Contents
- 1. A Candle That Smells Like Your Neighborhood
- 2. A Flag Flown Over the Capitol
- 3. A Chocolate Capitol Building
- 4. A Rizzoli Book of State Department Furniture
- 5. Anything From the Metro Pop-up Shop
- 6. A DC-Flag-Stamped Workbook
- 7. The Official White House Christmas Ornament
- 8. A Watercolor Print of a Favorite DC Spot
- 9. Anything From the Supreme Court Gift Shop
This story was updated on December 5, 2024.
From the beautifully designed and thoughtfully procured, to the offbeat and extra, here are nine DC-themed gifts worth checking out this holiday season.
1. A Candle That Smells Like Your Neighborhood
The irreverent neighborhood-inspired candles by DC candle maker District Heroines are good for a chuckle and a little fragrant mood lighting. The “Capitol Hill” candle says it smells like “misogyny, Old Spice, and questionable morality;” the “AdMo” one claims to waft with “Jumbo Slice, expensive rides home, and DC’s longest-running street festival,” and Dupont’s smells of “art festivals, Embassy Row, and a superior farmers market.” See what your neighborhood smells like, starting $35 a candle.
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2. A Flag Flown Over the Capitol
These ceremonial souvenirs may have gift appeal beyond District residents, but the Capitol Flag Program is worth checking out for your local loved ones. The program, run by the Architect of the Capitol, allows people to request flags that have flown over the Capitol through their representative or senator. Each flag—the AOC fulfills on average, it says, more than 100,000 flag requests a year, comes with a certificate of authenticity.
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3. A Chocolate Capitol Building
Chocolate Chocolate, a DC chocolatier, is well known for its edible DC-monument-inspired confections. As of this posting, the Lincoln Memorials, Washington Monuments, White Houses, and three-dimensional Capitol domes are sold out, but the two-ounce, 4.5-by-3.5-inch flat solid chocolate Capitols are available. $6.95 each at Chocolate Chocolate on Connecticut Avenue or ChocolateDC.com.
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4. A Rizzoli Book of State Department Furniture
A beautifully designed coffee table book, America’s Collection: The Art and Architecture of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the U.S. Department of State, showcases more than 150 pieces of art, furniture, and architecture from the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the Department of State. $100 at RizzoliBookStore.com.
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5. Anything From the Metro Pop-up Shop
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The DC Metro Pop-up Shop is back! Until December 21, you can shop for quirky Metro-themed gifts including tees plastered with Metro’s logo, some with snarkier taglines (“Rideshare? That’s cute. We call it Transit”), plus ornaments, a coffee mug, holiday cards, and a baby romper made to look like a station manager’s uniform. Check it out in person at 901 G St., NW between the Metro Center and Gallery Place-Chinatown stations (and ensure you get your gifts on time), or shop online.
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6. A DC-Flag-Stamped Workbook
This DC-based stationery company offers a version of its workbook that features a gold-foil stamp of the DC flag on the cover. $24 at Appointed.
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7. The Official White House Christmas Ornament
Whether your giftee is a long-time collector or new to the tradition, the annual White House Christmas Ornament has been an offering of the White House Historical Association for more than 40 years. The 2024 anchor-shaped ornament “honors historic moments of the life and presidency” of President Jimmy Carter, including his service in the United States Navy. $25 at ShopWhiteHouseHistory.org.
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8. A Watercolor Print of a Favorite DC Spot
From the White House to the Southwest Library, Brookland-based Right Place Studio offers watercolor prints of nearly a dozen popular DC sights, available at Shop Made in DC.
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9. Anything From the Supreme Court Gift Shop
We especially love the items in the “school supplies” category, including this five-inch miniature gavel pen with the inscription “Supreme Court,” which looks hard to lose and fun to write with—two qualities we love in a pen. $10.95 at the Supreme Court Gift Shop.
