Holiday Happenings in Del Ray

TREE LIGHTING IN DEL RAY December 5:

Del Ray Celebration of the Holidays

Annual Holiday Tree Lighting, Luminarias,

& Visit with Santa Claus!

Saturday, December 5  at 6 pm

 

Events are free & at the Del Ray Farmers Market

Corner of Mt. Vernon Avenue and East Oxford Avenue

And along Mt. Vernon Avenue

Sponsored by the Del Ray Business Association

 

·    Enjoy thousands of Luminaries along Mt. Vernon Avenue

·   Sing holiday carols at the Del Ray Farmer’s Market led by "The Shrinemonters"

·   Enjoy a cup of hot chocolate provided by Evening Star & Buzz Bakery

·   Sit on Santa’s lap and have a photo taken (please note that last year pictures were finished by around 7 pm.)

·  Visit businesses that will be open late for shoppers & offering holiday specials

· Enjoy special performances by the TC Williams High School Choir

And, in the true spirit of the holidays, we are collecting needy items for Carpenter's Homeless Shelter.  If you could bring and donate any of the following, it would be great to show how much the community cares about others.  Please bring any of the following to the Tree Lighting and  drop in the marked boxes:

· Disposable diapers

· Wash Cloths

· Toothpaste & Tooth Brushes

· Deodorant
· Razors/shaving cream

· Metro Smart Trip Cards

· Food – canned goods (soup, vegetables, ramen, easy mac)

Please note that volunteers are needed as follows: 

Sat. December 5 at 1 pm to fill & distribute the luminarias (bags with sand & candles) along Mt. Vernon Avenue, 4 pm to light them and at 10 pm to extinguish & pick them up. Meet at Mt. Vernon & E. Oxord  To help, email pmiller1806@comcast.net

Beginning December 5th Vote for Your Favorite Tree . Twelve trees along Mt. Vernon Avenue have been adopted and decorated by area non profits. We invite you to Walk the Avenue and look at all the trees and then VOTE for your favorite in the Best Decorated Tree Competition!  Each tree will have a sign with a number on it. Pick which one you like the best and then go to www.visitdelray.com beginning the evening of December 5th to cast your vote for your favorite. Voting will be open until Christmas Day, December 25 and the winning non-profit will receive $500 from the Del Ray Business Association.

Special thanks to Mike Anderson and Bill Blackburn from Pork Barrel BBQ , Holy Cow and the sushi bar for donating our beautiful 25-foot tree at the market and to Cathy Puskar who has arranged a crane and cherry picker to get the tree up for all of us to enjoy. If you see them, be sure and tell them thanks!!

We'd also like to thank  Cathy Puskar  who arranged with  Pulte Homes and Velasquez Contracting, Inc.  to get the tree put up for all of us to enjoy.  

FRONT PORCH HOLIDAY MOVIES

The Front Porch will open at 5pm on Saturday, December 5 with a special menu and hot drinks cocktail menu . All will be adult and kid friendly . Movies will start at 6 and continue on thru the evening.

HOLIDAY SIP & SHOP:

Eat, Drink & Be Merry at Del Ray Towers Holiday Sip & Shop, Saturday, December 5 from noon to 3 pm in the DRT Kitchen.  Jewelry, pet accessories, nail designs and much more all from artistic residents of the Del Ray Towers.

DEL RAY HOLIDAY MARKET:

Find something for everyone on your list at the Holiday Pop Up Market.  Find us at the corner of Mt. Vernon Avenue and Hume Avenue.  Saturday, December 5 th and Sunday, December 6 th from 11 am to 4 pm.  Truly Life and PawsGo, will be there!

LADIES SHOPPING NIGHT:

Wednesday, December 9th the Del Ray retail stores will hold LADIES NIGHT OUT from 6-9 pm.  Refreshments will be served.  Ladies can enjoy disocunts and shopping locally!  Participants include Bellies and Babies Consignment (20% off everything), UpCycle Creative Reuse Center (20% off jewelry and tinker kits, and $5 to use at their gift wrapping station), Purple Goose (20% off store, 30% off holiday decorations), Greenstreet Gardens (20% off gifts and goods – not greenery) and FireFlies, Top it Off (offering $5 scarfs), and Kiskadee (20% off shoes and clothes).

