Looking for last minute holiday gift ideas? We’ve got you covered! Here’s what our contributors suggested when I asked for items related to transportation, cities, urbanism, and our region itself.

For the home

Vintage DC Streetcar poster: A poster photo of a DC streetcar from the 1890s shows what public transit looked like over a hundred year ago. It’s available in several sizes.

Cherry Blossom Creative: Local designer Cherry Blossom Creative has a large collection of bright wall art portraying DC neighborhoods. The entire collection is currently available at the Downtown Holiday Market near the Verizon Center.

A map from Cherry Blossom Creative.

Subway system poster: This 29 x 23 inch poster let’s you compare 140 subway systems from around the world side by side in one scale.

DC rowhouse screenprint: These screenprints of DC’s historic architectures are available at Analog, a store in Brookland run by Dan Malouff’s wife Melissa Esposito. Transit-related

CaBi Gift Certificate: Capital Bikeshare offers gift cards for their annual, 30 day, three-day and 24-hour passes, and they’re easy to buy at the absolute last minute.

Metrobus accordion bus: WMATA sells a 15-inch model of its new accordion buses. The DC Metro store also has other gift ideas like mugs, umbrellas and plates for all your transit gift needs.

WMATA’s accordion bus model.

Metro station t-shirts: If you have a favorite DC metro station, Transitgifts.com has t-shirt of all DC metro stations.The site also has apparel and trinkets from other transportation systems around the world.

The city essentials

DC 4D City Puzzle: One of the many gift offerings from the National Building Museum, this puzzle let’s you create a full 3D historic city scape of the District as it developed through the years.

Wheaton Plaza shirts: Made by our own Dan Reed, these t-shirts are available on his blog.

DC Street grid jewelry: This necklace and earrings highlight DC’s famous street grid.

A picnic set: A picnic set is a great way to enjoy our region’s green space. The only downside with this gift is that for most, picnic weather may be a few months away.

Books

Start-Up City: Authored by Gabe Klein, the book is full of thoughts on how to create meaningful change in a city, do it fast, and have fun doing it.

Great Society Subway: This book may not explain why your Metro train is late, but it does provide a rich history of the DC subway system, it’s iconic architecture, and its emergence as one of the busiest in the US.

Transit Maps of the World: This book captures rapid-transit systems from around the world with historical and present day maps.

Field Guide to the Natural World of Washington DC: Want to explore all the nature that the city has to offer? Grab a copy of this book and explore the wildlife and parks of the city.

Tagged: fun, gifts

Svet Neov studied transportation engineering at UVA and MIT. He currently works in aviation but has a passion for all things that move people. Originally from Bulgaria, he grew up in Arlington and currently lives in the DC area.