December Culture Guide: 42 Things to Do in the DC Area

Happy December, DC!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. You can check out a sparkling holiday boat parade at the Wharf, visit a Ruth Orkin photography exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, or catch a round of local outdoor music concerts during Georgetown Jingle for a bit of wintertime joy.

 

9 Best Things to Do in DC

by Pat Padua

 

Books

Russ and Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing

December 1

The Lower East Side Jewish-food institution has served up some of New York’s best-loved smoked fish for four generations. Co-owner cousins Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper will discuss their new cookbook and provide a tasting menu of family staples.

 

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Theater

Rules for Living

December 3

British playwright Sam Holcroft’s London hit gets its across-the-pond debut, depicting a Christmas dinner that spins all those awkward family moments into a seasonal meltdown you won’t soon forget.

 

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Music

Bridge to Beethoven

December 4

Violinist Jennifer Koh–who runs the Kennedy Center’s Fortas Chamber Music Concerts–draws a line from the classics to the modern era, performing a pair of Beethoven sonatas along with jazz composer Vijay Iyer’s “Bridgetower Fantasy,” written about the little-known Afro-European violinist who inspired the Kreutzer Sonata.

 

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Theater

Amm(i)gone

December 4–6

Created and performed by Pakistani American theater director Adil Mansoor, this play adapts Antigone, the Sophocles classic of generational tension, to address a personal journey that started when Mansoor came out to his mother.

 

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Music

Jay Som

December 8

With her first album in six years, the Filipino American singer-songwriter follows a successful 2023 tour playing bass for Boygenius. Belong continues her tradition of wistful dream pop, soaring yet intimate, a perfect fit for the cozy Atlantis.

 

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The New Zealand jangle-pop band is promoting its excellent new album–yet another instantly hummable sampler of crunchy guitars and achingly melodic choruses.

 

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Theater

In Clay

December 9–February 1

This new musical emerged from lockdown, when lyricist Rebecca Simmonds and composer-lyricist Jack Miles got interested in the work of real-life French potter Marie-Berthe Cazin. In Clay, which is making its American premiere, brings audiences to 1930s Paris to learn about her story.

 

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Museums

“Ruth Orkin: Women on the Move”

December 12–March 29

The daughter of silent-film actress Mary Ruby, this photographer made images of Hollywood glamour, as with her portraits of Ava Gardner (above). But Orkin also trained her eye on ordinary women and families navigating postwar America. You can see both in this exhibit featuring 21 images from the museum’s collection.

 

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Books

Patti Smith

December 19

The renowned musician and author reads from her latest memoir, Bread of Angels, which she has described, intriguingly, as “a bright and dark dance of life.” It explores her postwar childhood and teen years, her marriage to MC5 guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith, and other aspects of a fascinating life.

 

Other Things to Do in December

by Briana Thomas

 

Arts and culture:

• Browse more than 45 small-scale makers, visit a mini-craftsmanship exhibition, and munch on German snacks and mulled wine at Heurich House Museum (December 4-7, $12+ for adults, $2 for children under 15, Dupont Circle).
• Practice mindfulness at a Finding Awe workshop. The 90-minute sessions give gallery visitors a close-up look at Giovanni Paolo Panini’s architectural paintings from Rome (December 5-6, free, but registration required, National Gallery of Art).
• The Del Ray Artisans’ Fine Art and Fine Craft Holiday Market showcases artworks from local painters, sculptors, ceramicists, and more (December 5-21, free, Alexandria).
• Shop seasonal home decor, ornaments, crafts, and other gifts from more than 70 local small-business vendors at the Silver Spring Christmas Market and Holiday Craft Fair (December 7, free, Silver Spring).
• Pick up last-minute presents for your loved ones at the Procrastinator’s Holiday Market (December 20, free, Brentwood).

