Send your Gifts Now to Avoid Shipping Headaches

Now that you have all those gifts, it is time to ship them to friends and family. Stop by your preferred shipping location soon and follow these rules to avoid headaches.

While 'tis the season to be merry, the holiday months can present nonstop stress. In the midst of gift-giving loved ones across the country, harried shoppers find themselves struggling with shipping times, box sizes and postage rates.  In an effort to help customers, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has taken advantage of seasonal employment to ease crowds at individual locations and promoted automated postal centers with many of them open 24 hours and seven days a week out of convenience, according to Sharon Tennison, District communications coordinator. "We encourage customers to our Web site, so they can see our deadlines," she said. But the Georgetown Postal Office located at 1215 31St. does not have an automated postal center …

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Georgetown Gift Guide for the Stumped Shoppers

Holiday shopping have you overwhelmed? Stumped on a hostess gift? We've got you covered.

Navigating the Georgetown shopping scene can be daunting any time of year, let alone in the weeks that lead up to Christmas. Here are some gift ideas to get you started. Scoop up glam, on-trend gifts at Charm, a jewelry and accessories boutique, where you'll find chunky statement cuffs and necklaces starting at $20. Aromatherapy Interventions soy candles make a personal and affordable gift with titles (and targeted scents) such as "Lighten Up" and "All Nighter," at $12 a piece. Celebrity-loved, tuberose-scented Kai products are also a good bet; the $99 gift bag packs in mini versions of the popular perfume oil, body lotion, body wash and candle along with a tank. Sure to please the fashion-savvy business woman: Charm's collection of …

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Images of the Weekend

Look for your friends and family in these snap shots of Georgetown from the Dec. 3-5 weekend.

Another weekend has passed and Georgetown was bustling with activity. See what you missed or look for your friends, family and neighbors in the slideshow of the first weekend in December. Featured events: Third annual breakfast with Santa at Volta Park Merriment in Georgetown  Have photos of your own? Create an account and add them to the story yourself! Or email shaun at patch dot com and we'll add them to the slideshow. 

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Georgetown Celebrates the Holidays with 'Merriment'

The third annual street festival brought holiday cheer to Wisconsin Avenue.

Did you happen to see a man on stilts dressed as a present Sunday? Or horse-drawn carriage rides through the streets? These were both features of Georgetown's third annual holiday street festival, "Merriment in Georgetown." The atmosphere was certainly merry, with musical performances and contests, 25-cent gourmet hot cocoa tastings from six restaurants, free pictures with Santa, games and coloring with Dumbarton House and Tudor Place, and much more.  One of the most popular cocoa tastings of the day was at The Ritz Carlton's booth on Wisconsin Avenue. While the line was long, it was worth the wait for 25-cent Chocolate Chili Hot Cocoa, and $2 s'mores. These were not regular s'mores however, they were grilled on baguettes dipped in…

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Urban Parenting

Seeking the True Meaning of Christmas

Passing down family traditions from a traditional family

One of the fun things about becoming a mom is the fact that you get to pass down traditions to your children. Being the daughter of an Italian father and Nicaraguan mother, I grew up in a traditional family with an abundance of family traditions. Both my parents were born in their native countries and insisted on bringing not only their languages but also their customs to America. Throughout my life they did a great job of assimilating to this country while keeping their cultural traditions alive and passing them down to me. Now that I have a daughter, I am adamant that she be aware of her roots, including those of my Cuban-American husband, so she can better understand where she comes from. With our baby's first Christmas right around the…

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Georgetown Gatherings and Goings-On Dec. 3-5

The holidays kick into full-swing this weekend in Georgetown. Take advantage of all the great local activities; you can rest later.

The first weekend of December marks the beginning of the holiday season in Georgetown. There are events galore, so make you do something festive this weekend. If you are not quite feeling the holiday spirit yet, try taking in a show and supporting a local school. Duke Ellington School of the Arts is putting on an off-broadway-caliber production of Dreamgirls. The performance showcases the incredible talent bursting a the seams right here in Georgetown. It also will help the school fund its arts programming for the remainder of the school year. Shows are Fri. - Sun. at 7:30 p.m. as well as a 2 p.m. show Sat. Stop by after lighting your Menorah.  Friday evening also offers other non-holiday events nearby. L2 is hosting Banter, an art exhibit…

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Get your Holiday Green in Georgetown

Several local tree and greenery sales will let you make the Yuletide gay and help a good cause.

Now that Thanksgiving is an entire week behind us, many Georgetowners are on the prowl for the perfect tree or shrubbery to deck the halls and make the Yuletide gay. Several local options let you shop close to home and support a good cause in the process. Georgetown Visitation School is selling trees and wreaths on campus to benefit the school's crew team. Trees should arrive freshly cut in Georgetown Friday. Pick up your tree Saturday or Sunday Dec. 4-5 and Dec. 11-12 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Depending on the size and type of tree, prices range from $50 to $100. Volunteers will cut the bottom of you tree to keep it fresh and help load it onto/into your vehicle. The recently-opened Birdie Club on Wisconsin Ave. is expanding into the space …

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Judith Bunnell

9:31 am on Friday, December 3, 2010

I LOVE that we can buy trees in Georgetown and support local groups!   more ›

Will Small Business Saturday Work for Georgetown?

Organizations come together to encourage shoppers to support independent shops and boutiques to make shopping like a local a part of holiday traditions.

The day after Black Friday may soon be known as "Small Business Saturday" if American Express's try at creating a new tradition works out. Georgetown certainly did not see the bustle or madness of the day after Thanksgiving, perhaps because it is home to so many small businesses. Destination D.C., the official tourism and marketing office for the District, is supporting the idea of Small Business Saturday in neighborhoods like Georgetown.  Bruce Gudenberg, vice president of partnerships and alliances at Destination D.C., said that beyond the monuments and museums, D.C. is full of  "distinctive neighborhoods that are, like Georgetown, enriched by unique locations" like boutiques and independent hotels. These "small businesses add flavor…

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