Friends of Guest House needs pajamas and cozy socks for their female residents who are transitioning back to the community from prison.

Realtor Maureen Clyne started the annual effort four years ago and has collected hundreds of pajama sets. This year’s goal is 100 pairs of pajamas.

“Because what’s better than a new pair of pajamas?” Clyne told ALXnow.

Donations of cozy socks and L-3XL pajamas can be dropped off at 9 East Cliff Street in Alexandria. Pickups can also be arranged by calling or texting 703-967-8884.

“What an incredible gift that will impact many, many women and make them not only feel warm, but very welcome,” former Friends of Guest House Executive Director Kari Galloway said. “We are so very grateful.”

Friends of Guest House serves 60 women every year in its residential program, and helped more than 4,000 women transition from jail since 1974.

Via Sapan Patel/Unsplash

After a flurry of activity, the Del Ray Christmas tree is finally at home at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square.

The 32-foot-tall Fraser fir was lifted by a crane and installed on Tuesday afternoon. It’s the 13th straight year that Bill Blackburn of the Homegrown Restaurant Group selected and cut down the tree at the Naughty Pines Nursery in Maryland.

Blackburn, who owns the Christmas-themed Joy on the Avenue pop-up bar, picked the tree the day after Thanksgiving with his family. The tree is not as tall as the 40-foot-tall Christmas tree in front of City Hall in Old Town, and won’t have 40,000 lights, but Blackburn said that the neighborhood-feel of a real tree is better.

“It’s not perfectly shaped,” Blackburn said. “But it’s a real tree for kids and the community to enjoy.”

The Del Ray Christmas tree and menorah lightings are this Sunday at 6 p.m. The free event is held at Pat Miller Square (Mount Vernon and E. Oxford Avenues) and includes singing, hot chocolate, and visits from Santa and city leaders.

BMC Builder’s Choice provided the flatbed truck to and driver to haul the 30-foot-tall tree to Del Ray, and Mike Dameron of Windmill Hill donated his cherry picker crane to put it in place.

“I think the Del Ray Christmas tree is a good snapshot of the community and small businesses coming together,” Dameron said. “We’re getting no city funds to procure this and it’s a real tree.”

Pat Miller bought a new star this year for the treetop, and the tree will be decorated on Wednesday.

“We’ve always put red ribbon on top of the tree and everyone says we needed a star,” Miller said. “So Maureen Schweers and I went to a local store and right there staring in front of us was our star, so we got it. Now we have a star.”

Santa Claus will don a kilt and bagpipes this weekend for the Scottish Christmas Walk in Old Town. Here’s what you need to know about the annual event.

Congressman Don Beyer (D-8th) and his wife, Megan, are the grand marshals of the 52nd annual Scottish Christmas Walk Parade. Thousands of parade watchers are expected to attend the free event, and the weather is forecasted to be cloudy and cool — perfect for taking pictures.

The parade lasts from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and includes dozens of Scottish clans, dancers, bagpipers and the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums.

This year, the parade also features a number of entertainers, including champion Scottish fiddler Seán Heely, singer SHENNA, LEGO master builder Andrew Litterst (with one of his creations on the route), and the parade’s newest participant — the Ethiopian Community Support Center.

The one-mile-long parade starts at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Wolfe and St. Asaph streets, and travels north to Queen Street, then turns right (east toward the Potomac River) on Queen for three blocks, turns right on Fairfax Street, right on King Street and then concludes at the reviewing stand in front of City Hall (301 King Street).

Also, don’t miss the end of the parade, where three bagpipe bands — the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums, St. Andrew’s Society’s Washington Scottish Pipe Band and Kiltie Band of York — play a massed concert at Market Square (301 King Street).

Taste of Scotland

While the parade is the main attraction, the weekend of events is capped off Friday night (Dec. 1) with the Campagna Center’s Taste of Scotland at The Atrium Building (277 S. Washington Street).

Single tickets for the event cost $200, and the event includes “whiskey-tasting stations, hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine bars and a custom art exhibit,” according to the Campagna Center. The evening is sponsored by The Goodhart Group, starts at 6:30 p.m. and ends at 10:30 p.m.

Proceeds from the event benefit Campagna Center core programs for Alexandria children and families.

Santa at The Torpedo Factory

Also on Saturday, the Torpedo Factory Art Center will host its annual holiday festival.

The event starts at 2 p.m., and art enthusiasts will have an hour-and-a-half before the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus, who will be ferried to the event by an Alexandria fireboat at around 3:30 p.m.

Holiday Boat Parade of Lights

Saturday’s events will conclude with the 23^rd Annual Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights sponsored by Amazon.

The boat parade starts at 5:30 p.m. with more than 50 brightly lit boats cruising one mile along the Potomac River.

