By Philip Vidal
December features Chicago’s local talent, whether they are here all year round, or simply ‘home for the holidays.’
Ana Gasteyer, longtime “Saturday Night Live” cast member returns to Evanston, home of her alma mater, Northwestern University, to perform “sugar & booze live 2024” at Evanston SPACE, December 4-5, featuring original holiday songs and holiday classics from her recent “sugar and booze” album.
Andrew Bird continues his series of Gezelligheid concerts at Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church and the Andrew Bird Trio will be at Ravinia for their new album “Sunday Morning Put-On,” all in early December. Photo by Ravinia.
Friends have been recommending for years that I go to one of Andrew Bird’s annual Gezelligheid concerts. The Lake Forest native, musician, singer and songwriter’s fourteenth series of Gezelligheid concerts run December 5-6 and December 9-13 at Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church. If you miss him there, hear the Andrew Bird Trio perform their new album “Sunday Morning Put-On” at Ravinia’s Martin Theatre on December 7.
Honoring Mavis Staples on her 85th birthday! The Auditorium Theatre presents a night of special celebration featuring Mavis and her band, Jackson Browne and Margo Price on December 6. Photo courtesy of the Auditorium Theatre.
Jackson Browne and Margo Price join Grammy® Award-winning singer and civil rights activist Mavis Staples at Staples’ 85th Hometown Birthday Celebration at the Auditorium Theatre on December 6. Chicago rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins, performs their “Twisted Xmas” concert at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, December 12.
Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy® Award-winning singer Jennifer Hudson performs songs from her first holiday album in “The Gift of Love: An Intimate Live Experience,” at the Chicago Theatre on December 13. Photo courtesy of Chicago Theatre.
Chicago native, Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy® Award-winning singer Jennifer Hudson will perform songs from her first holiday album, “The Gift of Love,” at her “The Gift of Love: An Intimate Live Experience” concert at the Chicago Theatre on December 13. Emmy Award-winning actress and TV host Jane Lynch was born in Evergreen Park and raised in Dolton. She returns to Chicago with Kate Flannery, Tim Davis and the Tony Guerrero Quintet in “A Swingin’ Little Christmas” at Steppenwolf Theatre, December 12-15. I saw this holiday music and comedy revue years ago at the Lyric Opera House and greatly enjoyed it. Actor John Cusack, an Evanston native, hosts “An Evening with John Cusack and Screening of Say Anything” at the Auditorium Theatre, December 20. Comedian, actress and Oak Park native Kathy Griffin brings her “My Life on the PTSD-List” tour to The Chicago Theatre on December 31.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust’s free “Home for the Holidays” tour (registration required) of the starchitect’s Oak Park home, decorated for the holidays, is December 7.
Take part in “Drie-cember”! The Driehaus Museum will have its second annual month-long celebration of holiday programs for the entire family including a holiday market. Photo by Driehaus Museum.
The Richard H. Driehaus Museum, comprising the opulent Nickerson mansion (1883) and the recently restored Murphy Auditorium (1926), is a venue for Chicago’s talented local artisans to display their wares at the new Drie-cember Holiday Market (free) on December 7- 8 and 14-15.
When it opened in 1930, the Merchandise Mart was the largest building in the world. Now known as THE MART, it hosts the 23rd annual One of a Kind Holiday Show + Sale where you can peruse the work of over 600 artisans and designers, December 5-8.
Lillstreet’s annual Holiday Party, Show and Sale on December 6 is your opportunity visit their gallery and studios for pieces made by local artists, and at the same time enjoy food, cocktails and live music. The Chicago Artisan Market® Holiday Market – Fulton Market at Morgan Manufacturing on December 15 features goods from more than 115 artisans.
Still looking for gifts? Check out the Chicago Fair Trade Holiday Pop-up Shop on 663 N Michigan Ave for fair trade and eco-friendly products. Photo by Chicago Fair Trade.
Fair trade and eco-friendly goods from over two dozen local businesses are featured at the 11th annual Chicago Fair Trade Holiday Pop-Up Shop at 663 N Michigan Avenue through December 30. Buddy, a shop in the Chicago Cultural Center, features artwork, jewelry, clothing, stationery and toys made by local artists and artisans.
Shop locally at the Hyde Park Farmers Market’s Holiday Makers Market at The Promontory, December 14. The Hyde Park Art Center’s annual Holiday School & Studio Sale + Fundraiser features ceramics, paintings, and textiles all made by hand, December 7-22.
