The possibilities are endless. Do you like Star Wars and The Brown Bunny? How about Elf and Night of the Hunter. You name any two movies — even Fantasia and Behind the Green Door — and Blewt! Productions will print it up and send it to you for only $19.95 plus shipping and handling. more ›

The Chicagoist food staff is full of prolific home cooks, amateur mixers and diners, and we have a pretty good idea of the gear you need to keep your kitchen stocked. more ›

Wine is always a big hit for Mother's Day, which comes on May 8th this year. And yeah, that is soon. We're giving you the heads up so you can buy tickets to an event or have time to noodle about the perfect wine-themed gift for your mom. more ›

With Christmas just around the corner, City of Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson is urging a total ban on city workers accepting gifts from contractors with business before the city. The recommendation comes as Ferguson releases a report detailing gifts accepted by Department of Transportation employees including meals, golf outings and sports tickets. According to the report, department contractors spent more than $10,000 on gifts for more than 40 employees over a two year period ending in December of 2008. more ›

Are you procrastinating on your holiday shopping? Want some unique local gifts to give to friends and family this week? You're in luck. more ›

Looking for a gift for the chef-obsessed food lover in your life? Don't go to one of those silly calendar stores to buy a pin-up poster of girls in Hawaii! Instead, grab the 2011 calendar from DMK burger bar. All of the pictures (tableaus might be more accurate) are of the staff, engaging in various seasonally-themed burger activities. In May, it's raining french fries! In October, True Blood: Catsup Edition! You get the picture. If you are a Michael Kornick groupie, now is your chance to have his shining visage on your wall. more ›

Our friends at Blue Sky Bakery and Cafe are running a wonderful event this weekend. Are you still looking for christmas gifts? Did you put off shopping until the last minute? Have no fear, Blue Sky is coming to the rescue. This Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5, Blue Sky is hosting a DIY gift basket making session replete with local food products. Food gifts are always the best gifts; they don't clutter up your apartment after the holidays! more ›

We love it when charity and free stuff intersect. Through December 23rd at Wow Bao locations on State/Lake and on Jackson, any customer who donates a child's toy or gift will get a free lunch or dinner, value up to $5.99. The gifts should be new, in their original packaging, and unwrapped - and give something good, people! The presents will be donated to the Children's Memorial Hospital. So, you can get some free food and make a child happy at the same time! How could it be any better? more ›

Fresh off fighting the law and winning, Logan Square Kitchen is hosting a Christmas Market this Saturday and Sunday focusing on gourmet food gifts such as cookie decorating kits, gingerbread houses, cheeses, preserves, nuts, hot chocolate, coffees, gift baskets, bouche de noel (small & large). The vendors at the market will also have pastries, decorated cookies, chocolates and ice cream available. more ›

Bacon Flavored Bubbles? We're pretty much sold before you even finish the sentence. ThinkGeek, our favorite purveyors of strange bacon-flavored and/or caffeinated merchandise, brought this new gun to our attention. The same site that brought us dog beer and caffeinated soap now lets you shoot bacon flavored bubbles across the room! We've always loved bubble guns, but this takes it to a whole new level. more ›

Playing Santa to a foodie this year? Us, too. Cooking classes make great gifts, but in a city where many different restaurants and cooking schools offer classes aimed at educating the home cook, how do you choose wisely? Take pasta. You can learn to make it from scratch at two of Chicago's popular "recreational" cooking schools, the Chopping Block and Cooking Fools. To help you make an informed purchase for your fellow-foodie, we did some fieldwork at both spots. more ›

In addition to giving jobs to friends, Todd Stroger is now also giving them furniture. According to the Sun Times, the Stroger administration blew $13,000 on new furniture for childhood pal Eugene Mullins. Mullins, Stroger’s chief spokesman, denied the price tag, but then said he didn’t know how much it cost and denied the Sun Times entry to his office to photograph the desk and chairs. While Todd might not have the receipts, the company he purchased the items from does. Scott Freeman, owner of Simple Distributors, said the order was taken over the phone and delivered in February. The company still hasn’t seen payment. Stroger appeared this morning on "The Don & Roma Show" on WLS-890 AM this morning in which he: said he won't run for mayor; speculated on Rahm & Jesse Jackson Jr.'s meeting; and called the furniture issue a non-story. more ›

Our gift guide has tons of locally-sourced suggestions for your holiday giving, but if you prefer browsing, then don't worry, we've got you casual shoppers covered too. Featuring over 30 local artists, the Indie Arts Market hits one of our favorite music venues, Schubas, on Saturday, December 19, turning the space into a bustling sales floor for local artists and crafters. You can expect to find offerings from silkscreen posters to jewelry to paper goods, and everything in between. For the coffeeholic in your life, we recommend stopping by threadandneedle's booth for affordable, handmade, reusable coffee sleeves. more ›

Now in its third year, the à la card Chicago deck, a series of coupons good for $10 off dinner at 52 area restaurants, is probably its strongest edition yet. 21 new restaurants made the cut, including Chicagoist favorites Takashi, Taxim, Nightwood, Juicy Wine Co., the Gage and Honky Tonk BBQ. more ›

Booze-flavored lollipops, of course! Lollyphile, an online independent candy boutique, offers amazing hand-made suckers in some amazing flavors. Feeling like The Dude? Try a White Russian. Wanna explore your tough side while eating candy? Try the dark, smoky/sweet Bourbon lolly. more ›

Here's something to consider for that person in your life who lives to dine out but is a pain in the ass to shop for. à la card Chicago is an update on the clichéd and tacky coupon book. It's a deck of cards offering $10 off the tab at 52 of the area's best restaurants. Looking through the deck we saw a slew of restaurants we love, such as Mundial Cocina Mestiza, Hot Doug's, Mana Food Bar, Le Lan, Naha, Lula Café, MK, Manny's, Mado, Kitsch'n. more ›

Man, do we love surprises. Especially on our birthday. Stuff like a surprise party or a gift of something we didn't expect like a brand new ten-speed bike in the driveway. So we can only imagine the joy and excitement that G-Rod had at 6am yesterday when the knock on his door led him to a free SUV ride from the Federal Government, a free stay in some new and interesting governmental offices, some time with an actual judge and then a ride back home with helicopters and media trucks a-trailin'. Sur-prise! Happy birthday! more ›

This is the year to put your gift budget on a low-carb diet. And we're here to help. Shortly after Thanksgiving we'll have a whole gift guide for your perusal, but in the meanwhile we came across a sale that's too good not to share. more ›

Got a loved one who already has EVERYTHING and you're looking for just the right gift for a birthday / for the holidays / to celebrate Obama's election to the White house? Than might we suggest this hat or this shirt? Make certain you read the reviews of all the satisfied customers for each product. more ›

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich isn’t getting much love from voters but that doesn’t mean he isn’t swimming in gifts that range from an Al Franken book to samurai swords. The Sun-Times takes a look at Blagojevich’s 56-page gift log and finds some familiar faces. Convicted felon and former Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko gave the governor a silver spoon in 2003 for his newborn daughter. Joseph Cari, who pleaded guilty in the Rezko deals, gave the governor Al Franken’s Lies (And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them). Blagojevich also received a gift from indicted fundraiser William Cellini, who gave a $50 framed print. A Blagojevich spokesman told the Sun-Times that he doesn’t think the governor keeps most of the gifts in the log, which came in to a total of $16,475. more ›

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