MONDAY, DECEMBER 13
UGLY SWEATER SKATING: Take your best ugly holiday sweater for a spin around the Canal Park Ice Rink for ugly sweater skate night. Enjoy festive music from a local DJ and free skate rentals. An admission ticket to the rink and your sweater is all that’s required! (6 p.m., $11)
HISTORY TALK: Tune into this Smithsonian Associates’ virtual talk with bestselling biographer Walter Stahr for a discussion on Salmon P. Chase, Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of the treasury, chief Supreme Court justice, and a leading proponent for Black rights. (6:45 p.m., $25)
MORE: MIC CHECK with Gray West drag and stand-up comedy show (7 p.m., $10)
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14
CHRISTMAS COOKIES: Learn how to properly decorate your Christmas cookies with Sugarcoated Bakery at Alexandria’s own Lost Boy Cider. Attendees will receive two cookies of three designs with icing and a to-go box. Sip on a cider, included with the ticket, while the bakery walks through the best icing techniques. (6:30 p.m., $47)
WINE AND CHEESE: Treat yourself to a French evening at SER Restaurant in Arlington, which includes a five-course wine tasting dinner prepared by award-winning chefs. Elite Wines and Arrowine and Cheese Shop help provide the wines and cheeses and tell the story behind each wine and its pairing. (6:30 p.m., $115)
MORE: Stand-Up Comedy at Right Proper Brewing Co. (7 p.m., FREE), Ugly Sweater Drag Bingo (Red Bear Brewing Company, 7 p.m., FREE), Czarface in Concert at Aslin Beer Co (8 p.m., $40)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15
GINGERBREAD HOUSES: Head to Hook Hall for a kid- and vegan-friendly gingerbread house workshop and dinner with the Grinch! Doron Peterson from Sticky Fingers Sweets and Eats will be on-site teaching participants to build and decorate a house to take home. Supplies, the house, a pizza for dinner, and a visit with the Grinch come with each ticket. (4:30 p.m., $60)
VR EXPERIENCE: The McLean Community Center hosts a free virtual reality experience with registration every Wednesday through Sunday throughout December, except holidays. Register for a one-hour time slot to immerse yourself into the film “Traveling while Black VR,” which draws viewers into living history lessons told around a booth in Ben’s Chili Bowl. (12 p.m.)
COOKING WITH PATI JINICH: In a virtual cooking class from Sixth and I, follow James Beard Award-winning Mexican chef Pati Jinich as she teaches two recipes from her cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Table. (7 p.m., $22)
MORE: Laugh Party: Free Stand Up Comedy (City State Brewery, 8 p.m., FREE), The Naughty Nut – A Musical Burlesque (DC Comedy Loft and Bier Baron Tavern, 6 p.m, $20)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16
COCKTAIL CRAWL: Enjoy holiday cocktails from a chai-spiced cider to a spiked apple pie at five local restaurants in Navy Yard in this Toast to the Holidays cocktail crawl. Admission gets you access to full-sized cocktails at All-Purpose Capitol Riverfront, District Winery, La Famosa, Stadium Sports, and Tap99. (6 p.m., $20)
FUTURES CYPHER: Head to the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building for a performance art exchange titled FUTURES Cypher. This free event challenges scientists, entertainers, scholars, and other innovative minds to discuss ideal futures rebounding from the pandemic while offering room for healing from racism, alongside performing artists. (6:30 p.m.)
PANDAMONIUM: To celebrate the Smithsonian Institution’s 175th anniversary, the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives has been hosting monthly programs featuring collection films. This week, they celebrate nearly 50 years of giant pandas at the National Zoo with footage of pandas and a chat with the Zoo’s Laurie Thompson and Dr. Melissa Songer. (5 p.m., FREE)
MORE: Choosing the Best Books of 2021 (Planet Word, virtual, 10 a.m., FREE), A Candlelight Christmas (The Music Center at Strathmore, 8 p.m., $15)