 

UPCYCLE GIFT WRAPPING:

UpCycle Creative Reuse Center will have a gift wrapping station that will be open during their studio shop hours (check out their web site) from November 28 through December 19.  Use UpCycle’s selection of gift wrap, ribbon and bows to put the finishing touches on our holiday gifts.

KIDS PROMOTE ANIMALS FOR ADOPTION WITH THEIR ART:

Kids Promote Animals for Adoption with their Art - In the great hall of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria and UpCycle Creative Reuse Center have teamed up to involve children in helping to promote shelter animals that are available for adoption. The event will be held on Thursday, December 31 from 2-5 pm.  AWLA will have Shelter animals that are available for adoption at the Torpedo Factory Art Center for children to meet. They can select one animal to paint, draw or create collage to help publicize him/her for adoption.  Each artwork piece will be photographed and displayed on both organizations' Facebook pages for friends to "like." The artwork that receives the most "likes" for each animal will be added to the animal's AWLA and Petfinder profile and be viewed by a large number of people and help raise awareness to get the animal adopted. The winning artists will each win a personal tour of the Shelter by the Executive Director and gift certificates to UpCycle Creative Reuse Center. The top winner will get a "Paw-Party" at the Shelter with 15 of his/her friends.

PHOTOS WITH SANTA:

@home real estate lounge & design center is hosting free photos with Santa this Saturday, December 5, from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm at our office, 111 South Alfred Street in Old Town.

NEED A PLACE FOR YOUR HOLIDY PARTY?

Emma's Espresso & Wine Bar  is available to host private events for up to 50 guests - Saturday, Sunday and Monday evenings from 6 - 10 pm. Perfect for holiday gatherings. Stop by for details or email Jackie@emmascoffee.com

DRBA & DRCA JOINT HOLIDAY PARTY HONORING MAYOR BILL EUILLE: Join the Del Ray Business Association and the Del Ray Citizens Association in a joint holiday celebration that is also an opportunity to celebrate Mayor Bill Euille’s decades of service to Alexandria!  Celebration will be upstairs at Evening Star, Sunday, December 6 from 6 to 9 pm.

INDULGE YOUR SENSES

 

DEL RAY COMMUNITY APPRECIATION EVENT!

INDULGE YOUR SENSES

December 6 at Bon Vivant from 4-6 pm

Complementary brief chair massages, intuitive & spiritual readings, mindfulness meditation & self-hypnosis lessons, samples of oils, soaps, & skin creams, stimulating brain activities, coloring activities for children & food tastings.

 

Brought to you by businesses at 2016 Mount Vernon and beyond!

Bon Vivant – Del Ray Psych & Wellness Associates – The Vital Body – Sunflowers Healing and Wellness – Your Blissful Journey – Kathleen Hanagan, LCSW – The Love And Business Sage – Sustainable Wellness – Maria Body Image Studio – Truly-Life – Blackbird Bookers

 

Raffle -- Enter the raffle to win prizes like Reiki sessions, coloring books and discounted services.

 

 

HOLIDAY ART MARKET

 

20 th Annual Fine Art & Fine Craft Holiday Market

Three weekends

December 4-6; December 11-13; December 18-20

Different artists every weekend

 

Friday’s: 6 to 9 pm

Saturday’s 11 am to 6 pm

Sunday’s 11 am to 6 pm

 

Del Ray Artisans Gallery at the

Nicholas A. Colasanto Center

2704 Mt. Vernon Avenue
, 703-838-4827

Scottish Walk Weekend of Events

·      Heather and Greens Sales, The Campagna Center, 418 S. Washington Street

December 4, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, 

December 5, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm 

·       The Taste of Scotland, George Washington Masonic Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive

December 4, 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm 

·      Holiday Marketplace, The Campagna Center, 418 S. Washington Street

December 5, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm  

·      The Scottish Walk Parade at Market Square, King St.

December 5, Begins 11:00 am 

·       Holiday Designer Tour of Homes, Tickets at various locations.

