Old Town Alexandria Gift Guide

All of our family lives out of the DC area, so we love bringing gifts from Old Town Alexandria.  I’m always scrambling at the last minute though and trying to remember what I found where.  To solve this I went exploring on a recent day off and struck gold!

1. AR Workshop Alexandria 107 N. Fairfax Alexandria, VA 22314

This Boutique DIY studio has a great selection of ready to purchase Alexandria themed gifts such as pillows, coffee mugs, and wine tumblers.  Love the “Tipsy in the 22314” ones! Be sure to check out their awesome chalk clipboard events calendar while you are there.

2. Alexandria Visitor Center 221 King Street Alexandria, VA 22314

Right next to AR Workshop is the Alexandria Visitors Center in the historic Ramsey house.  They sell gifts such as koozies, totes and Virginia Peanuts.  This group also branded the amazing Instagram hashtag “extraordinaryALX”.  The staff here is so friendly!

3. The Old Town Shop 105 S. Union Street Alexandria, VA 22314

You can’t do a gift guide post without mentioning this place!  This was actually my first time at Old Town Shop and I couldn’t get over how many gift options there are.  I especially like their selection of local food such as honey, steak sauce, and spice rubs. They even have an adorable kiddie corner so this is a great pit stop.

4. Reunions 1709 Centre Plaza Alexandria, VA 22302

I have religiously shopped at Reunions for years.  Baby shower gifts, kids birthday gifts, 30 year old birthday gifts, etc.  Such one of a kind and reasonably priced items.  They also have a few Alexandria theme gifts even though they are not in the heart of old town.  My own Mother has an Alexandria pillow in her Texas living room.  Happy shopping!

Map of Local Parks

Check out some of our favorite parks in the area!  Let me know if you have any recommendations.

Kids Birthday Party Ideas

Planning indoor birthday parties in the DC area can get a little crazy.  If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to drop atleast $300 and upwards.  Our small house isn’t conducive to having a good old fashioned pin the tail on the donkey party.  As soon as the holidays conclude, I start brainstorming for another fun, interesting and affordable birthday party option.  I outlined some of these below complete with pros and cons.

Paint This! Old Town Alexandria

We loved the birthday party at Paint This! as it was easy to schedule and I could bring in whatever outside food I wanted.  You pay a fee per child ($12/painter) and then pay for the pieces they paint.  I pre-selected a few styles that were around the $5-7 range, and had the kids chose from that.

Pros: So easy to schedule and pay for and you have a lot of control over the final cost by pre-selecting the ceramics.  You could also just serve cake and decrease costs in the food area.
Cons: I had to bring everything to serve snacks and cake (cutting board, knife, etc.).  The staff at Paint This! were so great to work with though.

Soft play room @ Lee District Rec Center

This option is a great deal!  For in county residence it was just $50 to rent the soft play room in the basement of the rec center for about an hour.  You also have the option to rent a multi-purpose room to serve food and drinks afterwards.  We opted to invite everyone back to our place and ordered the Papa Johns special for $50.  It was crowded though as mentioned above!

Pros: It was great having a dedicated room for just our party at such a great price.  The kids went wild over all the equipment.
Cons: No one over the age of 5 was allowed in the room, so you have to be aware of guests older siblings and this is only an option for a brief few years.  They also have very limited times to schedule a party, so planning ahead is essential.

Chinquapin Rec Center also has a soft play room and a party package option.

Little gym

This is definitely one of the more expensive options but it was worth it.  The hour birthday party is jammed pack full of gymanastic and tumbling activities.  The staff at the little gym literally take care of everything, and they are also very engaging with the kids.  We did a double birthday here about 2 years ago and it was a huge hit.

Pros: I loved that they provide plates, napkins and cups and helped with passing out food/cake .  They also have a few themes to choose from, so you can create a unique party experience for your kiddos.
Cons: The cost is the worst part, and you have to provide the food in addition to the Little Gym cost, driving up costs even more.

Trampoline Park

We did not schedule one of the party options offered by Flight Trampoline park in Springfield as my daughter just wanted to take 4 friends, but their party options include tons of perks that allow you to just show up and JUMP. 

Pros:  Pizza and tableware are provided in the cost as well as the uber fabulous socks. 
Cons: They have a sliding price scale for party times with weekend slots being more expensive.


A few other ideas to highlight:

• Ice skating party at Kettler Ice Skating Complex and Martha Washington Rec Center 
• Laser Tag @ Ultra Zone Falls Church
• Chuckie Cheese

Brunch at Joe Theismann's

The Saturday after Thanksgiving last year, we all went to brunch at Joe Theismann's in Old Town before my parents caught a flight back to Texas.  We consider Joe Theismann's our neighborhood restaurant.

Service: The service was incredible.  Our server joked with our oldest and the baby as well.

Table arrangement: We were seated at a large round table in the large back room.

Food: Incredible.  We love their  Joe's Benedict, with Canadian Bacon or Maryland Crab.  The serving sizes are big enough we were all able to give the baby bites and our oldest had just ate at home before.

Distractions:  Our oldest loves their crayons and coloring menu.

Overall A for all criteria.  We also highly recommend their happy hour, especially if you can sit outside.  Inside is a little tricky as they have booths, but will provide booster seats.