White House decorations cheer visitors, especially children
Clockwise from left: The first lady greets children from National Guard families, who were among the first to experience the elaborately decorated mansion. Students' self-portraits grace a tree. A teddy bear takes the wheel in the Grand Foyer. (Left and top right: © Susan Walsh/AP) (Bottom right: © Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
Clockwise from left: The first lady greets children from National Guard families, who were among the first to experience the elaborately decorated mansion. Students' self-portraits grace a tree. A teddy bear takes the wheel in the Grand Foyer. (Left and top right: © Susan Walsh/AP) (Bottom right: © Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
A Christmas carousel of oversized stuffed animals circling a tree, a life-sized horse-drawn sleigh and simulated falling snowflakes are some of the decorations that await visitors to the White House this holiday season. “Walking in, I was taken back to my childhood,” said first lady Jill Biden, describing how this year’s decorations evoke the childlike wonder of seeing the first decorated tree of the season.
The White House will host 100,000 visitors this winter, many of them children. The first lady invited National Guard families to be the first to experience the elaborately decorated mansion. She worked with the Library of Congress to add children’s books to the White House Library, which has been transformed into a Christmas tree forest. Some of the ornaments on the 83 Christmas trees are made by students, and drawings by children from across the United States are displayed.
“Each year, we’ve opened the doors of the people’s house wider and wider so we can bring the light of more Americans into these halls,” Biden said. Here are highlights of the holiday decor, which was assembled by 300 volunteers using 165,000 lights and 28,000 ornaments:
Blue Room
The Blue Room showcases the official White House Christmas tree, a brightly lit Fraser fir from North Carolina that stands floor to ceiling — its installation required removal of the room’s chandelier.
The tree is encased by a light-filled, whimsical carousel with creatures leaping and gliding around their circular path. The tree’s decor includes 3D replicas of candy treats and the names of every state, territory and the District of Columbia.
East Room and Cross Hall
Christmas trees in the East Room frame the Cross Hall, which is decked out with paper doves flying above brightly decorated trees. The hall, which serves as a gallery for presidential portraits, sparkles with light and warmth, reflecting the 2024 White House holiday decor theme: “a season of peace and light.”
Cross Hall and State Dining Room
Doves, like this one on a Christmas tree in Cross Hall (above left), reflect the 2024 holiday theme of “a season of peace and light.” Colorful paper-chain garlands displayed in the State Dining Room (above right) were made by the families of U.S. Navy service members.
State Dining Room
The gingerbread White House is illuminated with a roof-top star and graced by ice skaters circling on a pond in the icing that represents the South Lawn. The sweet, edible mansion, which is displayed in the State Dining Room, is made from numerous sheets of gingerbread and sugar-cookie dough, 45 pounds of chocolate, 50 pounds of icing and 65 pounds of pastillage.
Library and Red Room
The White House Library (left) houses a ceramic Christmas tree forest in addition to its usual collection of 2,700 books. While most library volumes focus on U.S. history or literature, the first lady, who taught school for 30 years, worked with the U.S. Library of Congress to add children’s books to the collection.
The Red Room is alight with a majestic tree circled by illuminated gift boxes. Drawings from children across the U.S. are also on display here.
Diplomatic Reception Room
White House public tours have recently expanded to include the Diplomatic Reception Room, where former President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his famed fireside chat radio addresses in the 1930s and 1940s. The fruit and flower arrangements displayed here are a nod to the importance of hospitality in greeting foreign dignitaries and make for a festive setting for a fireside chat.
East Entrance
While more rooms are open to the public than during earlier years, the White House is also ready to welcome more visitors. They will begin their holiday tour at the White House’s East Entrance where a service member stands guard and a gold star and bevy of Christmas trees await.
“At the holidays, Americans come together every year in fellowship and faith, reminding us that we are stronger as a community than we are apart,” President Biden and the first lady write in the 2024 White House Holiday Guidebook. “The strength of our country, and the soul of our Nation, come from you.”