Merry Christmas, Chicago! I hope Santa Claus treated you to something better than a lump of coal. Yes, Virginia, there is a sun, and it's shining today. Skilling tells us this is Chicago's first Christmas without snow cover since 2007. With highs in the low 40s. temperatures will be about 10 degrees above "seasonable". more ›

Someone robbed a Chase bank on the Near North Side. On Christmas Eve. Ballsy. more ›

If you waited until the last minute to make your reservations, don't despair. We've got you covered. more ›

We wouldn't touch whoever allegedly embezzled $25,000 from the local Toys for Tots with a 39 and a half foot pole. more ›

Frontier is making smoked turkey, pheasant and goose, and Mercat a la Planxa is serving roast suckling pig to-go. more ›

Head on down to Hackneys on Saturday afternoon for a free sample of days gone by. more ›

A gas station at the corner of Rosemont and Western in 1962 Chicago. That's the setting for this brand new story from author Barry Gifford. more ›

Recreated for you here on Chicagoist, here is a recipe for gingersnaps that is over 60 years old. more ›

Six months of locally-produced gelato, delivered to your doorstep. A better gift would be hard to imagine. more ›

The Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse at 219 S. Dearborn was named after the Republican senator from Illinois, who was notable for his role in the writing and passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Open Housing Act of 1968 ... and his Christmas album (?) more ›

The old adage says that Christmas comes but once a year. The same is true of one of the holiday's most visible symbols - the candy cane. The history of this yuletide treat is mired in debate and steeped in mythology. One the holiday is behind us, they will be on sale far and wide as grocers scurry to clear out the Christmas stock in time for beachwear and summer specialties. What better a time then to talk about candy canes than now? more ›

Christmas mornings have always seemed to last three times as long as typical mornings. As a child this was probably the byproduct of unwinding all that anticipation, built up over the preceding days until by bedtime on Christmas Eve I would be as wired up as our Douglas Fir. more ›

Barely making it through the 10th grade, my father was not an educated man. Books and classes neither suited nor served him. His degree came by way of the school of hard knocks. He was a laborer, a family man, and a stern disciplinarian. Yet, at least once a year, my sisters and I would see that gruff exterior melt and his inner child shine through. My dad loved music and he loved Christmas. Though he has been gone for many years now, I can still see him standing in our living room, wearing his winter cap, singing along to his favorites. more ›

Seven years ago my Grandma Margurite called to tell me about the “nice kid” who came to talk to her one afternoon, the one who left with a shirt box full of her famous pizzelles. Further into the conversation it became clear that the “nice kid” was a reporter from the city’s newspaper and had come to profile her for being a sort of cookie doyenne of the town’s Italian community. In sending him and his photographer off with their own packages of cookies (and a baggie-full for them to eat in the car), my grandma cemented her confectioner’s legacy while unwittingly helping the reporters compromise their journalistic ethics. more ›

This evening, we turn the floor over to Louis Armstrong. Merry Christmas, everyone. more ›

Anthony Daniels, who played C3PO in the "Star Wars" movies, calls the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special 'the horrible holiday special that nobody talks about." George Lucas apparently hated it more than casual "Star Wars" fans hated Episodes 1-3. more ›

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire." It is hard to go anywhere this time of year without hearing Nat King Cole croon this famous opening line. Sure, we all know The Christmas Song. But how many of us have actually ever eaten a chestnut, roasted or otherwise? Nutritious and delicious, they are a versatile addition to the holiday diet. Roasting chestnuts, a common practice in Europe, really brings out their earthy flavor. It is an art that is not lost on anyone who has ever had the pleasure of partaking in this holiday tradition. more ›

Family get-togethers. Cocktail parties. Office parties. They’re coming at you this week, and you can neither run nor hide. Use our simple Windy City Party Etiquette guide to get through any holiday party, big, small, or otherwise. more ›

Hot on the heels of Ozzie Guillen's "Ozzie plan" commercial, the Bulls would like to wish us a Happy Holidays, as well. more ›

The Chicago area has a winter weather advisory for this evening, as we're expecting anywhere from one to four inches of snow and/or freezing rain. But that could serve as a prelude to a bigger storm later in the week. For those of you dreaming of a White Christmas, be careful what you wish for. more ›

For many, many a year the classic Frank Capra film, It's a Wonderful Life, played ad nauseum across every television network until we could barely stand to even turn on the tube in the month of December. Just when we thought we couldn't take another trip down the road to Bedford Falls, it seemed as if the powers that be at major network television answered our prayers and began to show It's a Wonderful Life only once a year on Christmas Eve. Once the classic had been stripped from our retinas we began to truly appreciate the film again for the simple, yet telling morality tale that it is. more ›

Merry Christmas to you and your camel's ass. more ›

As the holiday fast approaches we've been so busy between shopping, baking, not to mention recovering from the Chicagoist holiday Festivus, that our heads haven't stopped spinning since Thanksgiving. Now is the time we decided to take a small break and actually enjoy the season with one of our favorite local acts here at Chicagoist, Scott Lucas and the Married Men. more ›

Holiday movies form a sacrosanct canon. Stand between people and their It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas or Miracle on 34th Street and you should expect to be treated as if you had just offered serve Rudolph as a plate of reindeer jerky. We love the old chestnuts, but sometimes you need to mix it up. Which is why, even if we personally can't get too fired up about their 27th annual sing-along Christmas show, we are thankful to them for putting together a nifty alternative Christmas program next week featuring a truly neglected Christmas classic: Gremlins. more ›

Yes, you read that headline correctly. Despite aisles and aisles of lights, ornaments, candy, artificial trees, wrapping paper, brownie gift sets, and plastic hot cocoa mugs in all their stores, according to the American Family Association, Walgreens is guilty of marginalizing Christmas. That is, Walgreens "refers to Christmas infrequently, or in a single advertising medium, but not in others." But shame on CVS (who, truth be told, we've always kinda hated, since they strangle people). That drugstore gets slammed altogether. "Company may use 'Christmas' sparingly in a single or unique product description, but as a company, does not recognize it," concludes the AFA. more ›

Maybe it's the subtle sideways smirk, the pencil thin mustache, the Perry Como-inspired, neatly tailored jackets, or perhaps it is just the way he made the most wholesome of plants, a pussy willow, seem like the dirtiest of words. We're not sure, but John Waters is truly a person, artist and, ultimately, a character unto himself. more ›

Last year, the "Polar Express" train that takes children and their parents on a ride to see Santa at a pretend North Pole in Elburn made a serious error when they left 135 kids out in the cold for an hour after a conductor mistakenly turned them away from boarding the train at the Glen Ellyn train station. Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis blamed the mistake on miscommunication at the time, explaining that the conductor was unaware that he would be running a popular theme train. Still, by the time the boarding error was discovered, most the crying children had already gone home. more ›

Admit it. You've probably sent out a mass e-mail, made a facebook update, tweeted or sent an e-holiday card. It's not uncommon these days. A research firm said that Christmas card sales declined 0.4 percent last year. It may not seem like a slight dropoff, but the research firm Mintel Evidence group says that it's part of growing evidence that the next generation will not be heading out to buy cards and stamps. more ›

Just because it's winter doesn't mean we can't enjoy outdoor movies, right? We may have snow on the ground and temperatures in the teens, but this is Chicago. If anyone can layer up and watch an film outdoors in December, it's us. Just maybe not the whole movie. more ›

Few can cut to the heart of the commercialization of Christmas with poetic vulgarity like Denis Leary. (Big tip of the hat to Blue Fairlane for this. Also, NSFW due to said poetic vulgarity). more ›