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Times are tough and inflation is real, but this holiday season, it’s still possible to shower your loved ones in luxury without breaking the bank.

There’s no rule that says indulgence has to come with a hefty price tag. As my friend Nicole likes to say, a luxury item is one that you wouldn’t think of buying yourself.

Does anyone need an iPhone case in rich pebbled leather? Probably not, but they absolutely might enjoy one.

On this list of gifts that feel expensive (but aren’t), you’ll find a rich smelling high-end candle alternative, an elevated bottle of indie nail polish with a display-worthy brass cap and one of the best olive oils you’ll ever taste from the fruit of 100-year-old California olive trees.

My editor challenged me to keep all the gifts under $40, and dear Gift Guide reader, I rose to the challenge — if you don’t count shipping costs. Remember: Luxury is a matter of extravagance, not price.

If you make a purchase using some of our links, the L.A. Times may be compensated. Prices and availability of items and experiences in the Gift Guide and on latimes.com are subject to change.

The wait for the first Dodgers parade of the century: 36 years.

The wait for the second: One year and two days.

On Monday, in celebration of the Dodgers becoming baseball’s first back-to-back champion in 25 years, Los Angeles will throw another party for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers’ 2025 championship parade starts Monday at 11 a.m. and runs through downtown, followed by a rally at Dodger Stadium. The rally requires a ticket, which can be obtained starting at noon Sunday at dodgers.com/postseason.

For fans with rally tickets, parking lot gates will open at 8:30 a.m. and stadium gates at 9 a.m. The event is expected to start at about 12:15 p.m.

The parade and rally will be aired live on Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11 as well as SportsNet LA and AM 570, the team said.

In last year’s rally, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Ice Cube performed next to one another, with Roberts dancing and Ice Cube singing.

At one point, future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw took his turn at the microphone and hollered, “Dodger for life!”

In September, Kershaw announced he would retire at the end of the season. In his only World Series appearance, he got a critical out in the Dodgers’ 18-inning victory in Game 3.

He’ll make his final Dodger Stadium appearance as a player as part of a second consecutive championship rally. He’ll be back: The Dodgers will retire his No. 22 — they retire the number of all their Hall of Famers — and he’d certainly be in line to throw ceremonial first pitches in the Dodgers’ future postseason runs.

For now, though: Three-time champion Dodger for life.

Kyren Williams will carry the ball for the Rams this season and beyond.

On Tuesday, the Rams and the fourth-year pro agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The person requested anonymity because the deal has not been signed.

The extension includes about $23 million in guarantees, the person said.

Williams’ extension is the first by the Rams for a running back since they gave Todd Gurley a then-record deal in 2018.

The Rams and Williams’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, had been negotiating since the end of the 2024 season. General manager Les Snead had said the Rams would “definitely like to engineer a long-term partnership,” with Williams, but progress was slow.

Williams, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick from Notre Dame, is scheduled to earn $5.4 million in the final season of his rookie contract, according to Overthecap.com.

Williams rushed for more than 1,100 yards in each of the last two seasons, and is regarded as an integral part of an offense that features quarterback Matthew Stafford and receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.

Williams said at the start of training camp that he gave no thought to not reporting or not participating in drills. Rosenhaus met with Rams executives at Loyola Marymount on July 23 but no agreement was reached then.

Williams said throughout the offseason and at the start of camp that he was confident a deal with the Rams would get done.

And now it has.

LAS VEGAS — It’s easier for everything to go according to script when you have one.

As DeShaun Foster strode across the stage inside a convention center here Thursday afternoon, the UCLA football coach clutched several pages of prepared remarks that helped him navigate a lengthy opening monologue with poise and confidence.

Poking fun at his widely mocked and memed performance from a year ago, when he delivered a short, unrehearsed address filled with awkward pauses and an uneasy smile, Foster indulged reporters in a short recap of the lowlights.

“Last year I stood up here and reminded everyone that UCLA is in L.A., which looking back might have been the most obvious geography lesson in Big Ten history,” Foster said. “But you know what? Important things are worth stating clearly. We are in L.A., and we’re proud to be in L.A. This year we’re ready to show the Big Ten what L.A. football looks like when it’s firing on all cylinders.”

The Bruins can only hope their turnaround on the field is as stunning as their coach’s transformation onstage.

A year ago, as UCLA stumbled to a 1-5 start, “We’re in L.A.” became a catchphrase freely wielded to ridicule a team that often looked as lost as its coach had while delivering his opening remarks inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Rather than run from his troubles, Foster barreled ahead like a running back who found an opening in a wall of defenders. The rookie coach found his footing with a team that won four of its last six games, narrowly missing an opportunity to play in a bowl game.

His offseason was even more impressive. Foster overhauled his staff (only two assistants from last season remain) and redoubled his recruiting efforts, leading to a 2026 high school class ranked No. 21 nationally by 247Sports.com. Landing Nico Iamaleava from the transfer portal after the quarterback’s spring of discontent at Tennessee generated immediate buzz.

“We’re just excited to have a playoff quarterback, somebody that was able to lead his team to the playoffs,” Foster said. “They might not have gotten the outcome that they wanted, but he still was able to play. He showed how tough he was in that game. Just being able to come back home and be comfortable and being in a familiar environment, I think the sky is the limit. We’re excited about this.”

While Iamaleava’s arrival isn’t expected to vault the Bruins into contention for the Big Ten title, much less the College Football Playoff — UCLA was picked to finish 15th in the 18-team conference by a media poll conducted by Cleveland.com — there is recent precedent for teams taking a big leap in their coach’s second season.

