We asked our friends around town what about DC they were thankful for this season. Here are their answers.

I’m thankful for the bartenders at the Hamilton.
–Katie Harbath, Facebook

I am thankful for the fact that DC has a Costco now, a really big one. Except when Joe Biden shops there, since area traffic freaks out, it’s better than going to the suburbs to buy obscene quantities of hummus and apples.
–Rick Klein, ABC News

I’m thankful because for the first time since 2006 or 2007, December might be an old fashioned month with no real crazy news. In Dec ’07 many hacks-flacks were locked down in Iowa; Dec ’08, it was the auto bailout (failed), and the transition+stimulus compilation; Dec ’09, Senate health care battle; Dec ’10, the epic lame duck including START/DADT; Dec ’11, the payroll tax meltdown; Dec. ’12, fiscal cliff madness.
I may be jinxing it all by writing this, but it seems like December 2013 could be similar to what the previous Decembers were like in DC. It wasn’t that people were lazy back then. It was that they were so much more productive in months 1 through 11, that Congress had little reason to be here in December.
–Paul J. Kane, Washington Post

Rock Creek Park, which lets us get away from the rest of DC!
–Amy Harder, National Journal

I will always be thankful for the brave men and women who serve our country not only during this Thanksgiving week, but the entire year.
–Josh Shultz, NJI Media 

The incredible folks we have the opportunity to meet and talk with every day. I’m thankful that I live in the nation’s smallest “big city” where lifelong friends are only a few degrees of separation – and a happy hour or reception – away. Also on my list is the DC scenery. I’m thankful for the amazing fall foliage around the Capitol that never fails to find itself in my friends’ Instagram feeds right around sunset. Disclaimer: I’m guilty of it, too.
–Stephanie L. Fontenot, DC London

1. That I get to spend it here and don’t have to travel.
2. That I might get to spend one of the few days off I plan to take day-drinking with my wife at Union Market.
–David Drucker, Washington Examiner 

This time of year begins the glorious tradition of the DC Holiday Party circuit. This is epically amazing for many reasons. It’s is well documented that the District’s residents have a high propensity to get royally wasted before 9pm. Our disproportionally awesome ratio of Lobbyists, Hill Staff, and Consultants to – whatever the hell other people do in DC – makes for a Holiday party scene like no other. Open bars on top of the Hay Adams with White House views; crab cakes at the ballroom of the St. Regis; smoked salmon on toast points at Charlie Palmers – all sponsored, all full of booze, and all topped with Holiday Cheer and drunken hyper-inflated niceties that only exist for two months in the God-forsaken politically partisan dominated swampof a town we call, and we love, known as DC. Oh, and for you freshmen out there, if you weren’t invited, don’t go. It’s lame, it’s not professional, and when a partner at a firm with over $20 million a year in billables, who paid for the event, asks you what you do, and you reply in a squeaky barely 21 voice you are basically an errand boy for a junior Congressman no one gives two-craps about, you’ll understand why you clearly, do not belong. Hence why you were, clearly, not invited. Stay classy out there DC, and Merry f@#$ing Christmas.
–Brian Johnson, tax lobbyist and founder of HungryLobbyist.com.

Life, Liberty, and the panda cam.
–The B Side Shuffle

I’m thankful that we have so many people in our community that work to help others — whether in non-profit or in government or through their volunteer services. Washingtonians are engrained with a spirit of giving back to our country and our community that makes Washington a very special place to live.
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I’m extremely thankful that our city has a lot of Republicans and Democrats that are legit friends.
–Cathy Merrill Williams, Washingtonian

I’m thankful that the Leesburg outlets are so close that my Black Friday shopping is a continued success.  It’s the only way I can afford to get nice gifts for all 10 nieces and nephews. I take being #1 Aunt very seriously. For this reason I am ten times more excited during Thanksgiving than any other day of the year.  The gift of giving is affordable if you plan and are willing to do an all-nighter. It’s fun!
–Jill Chappell, CNN

The giant wreaths at Union Station, egg nog from Trickling Springs creamery (spiked with a little something from Schneider’s, of course), and whatever part of the city where I’m with friends and family. Happy holidays, FDC!
–Emily A. Heil, Washington Post

I’m thankful for all the amazing people I’ve met that have helped me make the District my home!
–Morgan Gress, 1776

Coming from a small town, I’m really thankful for all of the great things that DC has to offer – great food, great bars, great bartenders, great museums, and really a great all-around cultural scene. There’s really never an excuse to sit around the house unless you really want to veg out. I’m thankful that even though we’re heading into the depths of winter, there’s still world-class classical music concerts at the Library of Congress and National Gallery of Art, great movies at E Street Cinema, and great drinks to be had all throughout the city. Finally, I’m thankful for the communities that we build – professionally, personally, geographically, and with our friendships. In a city where most of the people I’ve met are from somewhere else, that’s what makes this now feel like my home.
–Andrew Ricci, LEVICK

I’m thankful for friends, a healthy family, the new Kings of Leon album, less congestion on Rock Creek Parkway during the holidays and that the Alabama Crimson Tide will beat Auburn on Saturday like they owed them money.
–Amos Snead, Story Partners DC

I’m thankful that we have so many young D.C. residents who are heavily engaged in the political process. Since I have been on the D.C. Council, I have tried to create a more transparent system where residents can offer input and engage on issues that are important to them whether it is education, the budget, increasing the minimum wage – you name it! Over the last few months, I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with students from Powell Elementary, Wilson High School, Center City Public Charter School, and Archbishop Carroll High School on some of these very issues. It’s easy for us to think of kids today as uninformed and uninterested, but I’ve had a very different experience. The young people who contact me to offer their input have been engaging, witty and incredibly honest about their frustrations and hopes for our city. These conversations keep me encouraged about the future, and for that I am thankful.
–Councilmember David Grosso, Washington, DC

I have spent a little while thinking about an appropriate response to this question; almost everything in this city gets frustrating and tedious at some point.  If I was to have to pick one integral part of DC that I am thankful for, it would be the bars/bar tenders.  Not just because I am a lush, I have had some terrible service in my life.  At the end of a long week I take comfort in knowing that my bartender will be at his post ready to take excellent care of me.  I would like to think and hope that everyone has their own spot in the city.  DC has a great service industry and a good stiff drink on a Friday night is usually the perfect end to the week and start to the weekend.
–Nick Holt

I love how accessible 14th st has become and not just the added bike lanes, but the new and interesting bars and restaurants that are adding to the richness of DC. From Le Diplomate to the Black Cat there’s something fun to do every night. DC is well on its way to becoming a foodie Mecca–just wait.
–Alyson Casey

Plurality, musicality, and Ted’s Bulletin.
–Max Gigle, US House of Representatives

This season, I’m most thankful for Swann St. NW. The gorgeous yellow leaves that drench that street in the Fall are so stunning. It surprises me every year and reminds me to be thankful that I chose to make this city my home.
–Lia Seremetis, The Raben Group

In DC, I am thankful for: