10 Secret Places to Shop in Chicago, Illinois

The US Holiday Shopping Season is getting underway. The frightening costumes of Halloween are put away, and millions of live turkeys start to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of their feathered stomachs.

The turkey's fear is nothing compared to the perplexing questions we have to ask ourselves about gifts to give loved ones and friends.

We find ourselves wandering down the aisles of the favorite Big Box store, lost in the canyons of same old sameness searching for something special.

Which you won't find at the Big Box store, because its mission is to sell as much of the same things as possible to as many people as possible.

Here are just ten of some secret --to suburbanites and tourists-- unique and different stores to shop in Chicago.

If you're in suburbia or on the other side of the world, get here! Chicago knows how to do the Holiday Season up right, with lights, music, colorful Christmas displays on streets, and a crisp wind to make your cheeks rosy.

Once here, get your bearings. That might mean a spin up and down the Magnificent Mile, or State Street, just to see how everybody else shops. Who knows? You could pick up something special, but if not, you've got this secret shopping plan that follows. Meanwhile, enjoy the twinkling lights in the trees and the decorated windows.

Okay, now shop like it matters!

Leave the Mag Mile and the usual shopping districts behind and head to the neighborhoods and side streets.

Chinatown: This is a hustling and bustling area, almost a city within a city, where you can find anything from colorful Asian influenced art to Buddha's of every shape and color to spices and herbs to miniature violins and other musical instruments. Every Saturday the Chinatown Bazaar sets up with colorful booths selling everything from porcelain to little live turtles. Giftland has, well, just about anything, and Oriental Art Imports has some great things to add some Eastern flair to you home. Why not stop and have something szechwan to eat to warm yourself? There are many restaurants of all prices, and you can give yourself a little meal gift of your own while hunting for that right item. (Cermak and Clark)

Greektown: Just west of the Loop, or the heart of Chicago's downtown, is a place with great food and a number of great shops, where you can find something with a Mediterranean twist to it. A number of small shops line Halsted, such as Athens Jewelry, Greektown Music and the Athenian Candle Company. Why not visit Santorini (the restaurant, not the island) for some delicious Greek cuisine? (Halsted and Jackson).

Merchandise Mart: Cross the Chicago River and enter into what was once the biggest building in terms of square feet in the world. Though the Mart doesn't hold that record anymore, it's plenty big enough. At one time this was a wholesale only market that brought furniture and appliance and gift buyers into closed showrooms. The Mart still does this, but the expectant Holiday shopper can walk the two floors and find things as small as a diamond ring and as large as a couch. There's even a cooking school, The Chopping Block, that offers daily cooking classes. (222 Merchandise Mart Plaza).

Illinois Artisans Shop: Head south across that Chicago River again and browse unique collections of hand-made jewelry, fine craft items, ceramics, clothing and much more. This is where you can find the most diverse selection of handcrafted work in the Midwest. (James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph Street, Suite 2-200).

Abraham Lincoln Book Shop: Got a history buff at home, one who likes his Lincoln's in books and not just on twenty dollar bills? If so, this is the place to trade some of the twenties for books --some rare and antique--actual signatures, letters and other documents. There is also a selection of new works on the sixteenth President of the United States. He never goes out of fashion, though there are no stove pipe hats here. (357 W. Chicago Avenue)

Beverly Records: Time to leave Chicago's downtown and drive south to the Beverly neighborhood on the far south side. This is vinyl heaven! Here stacked and piled in an oder that really only the long loyal employees can figure out are LPs and 45s of everybody from Arrowsmith to Zappa. Can't find what you want exactly? No worries. In a few seconds it will be found under a foot of stacked records. There is a large selection of jazz and blues too. It's worth the trip just to see the still cool album covers, for those of us old enough to remember what an "album" is. (11612 S. Western Ave)

Fly Paper: Here is the place to find just that novelty gift, such as the first lady dress up kit and funky wrapping paper and risqué greeting cards. Other items featuring "tongue-in-cheek" humor abound here. A perfect place to find something for your honey or the neighbor. (3402 N Southport Avenue)

Red Head Boutique: A shop for the young, the beautiful, and the verging on rich, woman. Designer handbags and even matching frocks, by indie designers like B with G, Plenty, Petrozilla and PJ Salvage, are waiting to leap off the shelf and complete the person. (3450 N Southport Avenue)

Bad Boys: Got a young guy who is into the clubbing scene? The latest in style for your metro sexual and more clothing and accessory wise. (3352 N Halsted Street).

Chicago Live Poultry: Okay, why not something fresh for the cook who has everything, or that has cooked everything? Travel a bit north and get to the store where chickens rule the roost. That is, until you pick one out from the back room for your meal. Always popular around the holidays, it is a good chance to get a really great tasting bird. Employees will kill and clean live poultry, fish and rabbit in the shop for customers. Regular Health Department inspections and close cooperation with the Department of Agriculture make sure that nothing runs "a foul". (6421 N Western Avenue).

Plenty of hotels and great restaurants are everywhere you turn in Chicago and the neighborhoods. Make a day out of it, but why not make a long weekend out of it?

Beat GAS. Follow the 10-Step Shopping Plan and you should be able to cover everybody in your family and friends, no matter what their tastes.