LOGAN SQUARE — Why bother with the dreaded mall parking lot when you live in a neighborhood packed with treasures? Logan Square, Avondale and Humboldt Park have dozens of shops and businesses that will make your holiday shopping a lot easier (and your gifts a lot more interesting).
FOR KIDS — AND GROWN UPS WHO LIKE CUTE PLUSHY THINGS
Shawnimals have been lovingly designed and made in Logan Square for over a decade now. With unusual characters like Moustachio (fuzzy, plush mustache), Wee Ninja and Happy Splug, they're sure to impress even the most discerning of stuffed animal lovers. Logan Hardware (2532 W. Fullerton Ave.) always keeps a nice selection on hand. Prices range from $1 for buttons to $50 for a 30-inch Mucho Moustachio
FOR UBER GUITAR NERDS
For that certain, special kind of guitar nerd, playing just isn't enough. For them, Specimen Guitars (1240 N. Homan Ave.) offers its Guitar & Bass Setup and Maintenance Course. The four-week course teaches students "the knowledge and techniques necessary to put any stringed instrument into balance for optimal playability and tonality." Guitar & Bass Setup and Maintenance Course $220
FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE BEER, BEACHES AND VAGUELY COMMUNIST IMAGERY
There's much more in the gift department to be found at Revolution Brewing (2323 N. Milwaukee Ave.) than just growlers of Anti-Hero IPA and Bottom Up Wit. There's also tons of merch including hats, skate decks, tap handles and yes, for acolytes of North Avenue Beach and Revolution brews, beach towels. Anti-Hero IPA beach towel $25
FOR COFFEE LOVERS
Show that coffee aficionado in your life that you're keeping up with the trends. You can forget the French press, because these days it's all about the Aeropress. Pick one up at Intelligentsia (2642 N. Milwaukee Ave.). Aeropress brewer $32
FOR LONELY ROBOTS
Logan Square comic book writer and editor Eric Rampson of Lonely Robot Comics has gathered eleven short stories by local artists and writers and put them into the "Lonely Robot Fiction Anthology." The stories range from heartbreaking to silly, but all deal with the day-to-day realities of being a robot. Pick one up at City Lit Books (2523 N. Kedzie Blvd.). They even have a few signed copies. Lonely Robot Fiction Anthology $14.99
FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS TO GET BATH BOMBED
Bath products tend to be go-to gifts, but really, doesn't everyone like smelling pretty? Made with amber, Parisian lavender, black myrrh, tonka beans and a "hint of Egyptian musk," Lulu Blossom's Bombs Away Bath Bomb Powder will do the trick. This stuff is made in Chicago and can be found at Wolfbait & B-Girls (3131 W. Logan Blvd.). 16 oz. jar $19
FOR YOUR FAVORITE COMMUTER
Is your pal a fan of local art and public transportation? Perhaps they have seen Chicago artist Ryan Duggan's "Today Is Yours" painting at the California Blue Line stop. Just in time for the holidays, Duggan is selling prints of the painting, which will fit on any wall and give your pal a motivational nudge in the morning before trudging through the snow to the train. Buy it here for $25
FOR HORRIBLE PEOPLE
Cards Against Humanity, calls itself a party game for horrible people and has also been described as the "card game for a--holes" and "Apples to Apples for the crass and jaded." This popular game was born in Chicago at the Logan Square Design Building (2864 N. Milwaukee Ave.) and is sold here. $25
FOR MOVIE BUFFS
Opening in 1915 as the Paramount Theatre, the Logan Theatre (2646 N. Milwaukee Ave.) was recently renovated to bring it back to an art deco feel. Aside from showing fun late night movies and new releases, it also has a craft beer-stocked bar and hosts plenty of events for movie lovers like a weekly movie trivia night. And for those who want it all, they now offer gift cards at the concession stand. $5 minimum
FOR YOUR BFF
The ladies behind Sparrow salon (2545 N. Milwaukee Ave.) already have a long list clients obsessed with their hair abilities. Now, salon owners Susan Flaga and Bathsheba Nemerovski are making Sparrow for Everyone, an essential oil that works as a cleanser, moisturizer or hair-perfecter. The blend of 12 essential oils isn't greasy and has a fresh, earthy scent your male and female friends will love. Find it at Sparrow, Asrai Garden (1935 W. North Ave.) or at bonadrag.com. $88 for 50ml bottle