Get the fresh and spicy Ternura cocktail from Immigrant Food+. Photograph by Irena Stein.
Get into some holiday spirits this weekend at these area bars, which are serving festive drinks like a Merry Spritz, Mad Elf, and Reindeer Buzz.
Park View Georgian restaurant Tabla (3227 Georgia Ave., NW) is celebrating “12 Days of Tabla.” Each day through December 23, they’ll knock $1 off a different dish (dine-in only). If you pair that dish of the day with a bottle of wine, you’ll get $10 off your order. And if you buy a pair of khachapuri-printed socks (seriously), you’ll get $5 off. At the end of the event, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to N Street Village and the American Friends of Georgia.
Immigrant Food+ (925 13th St., NW) is wrapping up its series on literary- and travel-inspired cocktails. The final installment is “Ternura” a spicy Pisco-and- passionfruit cocktail inspired by South American poet Gabriela Mistral.
Rustico’s Alexandria location (827 Slaters Ln., Alexandria) is hosting its fifth annual Toys for Tots holiday party today, December 9. Bring a toy to donate, and you can sip on 20 hard-to-find winter ales and graze a Seinfeld-inspired menu.
Washingtonian food editor Jessica Sidman will lead an in-person Q&A with best-selling cookbook author Carla Lalli Music today, December 9. Lalli Music will share culinary tips and tricks, and give a peek of her latest cookbook, That Sounds So Good. Your $75 ticket gets you light bites, drinks, a copy of the book, and a tote filled with goodies. The chat will be held at the Georgetown location of Foxtrot Market (1267 Wisconsin Ave., NW) from 5 to 7 PM.
Catch the Hitchcock-inspired holiday show Elf on the Shelf in the Rear Window at Crazy Aunt Helen’s (713 Eighth St., SE). It promises an evening filled with songs, naughtiness, and murder. The show starts at 9 PM on Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11. Tickets are $20 with a $25 food and beverage minimum.
Santa is visiting the Boro (8350 Broad St., Tysons) on Saturday, December 11 for a storytime event. He’ll read holiday stories and do a meet-and-greet, and you can help yourself to a hot cocoa bar. Santa will be around from 11 AM to 1 PM. The event is free, and there will be a Toys for Tots donation bin.
Park View restaurant Sonny’s Pizza (3120 Georgia Ave., NW) is hosting a natural wine party on Saturday, December 11. It will be held outdoors on the heated patio. Six distributors will pour wine, and there will be free pizza, a giveaway, and holiday treats. Tickets are $65 to $85, and the event runs from noon to 4 PM.
Green Hat Gin (1832 Fenwick St., NE) is hosting a mini holiday market with five vendors and free warm hibiscus-tea punch to sip on. The market runs from noon to 5 PM on Saturday, December 11.
Want to get an early taste of the holidays? Stop by Uptown Market (4465 Connecticut Ave., NW) on Saturday, December 11 for a sampling of its holiday offerings, such as caviar pie. The tasting is from 2 to 4 PM.
The Slow Food DC Holiday Food Swap is on Saturday, December 11. No money will be traded, only gifts of food. Pack your homemade goodies into small servings, and bring them to swap with others. The exchange takes place from 2:30 to 4 PM at the Cleveland Park Library (3310 Connecticut Ave., Northwest).
Have breakfast with Santa this weekend at several Alexandria Restaurant Partners spots. The breakfasts will be at Ada’s on the River (3 Pioneer Mill Way, Alexandria), Mia’s Italian Kitchen (100 King St., Alexandria), and Theismann’s Restaurant (800A Diagonal Rd., Alexandria) on Saturday, December 11 and Sunday, December 12 from 8 to 10 AM. The festive menu includes prosecco bellinis, takeaway treats for kids, and a family photo with Santa. Tickets range from $45 to $55 for adults and $25 to $35 for kids
Local coffee shops Commonwealth Joe, the Freshman, and Origin Coffee Lab are battling it out to see who can make the best peppermint mocha. Stop by National Landing (2121 Crystal Dr., Arlington) on Sunday, December 12 from 11 AM to 12:30 PM to sip on free samples of the holiday drink and vote for your favorite.