Encouraging visitors to embrace their inner child, this year’s White House holiday theme is the “Magic, Wonder, and Joy” of the holidays. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden expect to welcome some 100,000 visitors to the White House this season, with even more well wishers expected to digitally drop in online at WhiteHouse.gov/Holidays.
More than 300 volunteers from across the country worked last week to decorate both the inside and outside of the building, including approximately 14,975 feet of ribbon, 33,892 ornaments, 22,100 bells, and more than 142,425 holiday lights.
The tree that sits atop the entrance to the East Wing is meant to inspire guests to think back to their childhood when they used to “look up” in delight at their Christmas tree at home.Holiday candy and other sweet treats hint at the “delicious flavors of the holidays” inside the East Wing Lobby.The first Christmas tree that greets guests at the White House is the Gold Star Tree, which is adorned with wooden ornaments that are engraved with the names of fallen service members.Candy and ice cream ornaments fall from the ceiling of the East Colonnade of the White House.Photos of both the Biden family and past first families during the holiday season are on display.Holiday messages sent from Americans around the country cover the marble arches of the Ground Floor Corridor.A White House sweets shop sets the scene inside the China Room, with cooking supplies and baking ingredients meant to remind guests of recipes that bring generations of families together each year.The Library pays tribute to the magic of bedtime stories during the holiday season.Santa and his sleigh are seen through the display’s window, flying past a full moon on their way to the White House.Letters to Santa Claus “fly” in and out of vintage mailboxes.Rotating United States Marine Band figures, representing the “joy of music and performance” during the holidays, sit at the center of the Vermeil Room.The Vermeil Room’s mantel is dotted with ballerina sculptures spinning out of music boxes.The marble staircase leading from the Ground Floor Corridor to the Grand Foyer.Giant advent calendars count down the days to Christmas inside the East Room.Glowing candles and stained glass inside the Green Room.Colorful orchids, one of First Lady Jill Biden’s favorites, are incorporated throughout the Green Room, including floral sculptures made from recycled ornaments.The Blue Room showcases the official White House Christmas Tree. This year’s tree hails from Fleetwood, North Carolina, with the 18 1/2 foot Fraser Fir filling the room from floor to ceiling.The names of every US state and territory, and the District of Columbia, are showcased throughout the decor of the Blue Room.A replica vintage passenger train, on loan from the Train Collectors Association, circles the base of the White House Christmas Tree.As part of the First Lady’s “Joining Forces” initiative supporting military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors, the ornaments inside the Red Room were created out of the handprints and painted family portraits of military-connected children. The decor is intended to represent the “joy of making holiday crafts together.”The Biden family’s German Shepherd, Commander, makes an appearance as a sculpture inside the Red Room.A White House tradition since 1975, fresh cranberries are integrated in topiary form into the decor of the Red Room.White House Executive Pastry Chef Susan Morrison stands next to the 2023 Gingerbread White House, which includes 40 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 40 sheets of gingerbread dough, 90 pounds of pastillage, 30 pounds of chocolate, and 50 pounds of icing.Elven workbenches, stools, and ladders circle the Christmas trees inside the State Dining Room, which has been transformed into Santa’s Workshop for the holidays. Nutcrackers and dancing ballerinas reside within the window wells of the room, with ribbons and gift tags lining the fireplace.The Cross Hall connects the State Rooms of the White House with the East Room and State Dining Room at opposite ends. The openings of the Green, Blue, and Red rooms are on the left side.The official White House Menorah, which was crafted in 2021 by the White House Executive Residence Carpentry Shop, was constructed from wood removed more than 70 years ago during a Truman-era renovation of the White House.White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo.Seventy-two wreaths adorn the north (pictured) and south facades of the White House for the holidays.The Seal of the President of the United States outside the entrance to the Blue Room, as seen from the Grand Foyer.
