Your last-minute Chicago gift guide
By Sidney Madden | @sidney_madden_
City Cast friends and fellow gift procrastinators,
We were warned about supply chain problems and slow deliveries a long time ago, but I know I’m not the only one who put off their holiday shopping.
Never fear, the City Cast Chicago last-minute holiday gift guide™️ is here!
🎁 CITY CAST GIFT GUIDE 🎁
FOR THE PROUD CHICAGOAN
🏀 Clark Street Sports. Get your Chi sports fans all the apparel.
📍 Neatline’s custom maps. Know someone who loves a good map as much as City Cast’s Simone Alicea? Get them handmade neighborhood maps.
FOR THE FOODIES
☕ Peach’s coffee. Mix blends from the Bronzeville staple for coffee lovers.
🐝 Honey Butter Fried Chicken cornbread. Give corn muffin mix with the Avondale restaurant’s signature bee pan, and maybe your home cook pal will share with you, too. (A gift for you and them.)
FOR THE ADULTS
🍷 Bummer wine club. Give a natural wine subscription from the Pilsen club.
🍻 Hopleaf gift card. Free beer at the Andersonville bar is a crowd pleaser.
🌿 Canna Bella Lux happy herb kit. The cannabis connoisseur in your life will thank you for this portable kit from the Ravenswood boutique.
FOR THE KIDDOS
📚 Just Like Me! book box. Sign your bookworms up to get books featuring characters of color every month. For kids up to 12, the Chicago-based company curates the book box for the child’s level. And, yeah, there is book swag included in the monthly subscription.
FOR THE ADVENTURER
🏃 Cook County Forest Preserve ziplining. The perf outdoor excursion.
🪂 Skydive Chicago. Help the adrenaline junkie in your life jump out of a plane and live their Power Ranger dream — like City Cast’s Jacoby Cochran.
FOR THE TRENDSETTER
👕 Fat Tiger Workshop. Gift corduroy hats, graphic tees, and more Joe Freshgoods’ streetwear before he closes his Wicker Park storefront soon.
💎 Dips and Coils. Give fashion-forward friends — like City Cast’s Carrie Shepherd — these eclectic handmade coil earrings and nose rings. (Maybe get some for yourself too.) You’ll be supporting a local Black queer business!
And if my list isn’t cutting it, search for goodies at Chicago Fair Trade’s pop-up, the Randolph Street Market, and the Silver Room.
🎙 NEWSFEED
▪️McDonald’s settled its racial discrimination lawsuit led by former MLB player Herb Washington. [Crain’s Chicago]
▪️Chicago has fewer than 500 public restrooms, but alders are calling for a pilot program to change that. [Block Club Chicago; City Cast Chicago]
▪️Donate to the Love & Nappyness Hair Care Drive today. [The Triibe]
▪️ This week’s must-read.