Credit: Amy Shamblen/Unsplash

Here are some goods, places to donate, and more ideas to consider for this Chicago gift giving season. And remember, you can always find items that support the Chicago Reader at our gift shop, store.chicagoreader.com.

Adam M. Rhodes, staff writer and co-host of Chicago Queer & Now

Jamie Ludwig, associate editor

  • Art prints of local music venues from Maura Walsh’s Tiny Chicago Music Scene Project ($30 each with curated sets of six selected prints for $120) blacknailstudiochicago.com/shop
Maura Walsh’s <i>Tiny Chicago Music Scene Project</i> prints

Karen Hawkins, co-publisher and co-editor in chief

  • Darling by Kayla Ancrum. This modern-day retelling of Peter Pan set in Chicago was written for young adults, but it scared the bejesus outta me—in a good way—as a grown-ass woman. ($18.99 hardcover, $10.99 ebook)
    ​​indiebound.org
  • Lavender Chai House Body Oil from Lena Rose. So long, ashy winter skin, thanks to this luxuriously silky oil with seasonal scents straight from heaven. ($38)
    lenarosebeauty.com 
  • Chicago Flag Necklace from Stumble and Relish. Hometown pride, but make it shiny. ($14) 
    stumbleandrelish.com
  • “Bitch, Please. I’m From Chicago” mug from The Silver Room. Author Mikki Kendall showed this off during her Reader book club appearance, and I haven’t been the same since. ($16)
    thesilverroom.com
  • I Woke Up Like Dis / Feminist T-shirt from A Long Walk Home. A cozy shirt, a feminist manifesto, and a benefit for an amazing nonprofit all in one. ($30)
    alongwalkhome.org/shop

Leor Galil, music writer

  • Energy Never Dies: Afro-Optimism and Creativity in Chicago, by Ayana Contreras (University of Illinois Press). I knew I had to buy this cultural history of Black Chicago the minute Vocalo music director, DJ, and historian Ayana Contreras announced it earlier this year; it arrives December 14. ($19.95)
    indiebound.org 
  • Jeff Parker, JP’s MySpace Beats double-LP (International Anthem). The celebrated jazz guitarist and Tortoise member issued this vinyl-only compilation of his mid-2000s beat scene productions, which illuminates the connections between instrumental hip-hop and jazz. ($35)
    intlanthem.bandcamp.com
  • Hamburger Dad (VHS) and Strange Tapes zine. The Chicago cult-video zine Strange Tapes not only reissued two versions of this early 2000s, no budget, shot-on-video Seattle comedy about a father who experiences a Kafkaesque transformation into a burger (I prefer the short version), but put together a pretty neat compendium about the movies. ($30)
    strangetapeszine.bigcartel.com 
  • Original 1971 pressing of Ella Jenkins’s “I Got A Harmonica for Chanukah” b/w “It’s a Holiday” and a Hohner harmonica ($25). The team behind a forthcoming documentary on the “first lady of Children’s Music,” Chicago’s Ella Jenkins, are selling recently salvaged original copies of this delightful 50-year-old holiday seven-inch. ($25 for set)
    ellajenkinsfilm.bandcamp.com
Ella Jenkins’s holiday-themed seven-inch was originally released in 1971.

Lisa Solomon Mann, senior account executive and co-host of Cannabis Conversations segment on The Ben Joravsky Show

  • For a favorite couple, or your someone special, give a couples massage or energy healing treatment at Massage Evolved, a woman-owned and -operated small business in the West Loop. (services starting at $125 per person)
    massageevolved.com
  • For the friend who shared that their sex life needs some spicing up, the sexy Truth or Dare game can help light a fire in the bedroom (or beyond). ($14.95)
    early2bed.com
  • Since alcohol and family holiday dinners don’t always mix . . . CANN Social Tonic, an all natural, low-dose cannabis beverage is designed to give you a light and uplifting buzz. Available at area dispensaries. Lemon Lavender is my favorite! ($24 for a six-pack, or three six-packs for $54)
    drinkcann.com
  • For your furry friend(s): Cubbington’s Cabinet P’Nut Budder CBD Drops can help them chill out with you, maybe even during NYE fireworks. Other flavors are available at Cubbington’s Cabinet in Roscoe Village. ($55)
    cubbingtons.com

Micco Caporale, listings coordinator

  • Hand-marbled leather cowboy boots by Cloina ($89)
    cloina.store

Salem Collo-Julin, culture editor

  • The Beautiful Men of Goth 2022 calendar made by Chicago artist Erin Page ($30)
    erinpageforever.com 
  • A one-year membership to Experimental Sound Studio ($40-$500)
    ess.org 
  • A gift certificate to buy zines and other stuff at Quimby’s ($5-$100)
    quimbys.com 
YouTube video
Musician and artist Douglas Ewart leads a tour of his exhibition on view at ESS through December 12.

Taryn Allen, editorial associate and co-host of Chicago Queer & Now

Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel, audience engagement manager

  • Tiny Tiny Tiny Tiny Bulldog Harness by Emma Alamo ($85)
    emmaalamo.com
  • Makeshift Chicago Stages: A Century of Theater and Performance (Northwestern University Press, $34.95)
    indiebound.org
YouTube video
A video created by Free Street Theater in the honor of Giving Tuesday 2021.

The 2019 Reader Gift Guide

More than 90 local items handpicked by Reader staff, including records, books, classes, handcrafted clothing, and home goods

by Reader staff