December 5, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm 

·      Deck the Halls with Santa, The Campagna Center, 418 S. Washington Street

December 6, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm 

·      16^th Annual Boat Parade of Lights, The Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union Street

December 6, 5:30 pm

For more information visit

 www.ScottishChristmasWalk.com 

www.visitalexandriava.com

or 703-549-0111

ALIVE! Toy Drive

Please support a holiday toy drive for NEW or GENTLY USED TOYS for boys and girls in our community. 
Once again, this year I'm part of a group of Alexandria boys at Gonzaga College High School who are getting together to help ALIVE! stock their annual Christmas Toy Closet. 
Every year the ALIVE! toy closet enables families in need to select holiday gifts for their children. 
* Please donate NEW or GENTLY USED children's toys by December 11th. 
* Items may be dropped at 5 East Nelson Avenue (front porch) OR contact mjerakis@gmail.com to arrange a time for pick up.
Thank you! 

Twas the Night Before Christmas

This little guy actually reads/tells the story….

New Use for Old Shoes

I thought this was pretty ingenious  --- use yours, your husband's or child's baby shoes as ornaments.

Let the Baking Begin

Reindeer Food

Here is the recipe for Reindeer food ---

-some oatmeal
-some glitter
mix together in a bowl.



Be sure to take this magic reindeer food and sprinkle on the lawn. 
On Christmas Eve, Santa's reindeer travel miles before dawn.
The smell of oats and the glitter path will guide them on their way. 
And you'll wake up to Santa's gifts next morn' on Christmas Day. 

Favorite Christmas Baking

Here are some of our favorite recipes - some are a bit different.

Oreo Truffles

Peanut Clusters

Chinese Chews

Pretzel Wreaths

Seven Layer Cookies

Best Holiday Lights in Alexandria

I was relying on my readers and followers for the best lights in Alexandria. 
Somewhat sadly, this is what I got:  



From @McDorchester -- on streets surrounding Mt Ida. Look for house on south side of Nelson, just east of Mt Vernon- always awesome

and

409 E. Nelson



Somewhat tacky :

from @lssonoda corner of Taney and Latham


1500 block of Russell Road (same place with the big Halloween display)


Big white house in 2500 block of King St. that has the white lights up everywhere but also has all the halloween decorations up too.





Very pretty white lights:  

corner of Commonwealth Ave & East Walnut St. (across from Grape & Bean). 


If you have any other suggestions please post them in the comments of tweet them to me.  

Merry Christmas

Always time for a snowman

Here's a great way to prep for a snow day!
(thanks to a friend for sharing!)

Battle of the Elf on the Shelf

Favorite Christmas Reading

Our all time favorites are:

And a few of the others we like to read over and over:

Del Ray Holiday Tree Lighting & Luminaries

FROM THE DEL RAY BUSINESS ASSOC.

Del Ray Celebration of the Holidays
Annual Holiday Tree Lighting, Luminaries, & Visit with Santa Claus!
Friday, December 6 ~ 6 pm
 
Events are at the Del Ray Farmers Market 
Corner of Mt. Vernon Avenue and East Oxford Avenue
And along Mt. Vernon Avenue
 

• Enjoy thousands of Luminaries along Mt. Vernon Avenue.
• Sing holiday carols at the Del Ray Farmer's Market led by:
• The Rainbow Lady from Rainbow Rock aka Kate Moran. 
• Enjoy a cup of hot chocolate provided by Evening Star & Buzz Bakery
• Sit on Santas lap and have a photo taken
• ·Come out and see if you can “Find the Spirits†in Del Ray.  Many businesses will be open late for shoppers & offering special holiday spirits/beverages.
• Stop by Del Ray Artisans Holiday Market to shop & enjoy festive food

 
 And, in the true spirit of the holidays, we are asking our neighbors to help those most in  need. In partnership
with Carpenters Homeless Shelter, we ask you to please bring and drop in the boxes at the tree lighting any of the following items:

• ·        Food - canned goods (soup, vegetables, canned meat)
• ·        Disposable diapers
• ·        New Twin Sheets
• ·        Towels and wash cloths
• ·        Deodorant/Razors 

 Volunteers are needed December 6 at 2 pm to distribute the luminaries along Mt. Vernon Avenue,


To help, contact Gayle Reuter at delraydrba@yahoo.com

Sponsored by the Del Ray Business Association

Special thanks to Bill Blackburn from Pork Barrel BBQ, Holy Cow & Sushi Bar for taking the day to drive all the way out to a Christmas Tree farm to cut down & bring back our beautiful tree.  If you see him, please be sure and say thanks!

