This weekend is your last for Christmas shopping! We’ll share some unique markets worth checking out, both in the highlights and in our list of bonus events at the bottom of this page.

• Weekend weather: Saturday will be chilly, but sunshine on Sunday will bring a little more warmth. Here’s the forecast.

The ‘DMV’s largest indoor bounce park’ jumps into Maryland

Family pick
Funbox Bowie
🔗 Details

Boasting the “DMV’s largest indoor bounce park,” Funbox jumps into Bowie with $4 tickets just in time for kids to get some energy out over winter break.

Funbox opens today, and the $4 grand opening deal runs until Dec. 28 (it also includes birthday parties starting at $99). Typically, it costs $22.95 to bounce.

Tackle a 23-foot slide, obstacle course or the battle beam where competitors tussle with soft tubes while wearing nonslip socks.

Holiday highlights

Free & family-friendly
Late hours for Season’s Greenings
Thurs., plus Dec. 23, 30 and Jan. 1
🔗 Details

The U.S. Botanic Garden’s Dino-Mite! holiday display is open until 5 p.m. daily through Jan. 4 (except Christmas Day), but you still have a few chances to visit during extended hours.

Tomorrow and on four other evenings, the Garden will stay open until 8 p.m. Live music plus food and drink vendors make it a cheap date night option.

Free pick
12 Days of Joy with Art to Go-Go
Through Dec. 22, Historic Anacostia
🔗 Details

Head to Anacostia to get in on 12 days of art, go-go, joy – and shopping! 

Local businesses are hosting events like poetry readings, live music, games and classes every day of the week. Pick up a Joy Pass and visit over 15 participating businesses to find “Drops of Joy,” including discounts and neighborhood adventures, around Anacostia.

Drop into the UMOJA Market between noon and 8 p.m. to find small vendors selling giftable items from hand-painted journals to chocolate bars. You’ll find it at 2323 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE. Check the website for special events, including Selfies with Santa on Saturday (make sure to sign up in advance)!

Free pick
Union Station’s Main Hall Holiday Market
Through Sat., 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Northeast D.C.
🔗 Details

Whether you’re coming or going from Union Station, the holiday market in its majestic main hall is worth a stop. 

Shop from over 40 local shops, artists and makers while enjoying live music. 

Free pick
ROCK’N’SHOP
Sat., 2-6 p.m., Black Cat
🔗 Details

The Black Cat’s annual holiday shop says it’s one of the longest-running in D.C. You’ll find a mix of local crafters, record dealers, shops and junk sellers as DJs provide a great soundtrack, the Black Cat says.

Family-friendly
Christmas Illuminations at Mount Vernon
Sat. and Sun., Mount Vernon, $28.80-$58 (free for kids 5 and under)
🔗 Details

Fireworks over the Potomac River and sparkling lights make George Washington’s former estate a festive destination for the whole family. 

You can meet George and Martha Washington, talk to Revolutionary War soldiers at the winter encampment, take a picture with Aladdin the Camel, plus play games and dance for an 18th-century celebration.

Mount Vernon recently reopened the first and second floors of Washington’s mansion after a $40 million renovation, and Christmas Illuminations visitors can be among the first to step inside.

Family-friendly
The Dad Games
Sun., 3-7 p.m., The St. James in Springfield, $5 suggested donation
🔗 Details

The whole family is invited for an afternoon of games and challenges testing dads’ skills with Legos, trash can basketball, golf and more (bad jokes not included).

The organizers say you don’t need any training – just show up and try to win prizes up to $250!

Family-friendly
Arlington Drafthouse Holiday Movie Festival
Sun., Arlington, $10 (adult)/$5 (child)
🔗 Details

The Arlington Drafthouse theater is showing Christmas movies of all stripes – from “It’s A Wonderful Life” to “Die Hard” – through Dec. 23. 

On Sunday, you can grab a ticket, then come and go all day for a full day of classics like “Home Alone” and “Miracle on 34th Street” before the fest ends with holiday horror “Krampus.” 

Sit back in theater seating, order food and drinks and enjoy an easygoing afternoon of holiday favorites.

Heads up, Commanders’ fans: Arlington Drafthouse will show Saturday’s game against the Eagles on the big screen. Admission is free!

Music Snob: Concerts and more

Patti Smith, 7 p.m. Friday, Lincoln Theatre, $68.40

Not a concert, but this book talk will rock. The icon of punk, prose and photography brings the new memoir of her fascinating life and career – “Bread of Angels” – to the historic Lincoln for discussion. Book included with ticket. Details.

