It’s LIVE! Version 1 of our Light Up The Hill holiday lights map is available for your winter oohing and aahing! Check it out here. Want to submit your house so it’s on the map? Share it here!
Come have fun with us at The Hill is Home! Here are THREE places you can see us at soon:
- On December 14, we will have a Cookie is Home at Mr. Henry’s with our friend Capitol Jill Baking! We will drink cider, eat cookies and take plates home. It’ll be grand! Buy tickets HERE.
- Also on December 14, join us for lunch at Good Stuff Eatery and get your picture taken with Santa! There will be crafts and glitter tattoos and delicious food! More info HERE.
- On December 17, join resident historian Robert Pohl for a special Repeal Day tour! We will start at Union Pub and end at Barrel and have cocktails at the beginning and the end. Yay! Buy tickets HERE.
December 13 is also known as Taylor Swiftmas, so celebrate with the good folks at Wunder Garten and celebrate that one tall blonde Sag who loves to kiss, tell, spill and touch our collective heartstrings. Click here for more info.
Have you missed Radici? Us too! Want to recapture some of the joy of shopping at your favorite Italian store? Then swing by their Holiday Market at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue (ground floor) and get all the panettone you can eat, plus other fun seasonal treats. The market goes from noon until 7 p.m. GO! You can also book some private shopping time this weekend by clicking on this link.
On December 14, join Hill Family Biking for a ride through lovely decorated and lit-up streets. More info here.
And also on December 14, celebrate TWENTY whole years of the H Street Farmers’ Market! Come down on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and celebrate the market switching to being a year-round market with music and fun. More info here.
Capitol Hill Books has their Second Saturday wine and discount event! From 5:30-close, enjoy 10% off purchases, and from 5:30-7:30 p.m., enjoy wine and cheese! Book Club meets at 5:30 upstairs. This month, they will discuss The Vegetarian by Han Kang.
Mott’s Market is having their Winter Wonderland from 1-5 p.m. More info here.
And The Little Grand is having a Holiday Market in the Alley from 1-5 p.m., off 7th Street NE. More info here.
Still have energy on Saturday? Then head over at 9 p.m. to Cynthia Bar & Bistro on H Street for a dance party benefiting Ward 6 PSPO and CHAMPS. The tickets are $15 or $10 if you have a receipt from an H Street restaurant. Click here for tickets.
Get ready for elevated “Girl Dinner” with The Duck and The Peach’s pastry Chef Rochelle Cooper, in collaboration with Dr. Winnette McIntosh Ambrose of The Sweet Lobby and Souk. On Wednesday, December 18, why not do a multiple-course sweet meal? You’ll be Whisked Away. More info and tickets here.
Starting Thanksgiving Day, swing by the United States Botanic Garden to see their model trains and themed plant decorations in full swing! Seasons Greenings is one of those DC traditions that are worth wading through the tourists for, especially on Tuesday and Thursday evenings: On December 10, 12, 17, 19, and 26, the Conservatory and train display will be open until 8 p.m. and there will be live seasonal music to enjoy!
In neighborhood happenings, the next ANC 6B Library Taskforce Meeting is happening on Monday, December 16 at 6:30 p.m, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, second floor, conference room 1. Would rather watch from home? Check out the full agenda and look out for the livestream link at the ANC 6B website here.
Do you have a creative high schooler who may have a play just waiting to burst out of them? Then mention the Mosaic Theater 2025 High School Company Playwriting Contest to them! The contest is open to kids in grades 9-12 from all over the DC area. More information here.
Looking for festive lights and delicious bites in a world-class research library and theater? Boy, you have highly specific tastes. Luckily, the Folger Library is doing their first annual Frost Fair(e?). Enjoy decorations, holiday music and more! More info HERE.
Craving Baroque music, specifically? Then the Mass for Christmas Eve at the Folger is the show for you. More information and tickets here.