 

Community and heritage:

• Attend the lighting of the Library of Congress’ literature-themed Christmas tree, and then check out their Hanukkah Menorah, and sit in on library talks after hours (December 4, free, but timed-entry passes required, Library of Congress).
• Shop a selection of Nordic books, sweaters, cheeses, coffee, chocolates, and linens at the Norwegian Festival (December 5-7, free, but registration required for indoors, walk-ins limited, Fairfax).
• Discover traditional Native arts, beadwork, sculptures, and more at Native Art Market (December 6, free, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian).

 

Theater:

• Charlie Brown and friends lead a merry Broadway-style Christmas production all-ages can enjoy (December 3, $45+, U Street Corridor).
• Get ready to laugh at all-things holiday with the Washington Improv Theater at Studio Theatre (December 5-28, $20, Logan Circle).
• An Irish Carol remixes Dickens’s classic tale at Keegan Theatre (December 11-28, $65, Dupont Circle).

 

Shows and performances:

• Step Afrika’s spectacular flips, stomps, and choreography are set to hip-hop holiday beats at this annual Arena Stage showcase (December 5-21, $59+, Southwest DC).
• Comic and podcaster Matt Rogers does standup for the holidays at the 9:30 Club (December 12, $56, Shaw).
• Emmy-winning Broadway star and Saturday Night Live writer John Mulaney tells light-hearted jokes at The Anthem (December 18-21, $90+, Wharf).

 

Music:

• Local music groups sing carols at a festive Willard InterContinental Hotel (December 1-23, free, Downtown).
• Rapper Gunna brings his high-energy rhymes to The Anthem (December 2, $319+, Wharf).
• Folger Consort performs merry melodies dating back to 15th-century Spain and Portugal in Resplendent Joy (December 5-14, $20+, Capitol Hill).
• Head to Wolf Trap for a Holiday Sing-A-Long featuring local music troupes and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band (December 6, free, Vienna).
• Georgetown Jingle rings in winter cheer with ten pop-up outdoor music performances (December 6, free, Georgetown).
• Epiphany Choir plays Vivaldi’s “Gloria” with a chamber orchestra for Christmas (December 9, free, Downtown).
• DC band The JoGo Project rocks out Good Hope Neighborhood Recreation Center (December 13, free, Silver Spring).
• The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, along with guests, continues the tradition of playing Handel’s “Messiah” live (December 23, free, Kennedy Center).

 

Holiday lights:

• Stroll through 500,000 dazzling lights at the Washington DC Temple (December 4-January 1, free, Kensington).
• The Wharf is aglow with festive fireworks, and a shimmering fleet of more than 60 boats (December 6, free, Wharf).
• Gaze at a waterfront parade across the Potomac River featuring vivid sailboats and powerboats (December 6, free, Alexandria).
• See eye-catching illuminations, meet Aladdin the camel, and take a candlelight tour at Mount Vernon (December 12-13, 19, $58 for adults, $36 for ages 6-11, free for ages 5 and under, Mount Vernon).
• Leading up to Christmas, there’s a two-day fireworks event happening at the 18th-century landmark (December 20-21, $41 for adults, $33 for ages 6-11, free for ages 5 and under, Mount Vernon).

 

Bites and beverages:

• Attend a tasting, happy hour, or mixology class around town during DC Cocktail Week (December 1-7, prices vary, multiple participating locations).
• Author and cocktail historian Philip Greene creates seasonal cocktails with fellow DC mixologists (December 10, $70, National Mall).

 

Things to do with kids:

• Families can take a holiday train ride, warm up with hot chocolate, and listen to live carols at Winter Festival (December 6, free, National Arboretum).
• Families—and their pets—can catch live music performances, meet Mr. Claus, and ride a holiday train at The Lodge (December 6, free, Arlington).
• Children can customize ornaments and take pictures with Santa while grownups shop for gifts at the Old Town Alexandria Christmas Market and Holiday Craft Show (December 13, free, Alexandria).
• Skate with the family inside the grandiose National Building Museum (December 27-February 8, $20 for adults, $17 for youth and seniors, Penn Quarter).

Part of this article appears in the December 2025 issue of Washingtonian.