It is a well-known fact, at least in the company that I keep, that winter is one of Mother Nature’s more godawful ideas. Let us count the reasons. The ice that contributes to lots of embarrassing wipe-outs while walking down the sidewalk (and subsequently bruised butt bones), the sense of foreboding before venturing out into the bitter, painful cold, the fact that there are no snow days in the adult world, and shoveling the car out from a mountain of snow only to take on the treacherously slippery roads makes anyone want to fling themselves off a building.
Yes, clearly I have not always had the most amicable relationship with wintertime. Part of it is that I look really, really squat in pants (highwaisted shorts and I always have an emotional reunion in the spring). Part of it is that I don’t like having a perpetually runny nose during client meetings at work. Part of it is that it has always seemed like there is nothing to do in the winter but stay at home with some holiday movies and try to stay warm. However, as I enter my second winter living in Washington DC, I’ve realized that the city actually has a ton to offer, even when it’s cold outside. So turn that frown upside-down, because I have some neato suggestions for your next wintertime trip to DC.
Downtown Holiday Market
I don’t shop a lot, but I still absolutely love a good outdoor market. The downtown holiday market comes out to play at the end of November and stays all the way up until Christmas Eve Eve, and attracts more than 150 artists and vendors from all over the country. This includes people selling paintings, blown glass, pottery, jewelry, and Incan garb (!!!). It is “consistently ranked among America’s best Holiday Markets,” at least according to their website, but I am tempted to throw caution to the wind and trust them on this one. The location right in front of the National Portrait Gallery (one of my favorite DC museums and worth a visit, free of charge, while you’re there) is prime; Chinatown is bustling and full of places to eat, drink, and be merry, no matter the time of year. Plus, the market boasts live entertainment and the most effing delicious chocolate-filled churros in the entire city. I’m still thinking about that churro and I had the pleasure of devouring it TWO WEEKS AGO. Can’t move on.
Eastern Market
For warmer shopping options, head to historic Capitol Hill, home to DC’s Eastern Market. Eastern Market sells fresh food and handmade crafts, to satisfy both your need to buy last minute Christmas gifts and your post-shopping peckishness, but is ESPECIALLY exciting in the wintertime because it hosts a bunch of holiday and seasonal events.
Theatre
I once believed I was on the fast track to a career in acting and performing arts, convincing my mother and father to send me to several summer performing arts camps and forcing my family to have an annual “family show,” which involved me as the MC and the star, as well as an uncomfortable amount of singing, dancing, and admonishment (by me) if you did not want to comply in the festivities. Have I ever mentioned how horrifically obnoxious of a child I was? I cannot imagine having to raise someone like me. Talk about a nightmare.
Anyways. My first trip to Europe, specifically London when I was 12 years old, my grandmother organized no less than THREE trips to the theatre within a one week period. I went to the theatre at least once whenever I went to Red Wing, Minnesota in the summers to visit her. My obsession with the performing arts didn’t come from nowhere (thanks Grandma). I am a former sorority girl/math & computer science major, so the fact that I have such great things to say about the theatre means something (and no matter how much my ex-boyfriend made fun of me for it, I still stand by it. Don’t date people who are only interested in watching TV on the couch drinking 6 beers a night and make fun of you for liking the theatre, by the way).
Live performances are a good option in any city during the winter months. A lot of people say that DC is too political and not artsy enough, but there are plenty of options for those who are inclined. The Warner Theater is one of the older theaters in DC, and has in the past hosted acts such as Jay-Z and Johnny Cash. The Nutcracker is a popular annual act held at the theater every December, performed by the Washington Ballet, and is only one of many wintertime performances available during the winter season (check out Titanic at Signature Theatre and Wicked at The Kennedy Center, as well).
Zoolights
From 5 to 9 pm, late November to early January, the National Zoo is transformed into a flashy, festive extravaganza. Lots of zoos around the country do this, but the National Zoo is a Smithsonian, and is therefore free of charge (unless you wanna hop aboard the carousel or the Choo-Choo – I shit you not, it is called the Choo-Choo – for $3 and get a tour of the Great Cats exhibits on a train). The zoo is not open at night all year round, so this is a really fun thing to do in the wintertime (though you should bundle up if you are prone to whining about the cold air).
