Every Thursday, we share weekend events happening around the city. Are you planning an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup? Send it to our team using this form. Find more events in our Civics Roundup, which focuses on ways to get more involved locally.
The holiday season is hitting that sweet stretch where D.C. feels both effervescent and sentimental.
From cozy ornament workshops to a lo-fi history experience, this weekend’s events offer more texture than a box of holiday fudge. You can build gingerbread houses, bike under twinkling lights, or even join a pre-noon reggaeton party. Across the city, artists are staging spaces where craft and curiosity collide. And there are multiple opportunities to process your feelings, whether you prefer glitter, poetry, or competitive kissing as a medium.
THURSDAY, DEC. 11
Hallmark Movie Marathon and Gingerbread House-Making Party 📍 Metrobar (640 Rhode Island Ave. NE) ⏰ 6 - 10 p.m. 💸 FREE, or $18.92 with a gingerbread house kit Think: A four-hour parade of small-town romances, improbable misunderstandings, and snowfalls that always arrive on cue, paired with a gingerbread house workshop for those ready to test the limits of royal icing. Gingerbread kits require advance reservations, because even holiday whimsy runs on logistics.
Make-It Thursday: Make Your Own Ornaments 📍 Shop Made in DC at Union Market (1309 5th St. NE) ⏰ 5:30 - 7 p.m. 💸 $17 Could your tree use a little more personality? Walk out of this hands-on crafting session with two handmade ornaments that say, with conviction, “I made this” — whether they end up on your own branches or in someone else's stocking. Materials included.
Build a gingerbread house while watching Hallmark movies at Metrobar this weekend. (Theo Crazzolara / Wikimedia Commons)
Cheer Pong 📍 Tap99 (1250 Half St. SE) ⏰ 7 - 9 p.m. 💸 FREE The Navy Yard self-pour bar turns beer pong into a holiday sport, complete with a competition bracket. For those with impeccable aim, or just seasonal-beverage-fueled bravado, specialty prizes await.
Secular Holiday Parody Sing-Along (and Fundraiser) 📍 As You Are DC (500 8th St. SE) ⏰ 7 - 10 p.m. 💸 $23.18 Sick of traditional carols? SEX MONSTER’s spicy holiday parodies might jolt your seasonal spirit awake. Add irreverent comedic duo GRIEFCAT, a tarot reader, and a room full of willing backup singers, and it’s a holiday fever dream — all in support of Transanta. Hymnals supplied, and thematic attire optional.
Lo-Fi Might Save America: #Overstand by Ryan Celcius and JessBe Creative 📍 Eaton DC (1201 K St. NW) ⏰ 6:30 - 8 p.m. 💸 FREE Overstand wants to preserve our collective history in a way that feels immediate and alive. Their series turns archival research and documentary footage into a lo-fi, sensory journey through American memory. At the launch party for their multimedia exhibit at Eaton DC, hear from Maryland-born hip-hop artist Substantial alongside Overstand’s organizers.
Overstand's interactive exhibit remixes local history. (YouTube)
FRIDAY, DEC. 12
Never Stop Ideating: Late-Stage Comedy and Stories 📍 Beacon Hotel (1615 Rhode Island Ave. NW) ⏰ 7 p.m. 💸 $24 Could this be the best work conference you've never actually clocked in for? This “corporate summit” comes stocked with all the essentials: Live comedy and storytelling tucked into breakout rooms, a roaming juggler, a fully loaded hotel bar, and, yes, lanyards for everyone. The lineup includes Tarunika Anand, Christian Davis, J.R. Denson, and many, many more.
Room Service: Holiday Edition 📍 1345 4th St. NE ⏰ 4 - 7 p.m. (continues through Sunday, Dec. 14) 💸 FREE Local artists are back in residence at this pop-up design showcase in a former Motel 6, this time with a cozy winter atmosphere that encourages drifting from room to room. Indoors, the Plant Shop indoors has become a Print Shop, where JAB Arts offers limited-edition work from 15 artists. Out in the cold, a retro winter pop-up from Bar Betsie serves mulled wine and hot toddies beside crackling fire pits.