HOLIDAY BAR SEASON
Looking for Holiday-themed bars? Duke’s Grocery in Navy Yard has an absolutely lovely theme this year: Narnia! Step in through a magical wardrobe and enjoy such magical cocktails as the belly-warming Tumnus’s Tipple, the you’ll-swear-it’s-a-liquid-peppermint-patty He’s Dangerous But He is Good or the pretty and potent Lucy’s Cordial. As always, Duke’s has great bar fare AND! house-made Turkish Delight to tempt us all! Duke’s Grocery is at 1201 Half Street SE. Want to see what it’s all about? Check out this reel I made here.
The Wharf has a Holly Jolly Pub popping up at The Brighton and it is super cute! Get tickets here.
Union Market also has a holiday pop-up bar called The Dome, but it’s so incredibly hyped that, unless you have some very savvy friends who already scored tickets weeks ago, good luck getting in. Still, holiday miracles exist, so here’s more info so you can add yourself to the waitlist.
OFF-HILL
The Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown is all decked for the holidays and, as they’ve done for the past eight years, the centerpiece of their décor is to celebrate children who are patients at Children’s National Hospital. As you walk toward Bourbon Steak, the fabulous restaurant inside the hotel, you will be greeted by a glittering forest of holiday trees and eight especially commissioned vignettes depicting the kids’ favorite things. It’s visually stunning and moving. You can raise a glass to these kiddos with one of Bourbon Steak’s delicious holiday drinks. By the way, the Teddy Bear Teas, which are lovely and popular, are mostly sold out BUT I’m told if you keep your eyes peeled, you can land a slot thanks to cancellations from busy folks. Click here to test your luck!
The National Building Museum is opening a new permanent exhibit this Saturday, titled “Visible Vault: Open Collections Storage.” The exhibition, both a shameless grab for storage space in the main floors of the Building Museum and an incredible invitation to explore, giggle, wonder and ponder on how we build the world around us, will be a fixture at the second floor of the museum. Check out my Instagram post here. This means that every time you visit, you may see a slightly different exhibit– cool right? Get tickets here.
My neighbors in love: WE HAVE DUELING HOLIDAY MARKETS! I wanted to hate it and be upset, but all this means is that now we have TWO magical and enchanting shopping destinations and more small businesses will have the chance to charm us:
- First, the city’s official Holiday Market decided to change managers and the marketplace is big and beautiful and in its always-location, closing down the 700-900 blocks of F Street NW. You can make your plan and check that market out HERE.
- The original manager of the Holiday Market, Diverse Markets, decided to take things in stride and open their own Holday Market at Dupont Circle, at the 1500 block of 19th Street NW, behind Kramers Bookstore. You can find some of your favorite local vendors at this new spot, which continues the enduring tradition. Caveat: It’s tiny, it’s mighty and it’s BUSY! AND it’s been extended through December 23! Make your plan HERE.
Need a change of scene? Rosslyn, across the river, has a lot of holiday cheer planned! Check out the full slate of events here.
PLAN AHEAD
On December 17-19, visit the Union Station Main Hall Holiday Market! From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., enjoy delightful finds and cocktails from the 1908 Lounge. More info here.
The Art of the Brick is coming to DC, opening January 30! This immersive experience focused on LEGO sculptures by Nathan Sawaya is coming to Rhode Island Center soon and tickets will be available starting December 19. Click here to get on the waitlist for early tickets on December 17.
Want to send 2024 back to the dark cave from whence it came in style? You can do no better than The Yards’ Noon Yards Eve on December 31! The sprited, all-ages celebration goes from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and has bouncy houses, activities and more! It’s free but make sure you RSVP here.
Hey, Mayor Muriel Bowser presents her annual FitDC 5k on New Year’s Day and you should consider signing up. More info here.
Want to give your kids ages 8-12 a memorable overnight experience? The National Archives’ next sleepover is on February 1-2. The experience begins at 6:30 p.m on the first and ends on the second at 9 a.m. Sign up HERE and if it’s already full, get put on the waitlist by emailing info@archivesfoundation.org.
Want to go to a special Valentine’s Day concert at the Entertainment Sports Arena with Trey Songz and Tamar Braxton? Click here to get presale tickets with code EDC.