Last-minute ideas for the people you need a gift for in a hurry
You can make your list and check it twice, but you can't predict last-minute invites, new Secret Santa events or sudden bursts of holiday spirit. We're here to help, with...
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Gifts that will make your teens say, ‘How did you know?’
If there's one thing we know about teens, it's that they have very specific tastes and preferences. So for this holiday gift guide, we asked parents what teens actually want....
With COVID-19 on the rise, some parents nix trick-or-treating: ‘It doesn’t seem worth the risk’
Halloween is already happening at Angie Grover's house. The pumpkins are carved. The porch is decorated. The costumes are getting multiple trial runs, with Grover's younger son, age 7, even...
I adopted a cat during COVID-19. Here’s what I learned about online searches, socially distanced meetups and how to spot the right cat.
In 2013, choosing a shelter cat was a long, leisurely process. I returned to my local shelter again and again, hanging out with various candidates and chatting with helpful volunteers....
Only a Zoom call away: COVID-19 brings long-distance friends closer
As the COVID-19 pandemic tightened its grip on Chicago, Danielle Campbell reached out to seven of her dearest friends. Most had gone to college with her; all had been in...
Mother bobcat and her kittens are captured on wildlife camera, 60 miles southwest of Chicago: ‘It was incredible.’
The bobcats were ready for their close-ups. Again and again, the tawny, midsize wildcats stepped up to the motion-detector-equipped wildlife cameras at the Kankakee Sands Preserve, 60 miles southwest of...
Dream moderators for the next presidential debate: From Judge Judy to Jerry Springer
We're a country divided, but the day after the first presidential debate, we can agree on one thing: Moderator Chris Wallace had his work cut out for him. Repeated interruptions...
Timely Halloween costumes: From Baby Yoda to Black Panther to ‘2020 Dumpster Fire,’ the top 10 looks to buy, rent or DIY
At Chicago Costume in Lincoln Park, owner Mary Hickey Panayotou is making Ruth Bader Ginsburg collars. The shop is seeing strong interest in Black Panther costumes, a tribute to the...
10 things you need to know about the Dreadhead Cowboy, who shut down the Dan Ryan on Monday
A cowboy? On the Dan Ryan Expressway? The year 2020 got a little more surreal Monday, when Chicago's Dreadhead Cowboy Adam Hollingsworth galloped down a major highway at rush hour,...
Chicago’s signature LGBTQ neighborhood will no longer be marketed as Boystown, following complaints that the name excludes women and nonbinary people
The Boystown banners are coming down. Business leaders in Chicago's largest LGBTQ neighborhood announced Wednesday that they would stop marketing the area as Boystown, following complaints that the 30-year-old name...