Convert your vinyl to MP3 or CD by plugging a USB cable from this Ion Audio recordable turntable into your Mac or PC. For an audiophile friend, pick up a high-end cartridge. | $150, Urban Outfitters

The Lumen, created by installation artist Adam Frank, projects shadow images of trees and birds that change shape with each flicker of the oil lamp. | $51, Willow | 908 N. Damen, 773-772-0140

First Slice proprietor Mary Ellen Diaz sells gourmet take-out meals to the general public to finance her real mission: offering the same high-quality grub to the homeless. During the year subscribers pay $30 a week over 10 or 12 weeks for three square meals, or $65 for a family of three. During the holidays though, Diaz is offering a special: $45 for three family meals. Dishes might include roasted salmon with Thai curry, spinach and butternut squash lasagna, and chocolate-peanut butter pie. | firstslice.org | 4401 N. Ravenswood, 773-506-7380

These leather bags are as chic as clutches but loop around your wrist to keep your hands free for more important things, like cocktails. | $80, $120, $150 (S, M, L), Casa de Soul, 1919 W. Division, 773-252-2520

Cicada earrings by Erica Weiner are creepily realistic, while the squiggly octopus necklace by Amy Schutt is a little more comfortably anthropomorphic. Both are rendered in surprisingly lightweight brass. | $30 each, Habit, 1951 W. Division, 773-342-0093

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