Feel the merriment through the glass

Reenact the first four or so minutes of A Christmas Story on Friday when Macy’s downtown unveils its annual holiday window display. After you’ve put in your time gazing at the festive scene, head inside for crafts, photos with Santa, and shopping—it is a Macy’s after all. The event will even be graced by everyone’s favorite trio of natural BFFs: internet star Sam Tsui, R&B singer Keri Hilson, and Santa Claus.
1201 G St. NW, Friday, 5 p.m.-7 p.m.

Do some good for Thanksgiving

The week before feasting for its own sake and giving thanks for all that we have seems like an especially good time to give back to our neighbors who need support. For the 24th year, Project GiveBack will distribute Thanksgiving meals around the D.C. area on Saturday. Early risers can volunteer starting at 7:30 a.m. to assemble food baskets, while those ready to help deliver are needed around 10 a.m. Register to volunteer by emailing hardisha@projectgiveback.org. (Would you rather sleep in? You can make a monetary donation here.)
DC Armory, Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Celebrate hip-hop history

Vikki Toback’s book Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop includes photographs of the genre’s greatest artists—not their most famous images, but the ones captured in outtakes and contact sheets of their photographers. The book includes essays from RZA, Smithsonian African American History Museum curator Rhea Combs, and others, plus an introduction by Questlove. Toback will be hanging out at The Line hotel’s radio station, Full Service Radio, to chat and sign books. (Want to hear more from Toback? The Kennedy Center is hosting a talk on Friday, $35 admission)
The Line, Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Work it out at Malcolm X Park

You’ll need all the usual fitness essentials for Gitanjali Borkar‘s boot camp workout this weekend: water bottle, sunscreen, yoga mat, and canned goods, of course. You’ll use the cans as weights during Borkar’s 55-minute class, where you’ll huff and puff your way through sprints, pushups, squats, and jump training. The cans will go to Thrive DC afterwards.
Malcolm X Park, Saturday, 10:30 a.m.

Can you make it on Sunday?

On Sunday, architect groups from across the city will gather at the National Building Museum to face their greatest challenge—building a tower of cans. Sounds anticlimactic, but the annual CANstruction competition is all a bit of fun for a good cause: After the teams compete to build the best sculpture, all the cans will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. Watch them at work on Sunday, or come back on Black Friday to vote for the winning piece.
National Building Museum, Sunday, noon

Want ideas for what to do this weekend—even if they cost a little money?

Things to do around D.C. this weekend
Food and drink events to feast on this week
Concerts you won’t want to miss this week