Greetings fellow last-minute shoppers!
We missed Hanukkah this year, but we still have Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve and Day to bestow some gifts that keep on giving. (Right now it’s giving you better hurry, bish.)
While past gift guides have focused almost exclusively on Chicago, this year’s list reflects national options and local shops in our founder’s new hometown of Indianapolis. Our past gift guides are collected here.
The upside of waiting until the last minute: deadlines fuel creativity! Some of us need the chaos of a looming date to get us moving. The downside: If you’re ordering online, not every retailer is guaranteeing Christmas delivery anymore. Not for nothing should you #ShopLocal.
Another year, another collection of uniquely badass gift ideas for the feminists on your list. Let’s gooooo.
For Ravenous Readers and Book Lovers
Women & Children First Bookstore
Chicago’s beloved feminist bookstore has something for every lit lover on your list, from books and posters, to stationary and stickers. The store put out its own Holiday Gift Guide this year with a beautiful and characteristically broad range of categories. Note that online orders placed after Friday, December 15 will likely not arrive by Christmas. For in-person shopping, they’ll be closed December 25-26 and closed for Intentional Rest (don’t you love that?) January 1-7, 2024.
Semicolon Books
“We are booksellers dedicated to bridging the literacy gap among minoritized communities by providing access TO and building interest IN books.” Chicago’s first Black woman-owned bookstore is back to its original location in River West with new nonprofit status. The store uses Bookshop.org for online orders if you can’t make it to its lovely shop in person.
Loudmouth Books
“A Black, queer, woman-owned Indianapolis-based independent bookstore dedicated to highlighting banned books and uplifting the work of marginalized authors.” We couldn’t love this place more. Founded this fall by bestselling author and Indianapolis native, Leah Johnson, it’s packed with books, gifts and stationary for children and adults. (It’s also where our founder got her new favorite mug — see below.) Note that the store uses Bookshop.org for online ordering.
For Parents Who Need a Night Offfffff
Chicago Super Sitters
Give the parents in your life (or hell, yourself) the gift of thoroughly vetted, carefully curated, perfectly matched child care. The link above takes you to Chicago Super Sitters’ SuperCards, which are $200 for 10 credits, which saves you at least 20 percent with each booking. CSS published its own gift guide this year on Instagram.
For Sexy Times
Early to Bed
“A feminist, sex-positive sex shop for everyone.” We are lifetime Early to Bed stans, for its comfy and affirming shopping experience, the wisdom of its staff and the compassionate genius of its owner, Searah Deysach. For gifts to arrive by Christmas, you needed to order by December 16, but yo, Kwanzaa is through January 1.
Bellesa
“We’re on a mission to close the pleasure gap. Empowering our community to embrace, explore and celebrate their sexuality. Unapologetically.” This cheeky online sexual wellness shop is giving away thousands of free goodies through its Naughty List this year.
For Writers
Feminist Writers Society
That award-winning novel, short story, screen play or journal entry (OK, there aren’t awards for journals, but There Should Be) isn’t going to write itself, and it’s going to take time. And some moral support would be nice, right? Enter the Feminist Writers Society, a new project by Rebellious Magazine’s founder, Karen Hawkins. Most Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. ET from January-March, Karen will host a Zoom room for folks to introduce themselves, have 30 minutes of quiet writing bliss, then debrief. Sessions are $14.64 including tax. Give yourself or a loved one the gift of time and community.
For DIYers in the Making
Even Made’s tagline says it all: Home Improvement Classes for Everyone Else. Founded by three badasses who want to teach you — yes, you — to tile, maintain your major appliances and even board and batten (just Google it). Even Made offers giftable classes, events and parties. According to their founders: “We want you to feel confident in the space you call home and understand that you have the knowledge, the tools, and the wherewithal to make it your own… exactly the way you want it. If it’s boring, make it better.”
For Clean and Sustainable Self Care
Lena Rose Holistic Spa & Salon is on a mission to clean up beauty: “We desire to see a world where slow, clean, and sustainable beauty IS the standard of beauty—that all beauty companies will use only good ingredients and packaging to better the health of humans and our planet home.” The Chicago-area shop with two locations — Ravenswood Manor and Naperville — offers products and spa services including mani/pedis and body work. Highly recommended: the seasonal body oils (yessss yuletide!) and the Chakra Support with Healing Crystal Therapy. Chef’s kiss.
For the Greater Good
If you’d prefer to take a break from capitalism this year while still making an impact, consider making donations on people’s behalf to nonprofits they care about. Some we’re watching this year:
Coburn Place, a domestic violence shelter in Indianapolis where residents are given fully furnished and decorated apartments in a homey converted school or are assisted to live in the community. Residents who live onsite can take everything with them when they leave. (Message our founder at karen at rebelliousmagazine.com if you’d like to support the shelter’s new adult library.)
Elevated Access, a volunteer organization of pilots that’s carried more than 400 passengers across state lines to receive abortions or gender-affirming care. Click here to donate.
Reach Out and Read, a national literacy nonprofit whose “network of pediatric teams provides families at routine check-ups with the knowledge and tools they need to make reading a part of their daily routine.” Free books at doctor’s visits + encouragement of daily reading from a medical professional = lifelong love of reading. You can support the Illinois organization, which distributes 180,000 books statewide each year, here.
Higher Heights Leadership Fund, which backs Black women candidates for elected office.
The 19th, “an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. ” (Ahem, also, our founder’s full-time employer. Give early and often.)
Conflict of interest/sorry not sorry notice: Our founder’s sticky fingerprints are all over this year’s guide, with nods and love to some of her besties, including her favorite witches, including Americano Angel and Ginger Buddha (IYKYK).