Your local gift guide

With Thanksgiving falling so late this year, you may feel like there’s hardly any time left to find unique gifts for everyone on your list. But fear not, we’re here to help. We’ve put together a guide to shopping local, ensuring that your gift-buying this season can be as stress-free (and D.C.-centric) as possible.

Limited-time holiday markets 

If you haven’t heard by now, there are two big downtown holiday markets this year. The TLDR: The Downtown DC Business Improvement District chose to go with a new organizer, Makers Show, for this year’s market, casting aside their longtime partner, Diverse Markets Manager. In turn, Diverse Markets Manager decided to move their market two miles down the road to Dupont Circle. Hence, the dueling markets. 

Despite the drama, both feature dozens of local craftspeople selling all manner of jewelry, art, skincare, apparel, and food. At the Downtown DC Holiday Market, you can find lush lotions from Best Life Organics or handmade apparel from Native Inca Art Creation. For a snack, stop by Kush Food Truck for a crispy fried chicken sandwich, and when you’re ready for a drink, Dirty Habit’s Winter Chalet is pouring seasonal beverages. The market is in Penn Quarter at F and 8th Streets NW, and will run daily through Dec. 23 from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. 

The rival market, dubbed the DC Holiday Market at Dupont Circle, features candles from Smell of Love Candles (which is owned and operated by a local teenager), D.C. cityscape prints from Zachary Sasim, and joyfully tiny, warm bites from Migue’s Mini Donuts. This market is on 19th St. NW, and is open from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Dec. 15.

If you want to shop local crafts in a more curated, less crowded space (and contribute to a good cause, pop into the Heurich House Christmas Markt. This annual event serves as the Heurich Urban Manufacturing Incubator fundraiser, which supports free entrepreneurship coaching and training for small manufacturers. Tickets to the mansion museum range from $10 - $18. You’ll meet hyper-local, beginner makers just getting their feet off the ground. Plus, depending on which day you go, you may stumble onto a live music performance, Christmas movie screening, free arts and crafts, or a beer tasting. Market days, hours, and prices vary and are listed on the Heurich House website. (Heurich House has donated office space to The 51st and we're a partner at the market; you can pop by The 51st table on Dec. 10 and 11.)

If you’re trying to make a day trip out of your shopping, the German-themed Christmas Village is back at the Baltimore Inner Harbor until Dec. 24. Sip on spiked hot chocolate or chomp down on maple syrup-glazed bacon on a stick as you peruse fine truffles, locally produced teas, handmade European-style ornaments, and more. The Christmas Village is open Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. And for the first time ever, this year the National Harbor will host a weekend holiday market with rotating vendors from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday leading up to Dec. 25.

Shop local, shop small

If a holiday market isn’t really your scene, there are plenty of ways to make your loved one’s holiday with a gift from a local brand. 

Shop Made in DC has three locations – the Southwest Wharf, Georgetown, and Union Market — with plenty of D.C.-based bits and bobs. In addition to the beauty products, stationery, accessories, and other goodies from local craftsmen, Shop Made is running a gift box program. Each box is full of small gifts curated around a specific theme and packed into your choice of a craft box or wooden crate. 

Another vendor showcasing independent artisans is Steadfast Supply in Navy Yard. They carry an array of jewelry lines, like gold-plated chains from Ethic Goods, polymer clay earrings from the brand a bloom, and demi-fine necklaces and bracelets from Camilla Limón. (Steadfast is also a fan of furry friends — so you can pick up a treat for your pup or kitty while you're there.) 

If you’re shopping for the plant-lover in your life, pop into Grounded, a cafe, plant shop, and community space in Anacostia, or visit REWILD, which has locations in North Bethesda, Arlington, Capitol Hill, and Shaw. 

And for the bookworms, there are several independent bookstores worth browsing. Bold Fork in Mount Pleasant stocks culinary books and kitchen wares, while Lost City Books (Adams Morgan), Second Story Books (Dupont), and Capitol Hill Books (Capitol Hill) carry used and rare books. And Sankofa in Shaw and Loyalty Books in Petworth and Silver Spring have a selection of reads focused on the Black and African diaspora. (You can check out a list of D.C.'s independent bookstores here.)

Think outside of the box

There are excellent gifts hidden in less obvious places all around town. 

If you have enough self-control to skip the actual exhibits, museum gift shops make for creative holiday shopping experiences. The National Zoo carries a ridiculous amount of panda-themed merchandise, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture has a cookbook inspired by their famous Sweet Home Cafe. And maybe someone you love will want a quirky William Shakespeare ornament from the Folger Shakespeare Library?

While it’s not a museum, the transit wonk in your life is probably clamoring for the new Metro merch, available in the seasonal pop-up at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library. The first-floor pop-up carries wooden toy trains and buses, Metro-themed puzzles, mini Metro signs, and of course, swag like t-shirts and bags. 

You can also go for the “experience” gift; several local chefs are offering wine clubs, meal kits, and cookbooks. St. Anselm, the steakhouse in Union Market, has a unique offering known as the Cabinet Member’s Club. With your purchase of their premium, single-barrel whiskey, you receive a reserved space in their liquor cabinet. Members get exclusive access to reserving bar seats and can swing by anytime to enjoy their whiskey. 

For the aspiring home chef who could still use some light assistance, Tonari, the Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant near Gallery Place, is offering DIY pizza kits. Instructions and all the ingredients for your style of pizza are included. 

And if you have a friend who considers themselves a "mixologist," Lapop, the cocktail bar for Lapis, has four different cocktail kits that you can walk in and purchase at their Adams Morgan restaurant. Each kit contains the requisite housemade syrups and bitters for a signature touch.