Chicago gift ideas: Local food, books and experiences to shop

How it works: We broke our recommendations down into four categories: food, books, subscriptions and, of course, the wild card category that could make for great white elephant gifts.

Be smart: Block Club has a great, comprehensive list of Chicago's small businesses.

Food

Food has always been a gesture of love, but it might be time to think beyond the traditional fruitcake this year. Consider these gifts showcasing our city's culinary creations instead:

🍳 "The Lula Cafe Cookbook" ($50) by chef Jason Hammel, revealing the secrets of one of Chicago's most beloved restaurants. Or "Midwestern Food" ($27) by Big Jones chef Paul Fehribach, which explains why we eat what we do around here.

🧀 Nothing says Happy Holidays better than a homemade charcuterie board. Mr. Charcuterie Chicago will make them for you, using local ingredients. You can get a medium board ($110) that serves 6-8 folks, or gift a workshop that teaches you how to make your own (prices vary).

🍪 Cookies for a Cause: Some of Chicago's top chefs — including Leigh Omilinsky, Stephanie Izard and Paul Kahan — have teamed up to make a box of holiday cookies to wow guests and support food education in schools through Pilot Light. Order an assorted box for $30.

☕️ Sip of Hope Coffee, where 100% of the cafe's proceeds go to suicide prevention and mental health education. A 12-ounce bag of their Hope for the Holiday beans costs $18.

🇫🇷 French fare: The city-sponsored Rendezvous pop-up in the base of the Hancock offers French fashions, housewares and food — with great views of Boul Mich while you sip café au lait.

• We stopped by the FFL booth for a jar of delicious duck rillettes ($15-$25), a perfect host gift or treat for the Francophile on your list.

Books

There are so many amazing local authors writing important books, we wanted to share a few.

📖 "King: A Life": Bestselling biographer Jonathan Eig has deservedly landed on many 2023 best of lists for this exhaustively researched biography of Martin Luther King Jr.

• Among his original discoveries is one that suggests the rift between King and Malcolm X was overblown by an unexpected figure.

📻 "The Loop Files: An Oral History of the Most Outrageous Radio Station Ever": Local author Rick Kaempfer looks back at one of Chicago's most iconic radio stations.

• Stories of Brandmeier, Steve & Garry, Kevin Matthews and the rest of the gang will surely be a great gift for anyone who listened to Chicago talk radio in the 1990s. Kaempfer should know; he was a producer at the station.

"Man's Country: More Than a Bathhouse": For the Chicago LGBTQ+ history lover in your house, historian Owen Keehnen brings alive the now-shuttered Man's Country bathhouse in Uptown with characters, stories and photos.

"When the Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season": Author Rich Cohen grew up in the area watching Bulls basketball, so naturally this historical account of the 1987 NBA season featuring the Pistons, Celtics and Lakers includes stories of the beginnings of Michael Jordan and the '90s Bulls.

"Authentic Chicago: The Fairway Flapper, the Lincolnwood Lone Ranger, the Wandering Church and Other Quirky History": Historian John Schmidt's new book chronicles the fun side of Chicago history. Schmidt has been publishing Chicago history books for years and excels at telling the stories of the hidden characters in this town's past.

Of note: If you need a more substantive list, check out the recommendations from staff at the Chicago Public Library.

Subscriptions & memberships

There's something special about giving an annual membership, especially if you just don't know what to get someone.

✍️ For the museum lover: It's always hard to pick just one. This year, we're going with the newer American Writers Museum on North Michigan Avenue. The AWM is a great place not just for learning about Chicago writers, but for literary events, too.

• Memberships cost $50 annually for individuals, $80 for families.

🍌 For the composter: For folks on your list who could go beyond the city's new drop-off composting program, you can order them a subscription for a pick-up service like Collective Resource, BlockBins Waste Not or The Urban Canopy composting services to collect their scraps.

For the cinephile: We can't recommend enough the historic Music Box Theater at 3373 N. Southport Ave. The old movie house shows classic films and new indie smashes, plus Music Box also hosts the occasional sing-along.

• Membership gets you discounted tickets and first call on special events for $60 annually.

White elephant

If you want to be the partygoer who stands out at your next white elephant exchange, we've got you covered.

Pumpkin spice Malört: Despite blending two things people love to hate, this holiday concoction has proven the hot drink of the season.

• CH Distillery is selling the bottles for charity at $150.
• For a cheaper homemade version, Monica recommends adding a half teaspoon of pumpkin spice powder and a tablespoon of honey to a fun-sized bottle of Malört (6 for $12.99) and shaking it like crazy.

Holiday advent calendars are always a hit, but if you want one of the highest quality, Rise dispensaries has got you covered.

• This weed-themed advent calendar ($80) features 12 chillums (think small one-hitters) filled with different cannabis strains, totaling up to about 5g of flower total.

A personalized song: Chicago startup Songfinch will hire a professional musician to write a custom song for you. Prices start at $199, and help keep artists in business.

Maria Pappas' 2024 calendar: Nothing proves your Chicago bona fides like a calendar featuring the Cook County treasurer posing in fashion-forward jackets.

• Pappas' office says you can find some at Jimmy's Gyros & Grill, Sweet Connection Bakery, or WVON Radio.