The Thanksgiving weekend is usually the time where houses throughout the area start exploding in a wash of lights and decorations. Some beautiful, most tacky. Seriously, if you're only going to hang up a few icicle lights and an inflatable Santa, you aren't coming correct. Same goes for you weekend warriors with enough lights to set the Loop afire but think simply stapling them to the roof is enough more ›

Earlier this week, we mentioned the Christmas Light hotline you could call should you run into problems with your holiday decorations. That hotline is probably really busy right now as Christmas lights are reportedly selling fast across the area, leaving many stores short-stocked. The Tribune investigates: more ›

Having trouble getting those outdoor Christmas lights to shine bright? Is the Christmas tree inexplicably dark? One company in Glenview is making a living by helping those in need of a little tech help to make sure they get the most of of holiday displays. WBBM brings us details of a Christmas Lights Hotline being run by Ultra-Lit. more ›

Where Can I See the Best Christmas Lights in the City? more ›

With the rise of new music media, and the ability to discover a new favorite band from Iceland in the comfort of your own bedroom, those instances of love for an unfamiliar artist at first sight leave more indelible impressions than ever. more ›

As the winter has stretched on, and on, and ... on, we've been searching for dining options that make us think of warmer days. Setting up a lawn chair in the apartment and drinking pina coladas doesn't quite count. So when a friend of Chicagoist suggested getting dinner at Costa Rican restaurant Irazu, we jumped at the chance. And we are very glad we did. more ›

This year’s Double Door Halloween show seemed a little bit weirder than previous incarnations. It could’ve been because Chicagoist decided to stay stone cold sober to really see what the show was really like, or it could’ve been the girl in the stall of the men’s room exhorting her date to “Stick your finger all the way to the back of your throat and just get it all out.” Irregardless we had a great time. more ›

An Alderwoman from Illinois' second largest city has been sending letters to lazy citizens asking them to take their Christmas decorations down. Second Ward Alderwoman Juany Garza's beef is simple, "They didn't do that in Mexico," she said. "I don't remember my mom leaving the Christmas ornaments up the whole year." Aurora is almost one-third Mexican, so south-of-the border traditions matter there, we guess. more ›

Last night's tree-lighting ceremony (guh?) at the Thompson Center didn't quite go as planned. Governor Blagojevich, who looks more like a game-show host every damn day, was present to make everything festive and official. more ›