According to Visit Alexandria:

Enjoy dockside festivities from 1 to 8 p.m. in Waterfront Park including a pop-up beer garden from Port City Brewing Company, holiday music and giveaways from 97.1 WASH-FM,hot chocolate from Dolci Gelati, pizza by the slice from Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, American comfort food from Mason Social cookies, snacks from Together We Bake and more.Also at Waterfront Park, from 1 to 5:30 p.m. enjoy hands-on activities from independently owned Alexandria businesses Shop Made in Virginia, Penny Post and AR Workshop Alexandria.

Joy on the Avenue is officially open to the public in Del Ray.

The Christmas-themed pop-up bar at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue softly opened on Tuesday night, just in time for the long holiday weekend.

Owner Bill Blackburn said that the restaurant bar is the most festively decorated of its kind in Alexandria.

“It’s the same formula with the pop-up that we’ve followed the last two holiday seasons,” Blackburn said. “We have a very creative cocktail menu with some familiar favorites, some new creations this year and some nibbles to spread some holiday cheer.”

The menu (in the photo gallery above) includes concoctions like “We Forgot Kevin!” with Tito’s vodka, St. Germaine, cranberry juice, lemon, bitters, jalapeno honey, syrup and ginger beer.

It took nearly two weeks to get the annual pop-up ready, since Blackburn and staff had to pack away all of the Halloween decorations from the bar’s previous iteration as Nightmare on the Avenue.

Blackburn said that Joy on the Avenue will stay up until the first week in January, when it will wrap with the annual Festivus party.

Before everyone jumps on AARP, the group acknowledged in a listing of best “small towns” in America to enjoy the holidays that Alexandria is a city.

With that out of the way: AARP said Alexandria is one of the top five “small towns that will bring your Hallmark Christmas movie dreams to life.”

Alongside skiing destinations in Utah and a former gold rush town in Georgia, AARP said Alexandria’s “cozy small town vibes, especially during winter months,” give the city of 155,000 a rustic, European village feeling.

“Alexandria is technically a midsize city, with a year-round population of slightly more than 155,000, but this Washington suburb still gives cozy small-town vibes, especially during the winter months,” AARP wrote. Take a stroll down King Street’s brick-laden sidewalks through Alexandria’s historic district, and you may feel like you’re in an old European village.”

The listing cited the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade as a particular highlight of the holiday season.

“Alexandria’s Scottish Christmas Walk Parade on Dec. 2 continues its old European roots by paying homage to the Scottish merchants who founded the town in 1749,” AARP wrote. “Scottish clans dressed in traditional tartans (the plaid, woolen cloths) march through Old Town Alexandria. Attendees are welcome to bring chairs to watch anywhere along the mile-long route. The festivities continue later that day with a holiday boat parade. Onlookers can watch decorated boats float by on the Potomac River.”

Other “towns” highlighted on the list are:

• Kennebunkport, Maine
• Dahlonega, Georgia
• Lebanon, Ohio
• Park City, Utah

An annual holiday program kicking off next month at the Fort Ward Museum (4301 W. Braddock Road) will combine the fun and holiday spirit of the Christmas season with education about a conflict that left an estimated 1.5 million casualties.

Civil War Christmas in Camp is a popular annual program the Fort Ward Museum, featuring reenactors in a winter camp setting and period decorations. This year, the program is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 9, from noon to 4 p.m.

The suggested donation for visitors is $2 per person or $5 for families.

According to a release from the city:

The program features a Civil War-era Union Santa Claus, based on an 1863 cover of Harper’s Weekly by artist Thomas Nast, who will interact with the public, welcome children to the reconstructed Officers’ Hut, and visit soldiers in camp. Reenactors will interpret army life in winter camps that are decorated for the season, and celebrate by opening Christmas boxes from home, singing carols of the period around the campfire, and preparing holiday meals. The Museum will be decorated with festive greenery and a Victorian parlor tree. Children can make a holiday card or ornament. A variety of Civil War books and “stocking stuffers” are available in the Museum shop.

(Updated at 1:50 p.m.) Alexandria is about to get a little brighter.

The city will host its annual holiday tree lighting ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 18, outside City Hall (301 King Street) in Old Town.

The free event goes from 6 to 8 p.m. and includes a holiday singalong, speeches from city leaders and a visit with Santa Claus. It will be held rain or shine.

The artificial 40-foot-tall tree will be adorned by 40,000 lights, according to Visit Alexandria.

According to the City:

The public is encouraged to take public transit or walk to the event. Visitors to Old Town can take Metrorail’s Blue or Yellow lines to the King Street-Old Town Station and then take the free King Street Trolley to the event in front of City Hall. For DASH schedule information, call 703.746.DASH (3274) or visit dashbus.com. For Metrobus schedule information, call 202.637.7000 or visit wmata.com. For parking information, visit alexandriava.gov/Parking.

For those who like to see a natural holiday tree lighting after Thanksgiving, the city’s Del Ray neighborhood will host its own tree and menorah lighting ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 3.

The free event is held at Pat Miller Square (Mount Vernon and E. Oxford Avenues) and also includes a visit from Santa.

The Del Ray Business Association is also asking visitors to bring donations for Carpenter’s Shelter.

