Listen: Stay home. If you can, if you are able, if you telework– stay home. Just stay home. Watch the Brickies from home tonight and order something from home (or, you know, get a masked-up walk in and go pick it up at the restaurant and come right back because eff DoorDash and all the services that, while they might make your life easier, charge exorbitant fees, pocket their employees’ money and gouge the restaurants).
Kim from Summit to Soul shared that someone threw a brick through a window at her store yesterday morning. Support Kim and all our wonderful retailers this week and all the way up to Christmas. CHAMPS DC is doing an incredible job of highlighting local retailers on their Instagram, so you should check that out and give them a follow.
This reminds me of a story that Kathleen from Labyrinth tells, about someone coming into her store and “shopping” while actually purchasing the products at Amazon right in front of Kathleen. Don’t be the kind of person who lives in the bad memories of others: actually shop locally. And if you can, shop from home. Many local businesses are already equipped for virtual shopping– you just need to go to their websites. (Post coming soon, probably.)
My incredible friend Madeline Marshall made a list of actual Black-owned businesses on Etsy, which you can access here. Many of the businesses on her list are also local, so you know your money is helping DC’s economy. She did some research and found out that many purported Black makers on the platform actually aren’t Black. Fans of Regretsy may remember that Etsy is not exactly known for their careful policing of their makers in terms of handmade execution or taste, so this should come as no surprise.
I’m feeling the woman power right here and so should you. How about if you give your money to a female-owned tour company and learn all about them and their mission? A Tour of Her Own will be doing a Virtual Salon today at 2 p.m. Sign up here.
Have you had enough of women and women-owned businesses? Tough, because Women’s Food Fest Holiday Market is here to support woman-owned businesses. Click here to order gift baskets and here to order special dinners.
Saying that you support women doesn’t mean you don’t support men: It’s an acknowledgment that it’s been historically harder to get ahead as a woman owner. If you feel like supporting woman-owned The Hill is Home, I’d be eternally grateful.
If you haven’t decorated yet, you probably need a Christmas tree and greenery. The Boy Scout Troop 500 will be at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation starting TODAY at 5 p.m. so you can get your festive cheer on. They’ll also be collecting winter coats. Please bring a coat you wouldn’t mind wearing– this is not the time to bring gross, old, smelly coats. That’s not charity– that’s asking people to take your garbage for you.
Eastern Market also has vendors set up from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. this weekend, and there is a special Charlie Brown tree section.
Brent Elementary and Miner Elementary x Eliot-Hine Middle School (a collab!) are bringing all the holiday cheer right after the Thanksgiving holiday. Brent will be selling their Christmas trees from December 3-6 and you can browse their store here (you can even share the cheer and buy trees for other families). Maury and Eliot-Hine will have theirs December 4-6 and you can do a pre-sale here. Be warned– they are mostly sold out.
Ginkgo Gardens is having their annual sale through Christmas Eve. Maybe this is the year you decorate your house with plants and do beautiful things outdoors. They are open Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Big George’s lighting will not be available on December 4 but it’ll be uploaded soon — the tree is decorated and ready to roll! The Menorah will be lit on December 10, the first night of Hanukkah. More info here. I’m starting a holiday cheer map by the way: If you’re decorating, send me your approximate address and I’ll add it to this map. A masked-up, socially-distant walk is a great thing to do this weekend and always.
Incidentally, whether you celebrate Christ or the Festival of Lights, YOU NEED LATKES and Buffalo and Bergen have you covered. Email them at catering@buffalobergendc.com to place your order.
One of my favorite Christmas carols is “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Maybe I like it on account of its psychotic, relentless optimism, but I really love that Fight Club is doing a take on the tradition and I love even more that the Five Golden Rings are made of onion. Click here to eat your feelings order.
Incidentally, if you’re into eating your feelings, THE MCRIB IS BACK BABY. It really is. You can order one from McDonald’s and it’ll come to you. Miracles do exist. You can get a free McRib if you shave off your mustache too. Check it out here.
Want to trim your tree for a good cause? Shilling Canning Company is doing a special kit. Starting December 1 and through December 11, you can pre-order an evergreen tree (various sizes available from 4 – 6 ft) and/or wreaths and you can pick up on December 4, 9 and 11. Shilling will also be collecting toys for the Ronald McDonald House Charities– and when you do, you get your order upgraded because that’s not all! You can add snacks to trim that tree, complete with local cheeses, Edward’s Virginia Smokehouse Surryano ham, grilled sourdough, accoutrement, and a 16 oz. holiday cocktail mixed up by Beverage Director Jake Weinstein. You can get the packages via Tock and Toast. This beats stress-eating a box of Lucky Charms while you scream at your family that they never want to help you do fun things, huh?
The Yards is doing a super cute event (because everything they do is cute) called Deck the Yards. For $50, you can get cookies, cocoa, a wreath kit (OF COURSE there is a DIY– they speak my language), a hand-painted ornament and a $20 gift certificate to any of the eateries at The Yard. Tickets here.
If you must be outside, the District Wharf is doing Camp Wharf and you can stand around the fire pit and make s’mores. More info here and remember that they are cashless.