rey Parasailing
13717 Fiji Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 306-2222
If you’ve got older, thrill-seeking kids, consider a parasailing adventure. Marina del Rey Parasailing offers rides at either 500 or 800 feet, and can accommodate two or three people at a time. Minimum age for participants is 6 years old. You’ll be treated to incredible views of the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach Boardwalk! Reservations are required.
Looking for more Experience Gifts? See our list of Immersive Events in SoCal
LA Horse Rentals
1850 Riverside Dr., Glendale, CA 91201
(818) 242-8443
What better way to get a sense of our city than on horseback? Treat your birthday kiddo to a guided horse ride. LA Horse Rentals offers a variety of tours, ranging in length, “with options overlooking downtown LA, scenic Amir’s Gardens and the LA Zoo, or the famous Hollywood Sign.” Horse rides are offered for all experience levels. And who knows? Your child may discover a passion which leads to horse riding lessons! (Children must be 8 years old and at least 4 feet tall. Helmets are required for all riders under 18. Maximum weight allowed is 240 pounds.)
Amusement Park Season Passes
How amazing is it that families in Southern California are just a short drive away from not one, but many, amusement parks? Which means season passes make a great gift! And you have so many choices — Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, Universal Studios Hollywood, Six Flags Magic Mountain, LEGOLAND, and Knott’s Berry Farm.
2022 Best Gifts for Families
Midunu Chocolates
Midunu Chocolates are artisanal handcrafted chocolates, and they are delicious as well as unique. We got to sample a box and we highly recommend! Made with Ghanaian cocoa, they feature the flavors and essences of Africa. You’ll taste the subtle infusion of the bounty of the African continent – fruits, spices, coffee, teas, and tisanes. These complex flavor profiles embody the beautiful patchwork of Africa’s culinary heritage. Buying a box means you’ll be supporting a Black & women owned brand creating ethically sourced, chef-crafted chocolate truffles featuring the complex spices and flavors of the African continent – 100% handcrafted in Ghana.
Los Angeles with Kids – our New Book!
We are 100% biased in the opinion, but we think Los Angeles with Kids: 250+ Ideas for Ways to Have Fun, Explore SoCal, and Never Have a Boring Weekend Again would make a great gift this holiday season. Give it to your friends with Toddlers or give it to your friends with Teens! Give it your friends who live here, or give it to your tourist friends – and everyone in between!
Buy it on Amazon and it’ll be shipped right to your door. Then you can use it to get out and have fun all over Souther California!
Perfect Gift for Grandparents
Framed Mosaics by Artkive
We love our kids’ artwork, and hanging it on the fridge sometimes just doesn’t do it justice! If you’ve got tiny artists living with you and creating frame-worthy work, we highly recommend getting the Framed Mosaic from Artkive. Choose the art you want in the frame – 25 pieces – and fill up your Artkive Box. Their professional team will transform the art into a beautiful mosaic. And it makes a great gift, too! Final framed size 26” by 26”, solid wood, gallery frame and professional matting – Professional photography, editing of each piece of art, and a digital proof to review. Use our affiliate link and get started now.
Related: Homemade Holiday Food Gift Ideas
Hottest Toys of 2022
These are the toys Amazon says are the most coveted and desirable – and will you be able to get them in time? If you don’t already have an Amazon Prime Membership, you can get a FREE 30-day trial here and be sure those orders arrive in time for Xmas.
Check out this awesome gift “for the kid who has everything” – the Rollplay Nighthawk Electric Ride-on toy! Get it on Amazon and be the coolest parent in town!
tonies
tonies is the OG screen-free audio entertainment system that delivers equal parts imaginative, tactical play; sleek, intuitive tech; AND music and stories from the biggest names in kids entertainment. New tonies for the holiday season include Peppa Pig’s younger brother, George; Disney’s Olaf and Doc McStuffins; Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch; My Little Pony’s Sunny Starscout, and many more. Plus, leading mental health wellness brand, Calm, has partnered with tonies to bring their award-winning mindfulness and meditation content to little listeners via the toniebox! Find tonies on their website or in our Amazon shop – and look for fantastic sales Black Friday through Cyber Monday.
Top Toys of 2022 in our Amazon Shop
- Hovering Soccer Ball
- LED Frisbee
- Mini Drone for Kids
- Crystal Growing Terrarium Kit
- Domino Train Car Toy
- Hey Clay Monster Modeling Clay
- Grogu “The Child” animatronic from Star Wars The Mandalorian
- V-Tech Kidi Zoom Creator Cam
- Mini Light Up Terrarium Kit
- Little Tykes Tobi 2 Smartwatch
- Einstein Box Science Experiment Kit
- Shashibo Shape Shifting Box
- LEGO Chain Reactions
- Solar Robot Kit for Kids
All these toys can be found in our Amazon Shop Toy list.