“In the spirit of the season, participants are urged to bring new full-size lotions, deodorants, and body wash; ground coffee, or flip flops/shower shoes in various sizes for Carpenter’s Shelter,” according to DRBA.

It’s a holiday weekend and you aren’t sure where to take your friends and family.

If they’ve visited you before, you’ve probably already taken them to Old Town, and there’s a hint of disappointment in their eyes when you suggest revisiting the waterfront or Captain’s Row.

One local asked where to take some friends and family visiting from out of town: here were some responses from other Alexandrians.

Look, it’s Friday before a holiday weekend: nobody is winning any Pulitzers here.

What are your favorite things to do in Alexandria with out-of-town visitors? Trying to figure out how to show off our lovely city to holiday guests, beyond the obvious (King St/Old Town waterfront).

— Becky Hammer (@beckyhammer) December 21, 2022

Indoors

Assuming the bitter cold keeps up over the weekend, your friends and family might prefer not to explore the great outdoors around Alexandria this weekend. In that case, here are a few indoor activities:

• Port City Brewing (3950 Wheeler Avenue): The brewery has special extended hours around the holiday. It’s open from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24. It’s closed on Sunday, but is open from noon to 9 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 26.
• Lost Boy Cider (317 Hooffs Run Drive): The cidery is open from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday but, like Port City, is closed on Sunday.
• The Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Avenue): No shows are scheduled for Saturday or Sunday, but actor and musician Charles Esten has a show tonight at 7:30 p.m.
• Local Museums: From the new Freedom House museum to the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary, there are several museums around the city (granted, most of them are in Old Town) continuing to host tours over the holiday weekend.

Outside

Provided the temperature unexpectedly warms up or your family is more resilient to the cold, there are several outdoor activities around the city.

• Fort Ward (4301 W Braddock Road): The most commonly suggested response to the original query was Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site. The former Union Army bastion during the Civil War later became a home for those who came to Alexandria to escape slavery — before being forced out by the city in the 1960s.
• Mount Vernon (3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway): While not in the City of Alexandria, it’s a major nearby attraction with extensive tours both indoors and outdoors. The grounds will close today at 3 p.m. due to weather, but will open at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday).
• Gravelly Point: Also not in Alexandria, but a great nearby spot for watching planes take off and land at National Airport.
• Manumission Tour: The local company offers tours of Alexandria with a look at the city’s history through the lens of its Black residents, both enslaved and freemen.
• Mount Vernon Avenue: If your friends or family are tired of Old Town, take them to Del Ray to explore the variety of drinks, dinners and desserts on offer along the avenue.

The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra’s holiday program promises to bring an eclectic selection this weekend.

ASO will take the stage on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center, followed by a 3 p.m. performance at the George Washington National Masonic Memorial.

The program includes selections from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” Duke Ellington’s “The Nutcracker Suite” and Mariah Carey’s version of “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

“Our special guests include both BalletNova creating some Nutcracker magic on the lip of our stage on Saturday, and the fabulous non-binary soprano of Salvadoran heritage, Helena Colindres, a recent graduate of the Peabody Institute and a rising superstar,” said ASO Music Director James Ross.

Dancers with the BalletNOVA Center For Dance will perform pieces from The Nutcracker suit and soprano Helena Colindres will sing a Swedish carol, a selection from Handel’s Messiah and more.

“Helena can, does, and will sing anything! Beloved Lester Green will be our narrator for The Night Before Christmas in a new mashup with a theme from Harry Potter,” Ross said.

Tickets run $5 for kids 18 and under and up to $90 for adults.

An annual holiday bar crawl will work its way through Del Ray on Saturday.

The seventh annual Candy Cane Bar Crawl will be held from 12:30 to 6 p.m., and the event includes trolley transportation between bars, raffles, trivia, costume contests and swag bags.

The event is hosted by the Del Ray Business Association and will raise funds for the nonprofit Blessings in a Backpack.

Tickets range from $15 per person for those who register in advance and $25 on the day of the event. The first 250 registrants will get receive a swag bag, which includes a 16-ounce souvenir cup.

Participating restaurants include:

• Bella Napoli (1310 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Brewski’s Barkhaus (529 E. Howell Avenue)
• Cheesetique Del Ray (2411 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Del Ray Pizzeria (2218 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Elo’s Italian (1603 Commonwealth Avenue)
• Evening Star Cafe (2000 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• The Garden (1503 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Hops N’ Shine (3410 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Joy On The Avenue (2312 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• KAiZEN Tavern (1909 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap (401 E. Braddock Road)
• Los Tios (2615 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Market to Market (116 E. Del Ray Avenue)
• Matt & Tony’s (1501 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Northside 10 (10 E. Glebe Road)
• Piece Out (2419 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Pork Barrel BBQ (2312 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Spice Kraft (2607 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• Stomping Ground (2309 Mount Vernon Avenue)
• St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub (2300 Mount Vernon Avenue)