The Max Levine Ensemble, 7 p.m. Saturday, Songbyrd, $18

D.C.’s premiere pop punk band celebrates its 25th (!!!) anniversary. Not as active as a couple decades ago, it’s not as easy to catch this politically minded District institution these days. Among the openers is excellent indie rock singer-songwriter Oceanator. Details.

The Owners, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Black Cat, $18.75

Last-minute shopping? Stop by Black Cat for The Owners’ record release show. The venerable punk venue’s owners – and a couple of longtime employees – used pandemic free time and their empty club to put together one of D.C.’s best bands. Catchy, energetic garage-punk paradise. Details.

More to do in D.C.

Holiday shows and winter activities“

“A Christmas Carol”: Through Dec. 31, Ford’s Theatre, $42+

Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show: Through Dec. 23, Arena Stage, $49+ (see website for discounts)

A Very Improv Holiday: Through Dec. 28, Studio Theatre

National Symphony Orchestra – Handel’s “Messiah”: Thurs. to Sun., Kennedy Center

Procrastinator’s Holiday Market: Sat., Kraken on Rhode Island Main Street, free entry

Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington – The Holiday Show: Sat., Lincoln Theatre, $68.40

“The Nutcracker” by The Washington Ballet: Through Dec. 29, Warner Theatre, $63.50+

Sculpture Garden Ice Rink: Daily through winter, National Gallery of Art, $12-$15 admission and $7 skate rental

Light Yards: Through Jan. 2, The Yards Park, free

Downtown Holiday Market: Through Dec. 23, F Street NW (between 7th and 9th streets), free

Winter Wonderfest: Through Dec. 30, Nationals Park, $29.50

ZooLights: Through Jan. 3, National Zoo, $9

Frosted at Franklin Park: Through Jan. 7, downtown D.C., free

Theater – “ho ho ho ha ha ha ha” with Julia Masli: Through Dec. 21, Woolly Mammoth, $49

“Elf on the Shelf”-themed holiday pop-up bar: Through Dec. 30, Morris American Bar, $15 non-refundable reservation fee

Everything else:

Washington Capitals: Thurs. and Sat., Capital One Arena

Washington Wizards: Sun., Capital One Arena

Comedy – John Mulaney: Thurs. to Sun., The Anthem

More to do in Maryland

Winter Lights Festival: Through Dec. 21, Seneca Creek State Park, $15-$25 per vehicle

Children’s theater – “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins”: Through Dec. 22, The Puppet Co. Playhouse in Glen Echo, $16 per person

ICE! featuring The Polar Express: Through Jan. 4, Gaylord National Harbor, $41+

Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens: Through Jan. 4, Wheaton, $13.99-$16.99 (free for kids under 5)

Theater – “Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas”: Through Dec. 28, Olney Theatre Center, $63+

Holiday Toast2Peace!: Thurs., World of Beer Rockville, free entry (donations encouraged)

Winter Fest (with Santa photos for dogs and humans): Fri., Sat. and Sun., Song Dog Farm Distillery in Boyds, free entry

BabyCat Brewery ugly sweater holiday party: Fri. in Bethesda and Sat. in Kensington, free entry

Cirque Dreams Holidaze: Fri. and Sat., MGM National Harbor, $41+

Merry Market: Sat. and Sun., 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Westbard Square in Bethesda, free entry

Hands on History – Festival of Lights: Sat., 10 a.m., Riversdale House Museum in Riverdale Park, $10

The Winter Jubilee: Sat., 1-4 p.m., Rockville’s Civic Center Park, $8-$10 (adult chaperones free)

Children’s theater – “The Snowman and the Snowdog”: Through Jan. 4, Imagination Stage in Bethesda, $15+

The ‘Lego Menorah’ Lighting at Bethesda Row: Sun., Bethesda Row, free

More to do in Virginia

Holiday Bricktacular at the LEGO Discovery Center: Through Dec. 24, Ashburn, $24.99+

Elf Trivia at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: Thurs., Woodbridge, free

Holi-DIY Crafting & Gift Making Workshop (Sat., 3-6 p.m.) and Family-Friendly Workshop (Sun., 3-5 p.m.), AR Workshop Alexandria, prices vary by project

Tequila & Mezcal Cocktail Making Class: Sat., La Prensa Tacos & Tapas in Sterling, $103.22

Holiday on the Farm: Fri. and Sat., Frying Pan Farm Park, $15 in advance/$20 at door

Christmas Illuminations at Mount Vernon: Sat. and Sun., Mount Vernon, $28.80-$58 (free for kids 5 and under)

Winter Wonderland at Burke Lake Park: Sat., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fairfax Station, $20 in advance/$25 at door

Holiday Train Rides: Through Dec. 21, Reston Town Center, $23.18

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

WASHINGTON – D.C. council members and transportation leaders met for hours on Wednesday to figure out the best way to get people in and out of the new Commanders stadium.