Plus check out these cool Amazon Products:
- Amazon Fresh
- Audible Plus
- Kindle Unlimited
- Amazon Prime Video and Streaming Service – perfect for NFL Football Thursday
- Amazon Baby Registry
Games and Puzzles for the Whole Family
We love any gift that helps us spend time together, and games and puzzles are just super fun. Video games, boards games, easy and challenging puzzles – We’ve got a list of our favorites in our Amazon Shop, so click over then you get a chance.
Great Books for Kids
There are so many great books for kids that we couldn’t possibly list them all, but here are a few of our all-time favorites: Goodnight Moon, Don’t let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, the Captain Underpants series, the Lemonade War series, The Story of Ferdinand, and the list could go on forever! Check out our Amazon Shop to see a list of others we love HERE.
And if you’d prefer, you can get an Amazon Audible Membership here and listen to books.
If you’re looking for a local, independent bookstore instead of Amazon, check these out.
Vroman’s Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 449-5320 and
Children’s Book World
10580 1/2 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 559-BOOK/2665
Independent book stores offer a wide range of books. And more than books, you’ll also find games, puzzles, gifts, and knowledgeable, friendly booksellers ready to help you find the perfect item. If you’re not quite sure what to give that special family member, you can’t go wrong with a gift card. Vroman’s Bookstore is “Southern California’s oldest and largest independent bookstore.” Children’s Book World has been a popular shop for many families since 1986.
Gifts Especially for Moms, Grandmas and Aunties
You can’t go wrong with flowers and we love the beautiful gift boxes and arrangements designed by Valley Brink Road or Farmgirl Flowers – they deliver almost anywhere and we promise you’ll score big points. Plus you can always find Kitchen Essentials, Clothes, and Beauty/Skincare picks in our Amazon Shop as well.
Gifts for Dads, Uncles and Guncles
Not sure why we really need to separate gifts by gender, but it’s a tradition, so here we go! Grooming kits are a big hit with Men these days, as are cooking gifts, tools and workout gear. Check out all our picks in our Amazon shop.
Food Gifts
Here in LA you can get some amazing gifts made locally. See’s Candy is one option, perfect for the Holidays, and it’s never a bad gift in our opinion. We also love the mole sauce made by Guelaguetza, named the “Best Oaxacan Restaurant in the country” by Jonathan Gold, may he rest in peace. Plus there are tons of food gifts you can order from our Amazon shop.
Cookbooks
Maybe the person you’re buying for really would like to make their own food, or needs to find a way to feed their family healthy and delicious meals – or possibly they are cookbook addicts like some people we know… Check out the latest from our friend Catherine McCord: Smoothie Project. Or any of the terrific books by our friend Katie Chin, like Everyday Chinese Cooking. See all our fave cookbooks in our Amazon store.
Workout Gifts
After all the food gifts and cookbooks, and let’s face it, all the Holiday Parties, we’re all going to need to get busy! We recommend some fitness gear in our Amazon Store, but we also wanted to mention some super cute outfits by Athleta we’ve seen lately, and C9 Champion at Target is not only on trend, it’s on budget.
Pet Gifts
Our Furry family needs to get in on the gift action, too. Why not have something fun for Fido or Fluffy to open and enjoy? Dogs love a Kong toy and you can use it to hide treats, which add to their enrichment. Plus have they ever said No to frisbee catch? Cats always like a feather game, and catnip is a great treat. Check out all the ideas we have on our Pet Gifts list in our Amazon Shop.
Tech Gifts
Tech always makes a great gift because whatever you choose usually solves a problem for the recipient, and what’s better than that? We have Google Homes and Amazon Echos, we know lots of neighbors who have the Ring Doorbell, and of course we have computers and phones. They all need accessories, too. Check out our Tech Gift List on Amazon.
Quick Links:
Great Made-in-Los Angeles Gifts
SoCal Artists with Handmade Gifts on Etsy
Christmas and Hanukkah Events to Experience with your Family
This article contains some affiliate links and some sponsored placements from our partners. Each are labeled. The rest are our editorial team’s picks.
Disclaimer: MomsLA has made every effort to confirm the information in this article; however, things can often change. Therefore, MomsLA makes no representations or warranties about the accuracy of the information published here. MomsLA strongly urges you to confirm any event details, like date, time, location, and admission, with the third party hosting the event. You assume the sole risk of relying on any of the information in our list. MomsLA is in no way responsible for any injuries or damages you sustain while attending any third-party event posted on our website. Please read our Terms of Use which you have agreed to based on your continued use of this website. Some events have paid to be listed on MomsLA.