Recent graduates of Chicago’s five Master of Fine Art programs showcase their works, like Katie Revilla’s “Mechanisms of Deception,” at Hyde Park Art Center’s “Ground Floor,” December 7-March 23, 2025. Photo by Katie Revilla courtesy of Hyde Park Art Center.
See works by the latest pool of Chicago’s talented emerging artists at “Ground Floor,” the biennial exhibition at the Hyde Park Art Center, December 7-March 23, 2025. The exhibition features pieces by recent graduates from each of Chicago’s five Master of Fine Arts programs. See new works by Chicago’s talented playwrights at the Goodman Theatre’s free (registration required) 20th annual New Stages Festival. Many of these works have become successful full-length productions.
Holiday shows like “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!” and more are part of the League of Chicago Theatres’ Half-Price Holidays. Photo by American Blues Theater.
The League of Chicago Theatres’ Holiday Theatre Guide is your go-to guide if you’re looking for holiday-themed (or non-holiday themed) entertainment in Chicago. The League’s Hot Tix program offers discounted tickets to dozens of local shows.
A holiday classic! Performances of Tony Award®-winner Christopher Wheeldon “The Nutcracker,” run December 6-28 at the Lyric Opera House. Photo by Katie Miller courtesy of Joffrey Ballet.
Tony Award®-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has moved the classic tale of “The Nutcracker” from Imperial Russia to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Performances of this “The Nutcracker,” presented by the Joffrey Ballet, run December 6-28 at the Lyric Opera House.
Chicago’s Theater Wit fourth season of the R rated “Who’s Holiday!” shows Cindy Lou Who as a now forty-year old played by Veronica Garza, now through December 29. Photo by Theater Wit.
Adapted from Charles Dicken’s novel, “Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol” is set in Chicago during the pandemic instead of Victorian England at the Studebaker Theater, December 13-29. Manual Cinema’s productions are a mesmerizing mix of puppetry, live music and sound design. Manual Cinema’s website says “PG rated due to themes of loss and death as well as spooky ghosts.” I’d consider giving several other holiday productions an R rating: Matthew Lombardo’s “Who’s Holiday!” at Theater Wit through December 29, has Cindy Lou Who, the wide-eyed, six-year-old in Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” now a tipsy forty-year-old living in a trailer home; Hell in a Handbag’s “25th anniversary of a Rudolf the Red-Hosed Reindeer – a Parody (leave the kids at home)” by David Cerda at the Center on Halsted, through January 5, brilliantly spoofs those time-worn animated holiday TV specials.
Writer and host Geoffrey Baer explores how families celebrate Hanukkah with a focus on several businesses in Chicago in “A Celebration of Hanukkah,” December 23 on WTTW. Photo courtesy of WTTW.
For something G-rated, WTTW premieres “A Celebration of Hanukkah” written and hosted by Geoffrey Baer on December 23. Baer explores how families celebrate the Jewish holiday in different ways with a focus on Chicago. Mindy Segal of Mindy’s Bakery, North Shore Kosher Bakery, the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band and a Wrigleyville pop-up Hanukkah bar are featured.
PlayMakers Laboratory’s annual family-friendly show “That’s Weird, Grandma: A Holiday Spectacular” is at the Neo-Futurist Theater, December 12-15. The sketch show is based on stories written by Chicago elementary school students during PlayMakers Laboratory’s creative writing residencies. Bring the family to the Old Town School of Folk Music for the popular 26th Annual Holiday Caroling Party with Mary Schmich and Eric Zorn, former Chicago Tribune columnists, also December 12-15.
“Holidays a cappella” is sure to be a crowd pleaser for the whole family in its four-concert tour around Chicagoland. Photo by Chicago a cappella.
Chicago a cappella’s annual holiday concert series “Holidays a cappella” includes “Holidays a cappella Family Edition” at 3:00 PM on December 7 at the Old Town School of Music. Their other concerts are in Naperville (December 6), Oak Park (December 8), Buchanan Chapel at Fourth Presbyterian Church (December 13), and Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston (December 14). Between a retelling of Dylan Thomas’ “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” Chicago a cappella brings us timeless carols.
Another timeless tradition begins on December 1 when Chicago’s Winter Snow Parking Restrictions go into effect. A seasonal and cautionary word: these restrictions include the Winter Overnight Parking Ban on 107 miles of arterial streets from 3:00 am-7:00 am regardless of snow, and a separate snow-related parking ban for another 500 miles of main streets when there is at least two inches of snow, no matter the time of day.
I always enjoy the year-end holidays, and particularly the opportunity to meet with family and friends for celebratory times together. I wish you all the same pleasures. Happy holidays and all the best in the New Year!
Dates, times, locations and availability are subject to change.