Mambo Fridays 📍 Bryant Street Market (670 Rhode Island Ave. NE) ⏰ 7:30 p.m. doors, 7:45 p.m. lesson, 8:45 p.m. dancing continues 💸 $17.85 This weekly salsa class keeps things light and low-pressure. No need for a partner or perfect form — just bring your willingness to move, and even sweat a little. After the lesson, the room shifts into a full social dance floor, where regulars, newcomers, and families with little ones groove together. Kids under 15 join free.
Chinatown Funk Express: Round VII 📍 Lucky Danger Chinatown (709 D St. NW) ⏰ 8 p.m. - 1 a.m. 💸 $18.92 presale, $20 at the door The Asian pop dance party is delivering its signature grooves, from ‘70s and ‘80s city pop and high-octane Cantonese hits to dreamy OPM ballads and everything in between. LES THE DJ helms this first-anniversary event, backed by the sound system you might have heard if you’ve been to Extended Play.
This Saturday: A holiday market on a farm. (Courtesy Edgewood Community Farm)
SATURDAY, DEC. 13
Edgewood Community Farm Holiday Market 📍 Edgewood Community Farm (2304 2nd St. NE) ⏰ 12 - 5 p.m. 💸 FREE This neighborhood holiday market returns with a mix of handmade gifts, local vendors, and live music, as long as the weather cooperates. Kids can dive into ornament-making and coloring while adults warm up around the fire pits with cocoa or cider.
Hill Family Biking Holiday Lights Ride 📍 Meet atWatkins Elementary School, parking lot on D St. SE (420 12th St. SE), ride ends at The Roost (1401 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) ⏰ 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. (show up 15 minutes early if you need help with your bike) 💸 FREE Bring the kids out and meet your neighbors for four miles of biking through the twinkling lights of Capitol Hill. Riders are encouraged to decorate themselves and their wheels with glow gear for maximum effect. The group ride ends at The Roost for hot chocolate and mingling!
National Kiss Under the National Mistletoe 📍 Anthem Row (700 K St. NW) ⏰ 3 - 6 p.m., with the kiss at 5 p.m. 💸 FREE If you've ever wondered what hundreds of couples kissing under a massive mistletoe installation looks like, Downtown DC is making that extremely specific curiosity a reality. The city is going for a Guinness World Record with a 10-foot mistletoe suspended 30 feet in the air. Expect live music, food, and one collective seven-second smooch for the history books. Registration required, one entry per couple.
Write About Now Poetry 📍 Yours Truly DC Hotel (1143 New Hampshire Ave. NW) ⏰ 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. 💸 $34.58 This open mic brings together writers, listeners, and anyone who loves a good line. Dr. Rebecca Dupas takes center stage, with E-Baby The Poet hosting and DJ Vic shaping the mood between sets. All are welcome to grace the mic — just show up before 7:30 p.m. to guarantee your spot on the list!
SUNDAY, DEC. 14
Make It Mt. Pleasant Holiday Market 📍 Lamont Plaza (3210 Mt Pleasant St. NW) ⏰ 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 💸 FREE A neighborhood market featuring local makers, artists, and culinary delights is taking over the main plaza in Mt. Pleasant. Browse the tents for last-minute gifts, or just soak up the seasonal buzz! We hear Santa is making an appearance with toys for children.
PerreoO Therapy Coffee Party 📍 Llamabar Café (1 M St. SE) ⏰ 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. 💸 $13.58 Reggaeton for breakfast? Absolutely. Llamabar hosts a daytime dance party powered by coffee and a cross-genre playlist featuring dancehall, salsa, bachata, and more.
Cake Fest DMV 📍 Royal Sands Social Club (26 N St. SE) ⏰ 5 - 9 p.m. 💸 $17.85-44.52 Try more than 100 cakes from local bakers — or bring one of your own for others to try — as part of this evening for dessert enthusiasts. Fuel your ambitious piping choices at the full bar, support other local vendors, and celebrate our city’s edible artistry.
India Kea is a D.C. native and essayist adventuring through the city with a focus on art and food. Her writing reflects her passion for all things quirky and flavorful. Catch her in action @diakea
With your help, we pursue stories that hold leaders to account, demystify opaque city and civic processes, and celebrate the idiosyncrasies that make us proud to call D.C. home. Put simply, our mission is to make it easier — and more fun — to live in the District. Our members help keep local news free and independent for all:
