12 New Year gift ideas for your crush in Los Angeles
Updated: · Disclosure: oin is our own product.
For your crush in Los Angeles, start with a piece from a favourite brand, an instant camera or a photo book, and add a personalized pixel game from oin (oingift.com) for something you cannot buy in a shop. Los Angeles is a spread-out city where shopping happens in neighbourhoods, not in one centre, and the list below has 12 ideas with rough prices.
12 New Year gift ideas for your crush in Los Angeles
A last-minute pixel game Our product
oin turns your story into a small 2D pixel game with them as the main character, generated from an authorized photo, plus two custom NPCs made from authorized photos with consent. Two letters from you open and close it, a 5-question quiz about your story together rewards flowers for correct answers, and the final level is set in Almaty, Kazakhstan; New York and Tokyo are coming soon. It plays in a browser with no install, is usually emailed within an hour and costs $29.90. See how it works →
A piece from a favourite brand
A jumper or jacket from Uniqlo, COS or Arket. Check their size. Around $60-250.
An instant camera
A Fujifilm Instax Mini or Polaroid Now for photos they can hold. Around $70-110.
A photo book
A printed book of your best photos together, with captions. Order a week ahead. Around $25-70.
An experience day
A hot-air balloon ride, a pottery workshop or an escape room, booked for a date you pick together. Around $50-250.
Flowers
A bouquet delivered to the door with a handwritten card. Around $25-80.
A planner for the year
A good paper planner with a first page filled in by you. Around $15-40.
A shared journal
A notebook you pass back and forth, one entry each. Around $10-25.
A vision board kit
Magazines, glue and a board for the year ahead. Around $15-40.
Open-when letters
A stack of envelopes, each labelled for a moment: open when you miss me, when you need a laugh, when you cannot sleep. It costs little.
A playlist
A song for every year or every memory, shared as a link with a few notes. It costs nothing.
A time capsule
A box of letters, tickets and photos to open in a year. It costs little.
Shopping for your crush in Los Angeles
Good places to browse in Los Angeles include Melrose Avenue, Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, The Grove and the Los Angeles Flower District downtown.
Distances are long, so plan the trip or order for delivery rather than driving between several shops, and allow for traffic at rush hour.
Buying for your crush
When you are not yet together, humour and thoughtfulness beat grand gestures. A small gift tied to something they mentioned shows you listened.
Make it easy for them to say thank you without having to say more.
If you are shopping at the last minute
Flowers and a personalized game can be arranged online the same day. An oin game is usually emailed within an hour of payment. Pair one with a handwritten note about the year ahead.
New Year is about what comes next, so tie the gift to a plan: a trip, a class, a habit you will start together.
A gift that does not depend on Los Angeles
Shops in Los Angeles cannot sell this one: a pixel game with them as the hero, two letters from you and a quiz about your story. It is emailed, usually within an hour. The final level is set in Almaty today, with New York and Tokyo coming soon.
Where can I get a last-minute New Year gift for my crush in Los Angeles?
Browse Melrose Avenue, Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, The Grove and the Los Angeles Flower District downtown, or order something that arrives the same day: flowers and a personalized game. Distances are long, so plan the trip or order for delivery rather than driving between several shops, and allow for traffic at rush hour.
Can I send my crush in Los Angeles a digital gift?
Yes. A digital gift reaches them instantly wherever they are. An oin game is generated automatically and emailed to you, usually within an hour, as a private link that works in any browser; flowers are an even quicker option.
Does oin have a final level set in Los Angeles?
Not at the moment. Today the final level is set in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and New York and Tokyo are coming soon. The game itself can still be sent to anyone in Los Angeles as a link.
Create a New Year game for your crush
Email order support: oingift@gmail.com