This is our first Chicago holiday sans Marshall Field’s and with Macy’s. Time Out has some suggestions as to how Macy’s can woo us this holiday season:

-Give us a parade like the one in NYC on Thanksgiving. Here are some balloon suggestions.

-“Give the lady what she wants.” Or, give us what we want: 1) not to be treated like New York’s boring little sister, and 2) not to have our historic State Street store turned into a downmarket, “price check, please” warehouse.

And here’s another interesting article on big name stores that aren’t coming to Chicago. Apparently they’re afraid of the Midwest or something. But I think we can shop with the best of ’em, so all of these hotshot stores should give us a shot.

As far as holiday shopping goes, try some of these unique gifts:

–2007 Chicago Birthday Calendar, “artwork and poetry by renowed Chicagoans like Herman Rosse, Shel Silverstein, Muddy Waters, Carl Sandburg; an eclectic range of holidays and city events; as well as the birthdays of hundreds of famous (and some not-so-famous} Chicagoans and other American legends.”

-Old school sports gear from Throwbackmax. Now you can sport a vintage 1983 Chicago Blitz shirt, 1974 Chicago Fire shirt, or 1968 Chicago Owls shirt.

-Cool local paper goods from La Familia Green, including journals made from VHS sleeves, album sleeves, and postcards.