These are L.A.'s best independent toy and gift shops.
Colorful worlds of wonder guaranteed to stock something that will delight kids and kids-at-heart while keeping your dollars out of the hands of fast fashion-shipping billionaires who will spend your hard-gotten gains on rocket-ships that resemble ding-a-lings and attack our rapidly deteriorating atmosphere.
Have fun!
Soap Plant Wacko ~ Hollywood
An L.A. legend one can only dream they may someday get locked into overnight, Wacko came of age on Melrose during the performance art-driven scene of the early 80s. The space not only has enough toys, books, and art to make Francis Buxton turn green with envy, but it embodies many funky, DIY, artistic, and vintage obsessions that speak to indie hearts and art. Now in Hollywood and fronting the incredible La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Wacko is the Costco of kitsch, where bacon air fresheners, bags of plastic eyeballs, Captain Kirk Barbie dolls, flamingo-shaped plant pots, taxidermy gator heads, disco ball string lights, dashboard Jesuses, movie monster busts, switchblade combs, and tiki mugs are in abundant supply, treated as necessities more than novelties.
4633 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027. Closest Metro lines and stop: Metro B Line - "Vermont/Sunset Station" or Bus Lines 180, 206 or 217 - “Hollywood/New Hampshire.”
Lucha Junkie Super Store ~ Whittier
A comic book shop with a dedicated lucha libre superstore in the back? We can already picture your little loved one bouncing off the walls here, donning an El Santo mask and screaming, "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!"
2934 Whittier Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90023. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 18 - “Whittier/Euclid.”
Time Travel Mart ~ Mar Vista/Echo Park
Time Travel Mart fronts the Dave Eggers-co-founded 826, a nonprofit creative writing workshop for kids. It's a gift shop from the future, selling weird, often made-up shite like Mammoth Chunks and cans of primordial soup, passports for time travelers and wormhole maps, Misfits-Mozart patches and Black Flag Bach shirts, and Kurt Vonnegut coffee mugs and barbarian repellent. And really, that's just skimming the tip of the post-modern/Pleistocene/Victorian iceberg.
1714 W Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 4 - “Sunset/Echo Park” or Bus Line 92 - "Glendale/Park."
12515 Venice Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90066. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 33 - “Venice/Centinela.”
Olvera Street ~ Downtown
Pee Wee Herman once told L.A. Magazine about his love for Olvera Street in 2016, saying, "I’m all about Olvera Street. It’s one of the greatest things in our city... There’s not one thing I wouldn’t own there—or do already own in duplicate." We imagine this collection likely includes creepy sombrero-clad marionettes, $16 wooden guitars, packs of snapping gum, poo-shaped tamarindo candy, and smash-able, old-school ceramic piggy banks. But could conceivably extend to alebrijes, ceramic Selena trivets, or Mexica calendars.
845 N. Alameda St. Los Angeles, CA 90012. Closest Metro lines and stop: Metro A, B, D, and J (910/950) Lines - "Union Station" or Bus Lines 28, 33, 40, 70, 76, 78, or 106 - “Cesar E Chavez/Alameda.”
The Dinosaur Farm ~ Pasadena
This nearly 30-year-old shop in Pasadena is a Mecca for the County's dinowhores. Especially if you happen to be an actual dinosaur-obsessed child or a child-minded one, it's all about the terrible lizards up front, from the gift wrap, wall signs, and holiday ornaments to the plastic figurines and stuffed animals, which go from tiny to life-sized. No one-trick pony, there are also rooms devoted to science toys and games, infants, books, and more traditional playthings.
1510 Mission St., South Pasadena, CA 91030. Closest Metro lines and stop: Metro A Line - "South Pasadena Station" or Bus Lines 258 and 260 - “Fair Oaks/Mission.”
Galco's Soda Pop Shop ~ Highland Park
Any nostalgic sweet tooth paired with Galco's is a match made in heaven. The Highland Park shop, whose roots go back to 1897, specializes in vintage sodas, snacks, vintage toys, and sweets from across the blue rock, featuring favorites from everyone's weird regional pasts, be it Brainwash Blue, something from Sangaria, Faygo, or Fentimans. Galco's will even help you express yourself through soda, allowing you to make your own creations. There's a sandwich here that boxing great Rocky Marciano supposedly loved as well as (if you must soil this innocent little piece about toys and wanton dinosaur fetishes) booze in stock.
5702 York Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90042. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 182 - “York/Avenue 57.”
Revenge of Comics and Pinball ~ Glassell Park
Mighty, mighty comic book shop up front over checkerboard floors. Heavy duty pinball arcade in the back with Dr. No, Ninja Turtles, and Ghostbusters machines. We refuse to write any more words.
3420 Eagle Rock Blvd. Ste. A Los Angeles, CA 90065. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 251 - “Eagle Rock/Avenue 35.”
Jack's Candy ~ Downtown
45-year-old Jack's packs just about every candy invented into a 42,000-square-foot warehouse of whizzing colors and bright wrappers, along with the pinatas to fill them with, from those shaped like bottles of Fireball to ones in the forms of Thomas the Train and tacos. This is your north star should you need a palate of Nerds Rope, four pounds of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, movie theater-sized boxes of De La Rosa Mazapán, $153.00 in unicorn-horn lollipops, and/or a bottle of Tajin bigger than a baby's arm.
777 S. Central Ave Los Angeles, CA 90021. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 53 - “Central/8th” or Bus Lines 60 and 62 - "7th/Central."
Huzzah! ~ Venice
"Don't Grow Up: It's a Trap," screams the entrance to Huzzah!, a sentiment some of us live our life by. This cute and extremely fun Venice toy shop bursts with gags, games, and playthings that buck the expected. Though you'll also find plenty of the usual Lego sets, too. Still, you're at the right place if you want a copy of Slamwich, a Stomp Racer, or an Inflatable Easel to give for the holidays. And you know you do.
2122 Lincoln Blvd. Venice, CA 90291. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 33 - “Venice/Lincoln.”
Kip's Toyland ~ Fairfax Farmer's Market
One of L.A.'s oldest operating toy stores, established in 1945, Kip's shelves share space between today's popular IPs and more nostalgic diversions like Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Robot Lilliputs, hobby horses, dress-up garb, and Etch-a-Sketch. Treasures abound as long as you can keep your brat away from The Bratz. The prices, as at similarly-spirited competitors like Brentwood's Toy Crazy, hew a little high. However, you can still have a great time inside even if window-shopping, aka touching all the stuff before getting your parking validated and going home.
6333 W. 3rd St. Ste 720 Los Angeles, CA 90036. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 16, 217, or 218 - “3rd/Fairfax.”