National Christmas tree
Despite the fact that Trump insists that there is an ongoing war on Christmas spurred by none other than President Obama himself, the National Christmas Tree is still shining in all its glory right by the White House on the Ellipse as part of President’s Park. Not only do you get gorgeous views of the massive tree, but each state and territory donates specially designed ornaments for 56 mini Christmas trees circling the National Tree, the Pathway of Peace, and there is free live entertainment in the park daily. The annual Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place on December 1st and tickets are awarded through an online lottery system. White House tours are also available for free, as long as you submit a request at least three weeks in advance.
Ice skating at the National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, a fun place to visit any time of the year, opens its skating rink annually from November through March every day of the week. For $8.50 (plus $3 to rent skates), you can spend an afternoon swirling around (or falling down, if you’re me and lost all coordination after quitting gymnastics at age 13) among the sculptures. They also offer personal lessons if you are SERIOUS and ADAMANT about developing very useful ice skating skills.
Miracle on 7th Street
I lived in Shaw for a brief stint from fall 2015 to spring 2016, and I miss it every damn day. Definitely one of my favorite and one of the most underrated DC neighborhoods, and I hold it close to my heart. Three blocks from the dank basement apartment I shared with my dear roommate is Miracle on 7th Street, a special Christmas-themed bar transformed from Mockingbird Hill, Southern Efficiency, and Eat the Rich starting on Black Friday. They have a variety of tasty Christmas cocktails and weekly events, like visits from Santa. If I am being honest, the bar is not likely to be a Christmastime regular for anyone…I didn’t even make it to the bar in 2015 because the line was extended absurdly far down the street, and drinks are pricey. But the experience is worth it at least once, and the atmosphere is definitely going to get you into the spirit.
Restaurant week
Okay, so I’m not really sure how many times I need to mention restaurant week before people get the message that restaurant week is THE BEST CONCEPT; it is not unique to the DC area, but DC is incredibly well known for its fantastic variety of high quality restaurants. Restaurant week this winter is January 30 to February 5, 2017, and has literally over 200 restaurants participating (how you decide which ones to go to, I really don’t know). My roommate and I went to Ambar last year, and got to eat an unlimited number of dishes for a special Restaurant Week price ($22 for lunch and $35 for dinner! Most DC restaurants are going to charge more than that for one entrée and a drink any other week of the year). It is the perfect chance to try that fancy restaurant you’ve been eyeing all year for cheap, and to pack on a couple of LBs to shield your body from the harsh winter temps.
Ben’s Chili Bowl
For any non-native DC dwellers, Ben’s Chili Bowl is a world-famous landmark, one of the most popular restaurants in the city, serving, shockingly enough, CHILI (chili dogs, chili fries, bowls of piping hot chili). I went here once last year on a really awkward Tinder date (do not recommend this for Tinder dates necessarily, nor do I recommend Tinder dates in general), and it was very, very good, very affordable, and smack in the middle of the U Street corridor, which, for those that don’t know, is one of DC’s premier spots for nightlife. And what is better for filling your belly and staying warm in the winter than a steamy bowl of chili? Nothing, probably.
Snow Day bar crawl
My favorite thing about the Snow Day Bar Crawl in DC is not that it goes through some of the best bars in the whole city, nor that $20 gets you free entrance to all these bars and a special bar crawl Christmas cup to put your $2 beers in (although yes, these are excellent perks and it was one of the most fun nights I’ve ever had in the city). It is the VIBE. I had just gotten injured last year when I ventured out to Dupont Circle to start the bar crawl, and I was wearing running shoes with my skirt and tights. My friends were somewhat embarrassed that I looked a little bit frumpy, but fxuk them because about half of the attendants were wearing Christmas onesies and Santa hats. Generally people dress up pretty nicely to go out in DC, but this bar crawl was so chill that it was just my speed. If I could go the rest of my life without wearing heels to the bar I would be a happy camper.
As far as I am concerned, there are two options when approaching the winter months every year. Let it depress you and keep you in your pajamas and deprive you of Vitamin D, or make the most of it, go to the bar in a Christmas onesie, and toss back a few Vitamin D supplements. DC gets cold, sure. It gets snowy and icy and miserable. But you don’t have to be miserable the entire time. Next time you’re planning a wintertime trip, while Florida is alriiight, DC is a better choice than you might initially think (and has some of the best winter sunsets I’ve ever laid eyeball upon).
Happy, happy holidays to all! And happy winter!
