When the temperatures are low and the forecast is bleak, you can’t be blamed for wanting to stay inside. But rather than hanging at home, here are 12 ideas for how to spend your weekend out of the house but still indoors.
VISIT AN EXHIBIT
Renwick Gallery
Check out a dress made of butter cartons at “State Fairs: Growing American Craft.” The exhibit showcases more than 240 pieces from state fairs, including various quilts from around the country.
National Museum of African American History & Culture
New exhibit “At the Vanguard” celebrates the stories and history of five HBCUs, including Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M, and Tuskegee University. The collection pulls together art, activism, and scholarship to preserve the history of these campuses and their students. Make sure to reserve free timed-entry tickets.
The Phillips Collection
Stop by the gallery to see “Peter Campus: There Somewhere,” which opened January 17. The collection includes videos from the 1970s, plus four recent works. Timed-entry tickets to the museum are required.
STAY ACTIVE
Splash around
If you’re in the mood to swim, the Capitol Hill Hyatt Regency is offering $30 day passes to the heated indoor pool and fitness center, complete with towel service and lounge chairs. Massive Springfield sports complex the St. James has an indoor water park with slides and sprayers. Admission is $30 for two hours. (You can also get tickets for the gym’s kid-friendly obstacle course.)
Play a game
If you’ve been curious about tile-based game mahjong, DC Drop-In Mahjong hosts weekly American mahjong games at the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Beyond mahjong, Board Room in Dupont Circle has a wide selection of games, from old favorites to newer options. Game rentals are free until 7 PM, and then they are $3.
Pick up pickleball
DC has a number of public indoor pickleball courts, including the Ridge Road Community Center, Arthur Capper Community Center, and Rosedale Recreation Center. In Brentwood, Kraken offers 14 pickleball courts, and game play starts at $15 per hour. The facility also has roller skating.
GET ARTSY
Potter’s Union Studio
The Herndon studio offers three-hour workshops with coffee and snacks included. The $95 “Wheel 101” session is an introduction to the craft, from centering the clay to turning it into a piece of art.
Relume
This boutique in Capitol Hill has a Craft Cafe for a variety of hands-on activities starting at $15. Make charm bracelets, junk journals, and candles. There are also crafts for kids, including watercolors and beaded jewelry for $10.
Shop Made in DC
The local maker space hosts artsy classes at the Georgetown and Union Market locations, starting at $30. Weekly events include watercolors and an open crafting session. Workshops cover mosaics, beading, aromatherapy, and more.
CHILL OUT
Read a Book
Is there anything cozier than an indie bookstore on a cold day? The area has plenty, including Kramers, where you can read your purchase in the cafe, romance book shop Friends to Lovers, and One More Page, which also offers wine and chocolate.
Have a spa day
Channel sunnier days at day spa Balian Spring in Alexandria, where the hydrotherapy pool is surrounded by palm trees. Passes start at $130 on weekdays and $165 on weekends. In Chantilly, King Spa has 10 different saunas and a menu of massages, facials, and body scrubs. Weekday passes start at $80, and weekend passes start at $90.
Drink by a fireplace
Curl up next to the hearth as these bars and restaurants. On the second floor of Minetta Tavern in Union Market, enjoy cocktails fireside at Lucy Mercer Bar. Next to Chez Billy Sud, sister spot Bar à Vin is a Georgetown destination for hanging by the fire with a glass of wine. In Dupont Circle, historic Tabard Inn also has a fireplace in the cozy space.
Samantha is an Editorial Fellow at the Washingtonian and a senior at American University, studying Political Science and Women’s, Gender, and Sexualities Studies. She lives in Washington, D.C.