City of Alexandria’s Annual Tree Lighting

For Immediate Release: November 14, 2013  

City of Alexandria’s Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony Scheduled for Friday, November 29 at 6 p.m.

Kick off the holiday season by making plans to attend the 2013 City of Alexandria Tree Lighting Ceremony on Friday, November 29, at 6 p.m. at Market Square, 301 King St. Admission is free, and the event will occur rain or shine.

At this official kickoff to the holiday season, the Mayor Euille and Santa Claus will light the City holiday tree in Market Square. Entertainment features a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, performances by the Alexandria Harmonizers and the Alexandria Choral Society, caroling and a community sing-along.

The public is encouraged to take public transit or walk to the event. Visitors to Old Town can take the Metrorail lines to the King Street Station, and then take the free King Street Trolley to the event. For DASH schedule information, call 703.370.DASH or visitwww.dashbus.com.  For Metrobus schedule information, call 202.637.7000 or visitwmata.com. For a parking map, visit www.alexandriava.gov/12490.

For additional information, please call the City’s Special Events Hotline at 703.746.5592or visit www.alexandriava.gov/Recreation.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the City’s Human Rights Code and the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation or to request materials in an alternative format, call Cheryl Lawrence, Office of Special Events, at 703.746.5419 (VA Relay 711) or e-mail cheryl.lawrence@alexandriava.gov. 

Homemade Holiday (better late than never)

As we are all try to figure out what to give everyone for the holidays and try to save money, here are a few things that I have done with my boys over the year. Most years we have done our “crafts” over the summer and put it away for the holidays. My boys have been so proud of the gifts that they have made themselves and the gifts have lasted a long time. 

-When my boys were really little, I would take them on a “collection” walk around the neighborhood. We collected rocks - big rocks, little rocks and pebbles.
Once home we washed the rocks, painted them and even glued things on the rocks – googley eyes, smaller rocks, feathers, and even cut up construction paper. 10+ years later, grandma still proudly displays her rocks on her kitchen window sill and in the garden.

-another year we purchased tiles in various sizes from the hardware store. We put handprints on the tile and gave them to grandparents and aunts and uncles to use as trivets. Again, they are still used today.

-Stepping stones are always nice in the garden and grandmas love their gardens. So one year we made stepping stones from a kit purchased from the craft store. We used our hands and feet to make imprints on the stones, then embellished them with small rocks and decorative pebbles.

-One year we went to the craft store and purchased small cardboard boxes and ornaments. (they were made from recycled materials). We painted them, put glitter on them, and even glued sequins on some of them. We gave the boxes to cousins and other relatives and we used the ornaments as gift tags on wrapped presents.

-When the boys were very young we made our own holiday wrapping paper. We took white tissue paper and used their hands in red or green paint to make handprint paper. We also took holiday cookie cutters, dipped them in paint and used them on the tissue paper as well.

-As the boys got older, we made more elaborate gifts. So one year we made soap. It was sooo easy and my boys loved it! We purchased everything needed from the craft store - molds, soap blocks, scents, colors, and a how to book. I did the melting of the soap and pouring it into the molds. My boys selected the mold, the color and the scent of the soap. It was so much fun and we had soap everywhere. (we were really clean that year!) The boys enjoyed selecting the mold and creating a unique soap for each family member – Cousins, peace symbols and happy faces in funky colors, grandpa doesn’t like spiders so they put a plastic spider in clear soap. Auntie likes turtles, so we made all different scents and shades of green turtles. A few teachers liked flowers so we made various colors of flowers with different scents. To accompany each gift we searched dollar stores, craft stores and other variety stores for different soap dishes. I think each gift cost about $7 and everyone loved it!