Colorado finished 9-4 last season after going 4-8 in Deion Sanders’ debut season and Arizona State went 11-3 and made the CFP one year after going 3-9 in Kenny Dillingham’s first season. Foster said he hopes this season goes as well as his second in the NFL, when he helped the Carolina Panthers reach the Super Bowl.

Questions abound, particularly on a defense that loses every key playmaker, as the Bruins prepare to open training camp in Costa Mesa on Wednesday. The team will practice off campus for the first time since training in San Bernardino in 2016 because of the installation of a grass field outside the Wasserman Football Center.

Some changes around the program feel more than cosmetic. UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said that Foster’s willingness to make wholesale changes on his coaching staff after just one season and the associated recruiting surge are signs that this is a program on the rise.

“He’s just brought a vibe back, a buzz and energy about UCLA football that we haven’t had since I’ve been here, quite honestly,” Jarmond said. “And that’s what you want to see.”

A few hours before Foster took a few sips of water and dabbed his head with a handkerchief before ascending stairs to the podium inside the Mandalay Bay, his boss predicted that he would have a better showing than he did last year.

“I think he’s just more comfortable,” Jarmond said. “You know, everybody is new at something and you don’t nail the landing every first time. And so, thankfully, you’re not graded on what you say; you’re graded on how you perform and how you lead, and that’s what he’s done exceptionally well. I mean, the last half of the season, we finished 4-2 — the momentum he had going into the second half of the year and then the recruiting, that’s what matters, what you’re doing with the program.

“So I think he’s excited about today. I think he’s going to feel more comfortable because he’s done it before. And that’s just part of the deal. But he’s going to be himself and he’s going to be great.”

Foster said his verbal stumbles from a year ago taught him a valuable lesson.

“Authenticity resonates more deeply than perfection,” he said. “Our players saw me being human, and it brought us closer together. We’ve been joking about it for about a year now. The players know that that same genuine approach is how we coach, recruit and build this program.”

Entering his second season, Foster said he expected significant improvement not just from his team but also from himself.

“Growth is part of the process, and we’re all committed to being better than we were last season,” Foster said. “I know there are questions about our progress, expectations and how well we’re performing in this conference. That’s totally fair. We’re here to earn respect, not demand it. However, I can tell you this: My team is ready. They’re confident. They’re prepared, and they’re hungry to show up and show out and redefine what UCLA football can be. So, yes, we’re still in L.A. We’re proud to be Bruins, and we’re ready to make it happen starting now.”

And with that, Foster announced that he was happy to take any questions, having answered a big one about himself.

Aidan Zingg, a motocross prodigy who recently signed with Kawasaki’s prestigious Team Green program, died Saturday at age 16 from injuries sustained during the Mammoth Mountain MX event in Mammoth Lakes.

During a 250cc B class race, Zingg “went down in a corner,” according to industry website Dirtbikelover.com and was run over by other bikes.

Zingg, who grew up in Hemet before his family moved to the state of Washington, won the American Motorcyclist Assn. 2024 Amateur National Championship in Supermini 2, held at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. He recently qualified for the championships for a seventh consecutive year.

Aidan’s sister Alex Zingg, 18, on Sunday posted a tribute to her brother.

“It’s been a day and I feel like it’s been a lifetime,” she wrote on Instagram. “My heart is completely broken. You used to joke that I was so old and that I’d die first, I would always joke that you were crazy and you’d be the first. Now I’m sitting here wishing with everything that I am that you were right so I’d never have to live a day without you.”

Zingg began racing in elementary school and soon dominated the 65cc, 85cc and Supermini classes. After signing with Kawasaki’s Team Green, he showed immense promise at the 250cc class. His other sponsors included Oakley, Bell, and Renthal.

“It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of Kawasaki Team Green rider Aidan Zingg,” Kawasaki Racing posted on X. “Zingg’s dedication and kind demeanor will forever be remembered.”

Motocross journalist Donn Maeda was among those to pay tribute to Zingg on social media, writing that he was “one of those kids that made an impression on you from the moment you met him. I interviewed him for our race series years ago when he was on a 65 and when I asked him how long it’d be until he beat his dad [former racer Robert Zingg]. He smirked and said, ‘Soon, I’m sure.’

“After that, he always went out of his way to say hello, even recently when he grew into a fast big bike rider…. you know; the age when teens get cocky and cool. Not Aidan.”

Zingg’s last social media post came 10 days before his death. A joint Instagram post with MotoSport.com of Zingg racing read: “Remember the name… @aidanzingg.”

The Rams made a move in their secondary, but it was not an addition.

Cornerback Derion Kendrick, sidelined last season after sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament during training camp, was waived, the team announced Friday.

Kendrick, a sixth-round draft pick in 2022, participated in the Rams’ offseason program and organized team activities. He was scheduled to earn $3.4 million this season, according to Overthecap.com.

The secondary is something of a question mark for a Rams team that is regarded as a potential Super Bowl contender.

After finishing 10-7 and advancing to the NFC divisional round last season, the Rams neither signed a cornerback during free agency nor drafted one.

Veterans Darious Williams, 32, and Ahkello Witherspoon, 32, are the projected starting cornerbacks. Cobie Durant, Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and Josh Wallace are among others expected to play.

When asked, coach Sean McVay has not ruled out the possibility of trading for Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI. But Ramsey is due to earn $24.2 million this season and will have a salary-cap number of at least $25 million in the following three seasons, according to Overthecap.com. McVay has repeatedly pointed to “a lot of layers” that would have to be addressed for a reunion with Ramsey to take place.

Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander was recently released by the Green Bay Packers.

“Nothing but respect for the player but I don’t know if that’s a direction we would go,” McVay said this week about Alexander.

Kendrick played in 32 games for the Rams. He started six games as a rookie and 12 in 2023. He intercepted one pass.