Gift Ideas

October 11, 2012

Photo: Courtesy of Truffle Truffle

Wine is a standard corporate gift, but you can beef up (pun intended) the offering with a custom gift cooler from Butcher and the Burger. The $100 gift set includes two bottles of wine, plus a cutting board, summer sausage, and a branded baseball cap. Optional add-ons can include a gift certificate for a cooking classes, additional bottles of wine, and carving utensils from Tabula Tua.

Photo: Courtesy of Butcher and the Burger

The Cookie Joint's "cookie fries" make for fun meeting snacks or take-home gifts. Baked in the shape of crinkle-cut fries and served in french fry packaging, the shortbread cookies come in flavors such as cinnamon spice and chocolate toffee crunch. Accompanying dipping sauces—including salted caramel, marshmallow, and peanut butter—are served in small paper ketchup containers.

Photo: Courtesy of the Cookie Joint

Chocolat Uzma Sharif is a locally made line of chocolates with an "East meets West" sensibility. Continuing a family tradition started by her grandfather, a pastry chef in Pakistan, Uzma Sharif hand-makes unique treats such as Rishi organic jasmine tea chocolates, hazelnut-coriander pralines, and—for the holiday season—dark-chocolate-peppermint candy cane truffles. Her products are available in gift boxes and hat boxes that range from $15 to $95. Sharif can also host chocolate-making classes for small groups of six at her Pilsen boutique and studio. The classes are two hours and cost $65 per head; each guest leaves with a box of chocolates.

Photo: Courtesy of Uzma Sharif

Available for private holiday parties, the Adler Planetarium is currently showing Welcome to the Universe in its Grainger Sky Theater. At the end of the show, the theater is transformed into a 70-foot snow globe as falling snow projections flash across its domed screen. The planetarium's exclusive caterer, Food for Thought, has seasonal offerings such as the Apropos cocktail made with clover honey and cinnamon.

Photo: Jamie Goss

Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith, founders of local catering firm the Hearty Boys, have a new, gift-worthy book of recipes. The New Old Bar, which hit shelves this month, has recipes for more than 200 cocktails and dozens of finger foods. The catering firm can also arrange to serve the vintage cocktails featured in the book for holiday gatherings.

Photo: Steve McDonagh

MSG Entertainment's production of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring the Rockettes, comes to Rosemont's Akoo Theatre December 14 to 30. With glittery new costumes, lighting effects, and a 50-foot LED screen, the family-friendly show includes Santa Claus cameos and a sing-along to "Joy to the World." Group tickets are available in blocks of 10 or more.

Photo: Courtesy of Carol Fox & Associates Public Relations

Kehoe Designs' new Goldsmith Holiday decor scheme includes golden furniture rentals and marble-top accent tables. The collection introduces the new Paloma sofa and also includes bar fronts made from silky, kelly green fabrics and sleek white reindeer sculptures. For small, impromptu gatherings, the company can arrange for decor in as little as seven days; more elaborate events require longer lead times.

Photo: Ryan Sjostrom for Kehoe Designs

Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique launched a line of cake pops in October. The treats ($2.50 each and $28 per dozen) come in 18 different flavors, including cookies and cream and strawberry dream. Gift options include cake pop bouquets and tiered cake pop stands.

Photo: Courtesy of Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique

Magnolia Bakery's holiday offerings include boxes of treats that can be served at meetings or distributed as gifts. The Christmas and Hanukkah cupcakes ($24 to $36) are topped with edible ornaments. The Twelve Days of Christmas cookie assortment ($125) if filled with snickerdoodles, shortbread cookies topped with red and green sugar, peppermint meringues, gingersnaps, and more. The bakery also supplies boxes of 12 vintage-inspired holiday cards ($18).

Photo: Courtesy of Magnolia Bakery

For a lighter catering option—which may be a welcome reprieve in a season full of decadent treats—the Sofitel Chicago offers its new De-Lite menu. Developed by nutrition and fitness experts from the Thalassa Sea & Spa in France, the menu includes items such as oysters with passion fruit caviar and marinated skirt steak with seasonal steamed vegetables.

Photo: Courtesy of Sofitel Chicago

For a party Maxim threw to celebrate January cover girl Michelle Branch in 2004, the magazine's in-house design team created a unique invite: Guests received a white branded ski cap; instead of a price, the tag on the hat carried the event info and served as an admission ticket.

Photo: Courtesy of Maxim

For Etsy Fans

Every Umba Box includes several handmade items, such as candles, jewelry, and stationery. The cost is $23 a month for prepaid subscriptions of three, six, or 12 months.

Photo: Courtesy of Umba Box

For Outdoorsy Types

Mystery Tackle Box introduces fishers to new fishing lures and tackle each month. Gift subscriptions start from $45 for three months.

Photo: Ozzie Ramsay Photography

For Food Lovers

Each month, Mantry ships subscribers a wooden crate filled with as many as eight full-size edible items curated from some of America’s top artisans and small-batch food makers. Mantry offers three gift subscription levels, starting from $75 for one month.

Photo: Courtesy of Mantry

For Do-Gooders

Love With Food’s $10 monthly boxes include gourmet food samples, and there’s a charitable tie-in: For each box sold, the company donates a meal to a food bank or a nonprofit organization.

Photo: Courtesy of Love with Food

For Comic Book Geeks

For those proud of their geek status, Loot Crate delivers a monthly box of gamer gear from brand partners such as Marvel and Nintendo. Subscriptions start from $20.

Photo: Courtesy of Loot Crate

For Coffee Addicts

Java aficionados will love Craft Coffee, which delivers coffee beans from different handpicked roasters every month. Subscriptions start from $30 for one month.

Photo: Courtesy of Craft Coffee

For Beauty Product Fiends

Gift beauty junkies with Birchbox beauty goodies for three, six, or 12 months. Subscriptions for women start from $30; men’s start from $60.

Photo: Courtesy of Birchbox

Gourmet Sweets Packages

The adorably packaged gourmet sweets from Chicago-based A Sweet Delivery can be customized with company logos and one-off motifs. Each of the company’s signature gift boxes has a stylish themed interior and includes a variety of confections along with a tiny candy scoop. Prices start from $35, and gifts can be shipped worldwide.

Photo: Courtesy of A Sweet Delivery