Planning starts:

We’re just about 14 months away from the start of construction, but the conversation about transportation is well underway. 

Leaders repeatedly made it clear that this transportation plan isn’t just for Commanders’ fans on eight or nine Sundays — it’s for the people who live in these neighborhoods surrounding the stadium 365 days a year.

“Even folks who were opposed to the stadium early on, they know its coming so they want it to be successful,” D.C. Councilmember and Chair of the Transportation Committee Charles Allen said. 

He says success means a smooth ride for fans and everyday residents. 

“It’s not having tens of thousands of people driving cars here. It’s thinking about transportation. Get people on Metro,” Allen said. 

“I can imagine there’s going be a lot of cars and people trying to park so being able to alleviate that is going to be a benefit to the community,” resident Olo Olakanmi told FOX 5. 

Big picture view:

The D.C. Council hearing saw representatives from the D.C. Department of Transportation, WMATA and the Commanders, as well as ANC commissioners in neighboring communities.

Allen emphasized that this is more than just a stadium — they’re also planning 6,000 to 8,000 new homes, 20,000 people living in a brand-new neighborhood.

As of now, there are two parking garages planned for the Commanders Stadium, expected to hold about 6,000 vehicles. But when it comes to transit, there are several possibilities at play.

Dig deeper:

Metro would need major upgrades to use the Stadium Armory stop — likely including adding an entrance, elevator and expanding the mezzanine.

A new Metro stop could end up costing hundreds of millions of dollars and take years to build.

WMATA is getting $2 million from the District for planning. General Manager Randy Clarke said that the goal is to have 40% of game day traffic come from public transit.

But that could also include bus rapid transit lines moving people from Union Station to the stadium along the H Street corridor.

“I have confidence we’re all going to work together and everyone has the same goal here — to make this the best possible urban sports facility and mixed-used development in the country,” Clarke said. 

The plan right now is to have shovels in the ground by March 2027 and construction complete by May 2030.

“We want to make this the most transit friendly stadium but also make sure all modes of transportation are optimized for folks to get there,” DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum said. 

So, a lot of these transit decisions need to be made fairly quickly.

National Guard troops can remain in Washington, D.C. while a panel of judges examines whether the deployment ordered by President Trump is legal, according to a Federal Appeals Court for Washington, D.C. ruling.

More than 2,000 troops have been deployed in the city since August, both from the District and at least 11 Republican-led states. Hundreds more were added after a targeted attack on National Guard troops killed one and wounded another last month, both of whom were from West Virginia.

The decision Wednesday upends a lower court order that troops be removed from the city.

President Trump’s deployment in Washington is the most robust long-running operation so far, in what has become a pattern of military deployments to help with policing in Democratic-led cities around the country.

Several other smaller deployments are tied up in legal battles — including Trump’s deployment to Chicago which is at the Supreme Court awaiting an emergency decision.

In today’s ruling the judges wrote that Washington, D.C.’s unique federal status allows President Trump to largely control the deployment of troops in the city. They also said the Trump administration is likely to win the overall case, which would see the deployment remain until at least the end of February 2026.

But the judges also raised serious doubts about the lawfulness of deployments of other cities. In particular, the deployment of out-of-state Guard to another state without the consent of that state’s governor — as the administration has tried to do in both Oregon and Illinois.

The opinion called such a move “constitutionally troubling to our federal system of government.”

Troops have left Los Angeles

Today’s decision comes days after a different federal appeals court ruled that troops had to leave Los Angeles on Monday.

The Ninth Circuit ruled late Friday night to uphold a ruling by a federal judge in California to end Trump’s deployment. Trump seized control of the California National Guard in June amid protests in the city and sent more than 4,000 troops there, against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes.

That number had since dropped to around 100, but the administration had sought to extend the federalization of the state’s Guard several times, most recently until February, saying it was still necessary.

The decision from the Ninth Circuit effectively blocked the administration from using those remaining National Guard troops in Los Angeles — but it did not force control of the troops to return to the state, leaving them under federal control for now.

All troops have left their stations in the city, according to two sources familiar with the matter who are not authorized to talk publicly. A military official who was not authorized to discuss details of a deployment publicly told NPR that the troops have been moved to a military facility in the area and are conducting training exercises.

NPR’s Tom Bowman contributed to this report from Washington.