-Because we have sooo many girls in the family one year we made them all “magic wands”. We bought small dowel rods from the craft store, painted them and used feathers, gems, and glitter to decorate. The girls were so excited and thought they were truly magical!

-One year we thought we’d try to work with beads, so we made everyone beaded zipper pulls for backpacks, purses, and coats. The beads, pulls and sometimes a decorative charm were purchased from a craft store. The boys enjoyed making patterns with the beads and selecting various ending pieces (charm) for each pull – i.e. fish, phone, flip flop, sun, moon, cat, etc.. Some family members still have the pulls on their winter coats.

-For teacher gifts one year we made note and thank you cards. We purchased card stock from the craft store. My boys each selected 4 things that each teacher liked – coffee, dogs, golf, flowers, cats and so on. Using clip art and word, we chose different fonts and placed the teachers name with a picture of their favorite things on the page. The layout was 4 cards to 1 page of cardstock. We printed the cards out in a variety of colors, cut the page into 4 cards and tied with colorful ribbon. The teachers loved it and the boys were so proud of their computer skills.

-Other years we have gone to the Crate & Barrel outlet and purchased the following for teachers gifts --
-plain coffee mugs (about 1 ea) and put a $5 gift card to Starbucks in
it.
-big popcorn bowls (under $10) and put packages of microwave
popcorn in it.
-clear candy dishes ($1 or so each) in a variety of shapes & sizes, and
filled them with homemade candied nuts or bagged candy.
-holiday dish towels and pot holders all under $2 

Schedule of city Services for Columbus Day, Oct. 10.

City of Alexandria Announces Schedule of Services for the Christmas Holiday

Friday, December 23, and Monday, December 26

All City of Alexandria government offices will be closed on Friday, December 23, and Monday, December 26, in observance of the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day holidays.

Health Facilities: The Alexandria Health Department (4480 King St.), the Flora Krause Casey Health Center (1200 N. Howard St.) and the Teen Wellness Center (3330 King St.) will be closed on December 23 and 26.

Historic Alexandria: Gadsby’s Tavern and the Apothecary Museum will be open during regular business hours through Saturday, December 24, and will be closed December 25-27. The Black History Museum will be closed December 23-26. The Archaeology Museum will be open December 23-24 and closed December 25-26. Fort Ward will be open December 23 and closed December 24-26. The Lyceum and Friendship Firehouse will be closed December 24-25. The Waterfront Shop will be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on December 22-23, and closed December 24-28.

Hotlines: All emergency hotlines operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including the child protective services hotline at 703.746.5800; the domestic violence hotline, 703.746.4911; the emergency services for mental health or substance abuse crisis hotline, 703.746.3401; and the sexual assault hotline, 703.683.7273.

Libraries: All Alexandria Library branches will be closed from Friday through Monday, December 23 – December 26.

Parking: The Alexandria Police Department enforce parking restrictions at metered spaces, as well as time restrictions in residential permit parking districts and other areas with signed parking time limits, from Friday, December 23 through Monday, December 26.

Recreation Centers: The Durant Center will be closing early on Thursday, December 22, at 7:30 p.m. The Chinquapin Recreation Center will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, December 23 and Monday, December 26. All Alexandria neighborhood recreation centers will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, December 23, and Monday, December 26. The Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center will be open only on Friday, December 23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All City of Alexandria recreation centers, including the Chinquapin Recreation Center, will be closed December 24 and December 25.

Refuse Collection: Residential trash and recycling will be collected on the regularly scheduled days from December 19 to 22. Residential trash and recycling will slide back and be collected one day late from December 27-30, with no collection scheduled on the observed Christmas holiday on Monday, December 26. The Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Recycling Collection site will be closed on December 24 and 26.

Schools: The Alexandria City Public Schools will be closed from December 23 – January 1, reopening January 2.

State Offices: The General District Court, Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, the Circuit Court, and the DMV Office, 2681 Mill Road, will be closed on December 23 and 26.

Transit: Alexandria Transit Company's DASH bus service will operate on a Saturday schedule until 7 p.m. on December 24. DASH bus service will not operate on December 25.