First Lady Jill Biden Introduces 2024 White House Holiday Decorations
WASHINGTON — First Lady Dr. Jill Biden delivered her final holiday message to the nation on Monday, saying it’s been the “honor of our lives” for her and the president to serve as the first family, and that she hopes all Americans will be “blessed with peace and light this holiday season.”
Biden delivered her remarks — which were also a celebration of the official unveiling of the White House’s holiday decor — from a small platform placed in between two of the large Christmas trees that now adorn the East Room of the executive mansion.
Dressed in red, a vivid contrast to the white lights and white and silver ornaments around her, Biden noted that it takes over 300 volunteers a full week to decorate the inside and outside of the historic building.
“This would not be possible without your work. It’s been incredible to watch all of you transform this space year after year,” she said of those volunteers.
She also noted that many “lifelong friendships have been made during the annual decorating process, which is no small task.
This year, there are 83 Christmas trees located throughout the White House, and an estimated 9,810-feet of ribbon, over 28,125 ornaments and over 2,200 doves — many of them made of delicate white paper — were used on the trees and throughout the building.
In addition, over 165,075 holiday lights were used to decorate the trees, garlands, wreaths and other displays.
And then there’s the Gingerbread White House, which is composed of 25 sheets of gingerbread dough, 10 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 65 pounds of pastillage, 45 pounds of chocolate, 50 pounds of royal icing and 10 pounds of gum paste.
More than 100,000 visitors are expected to see the volunteers’ handiwork during the holiday season.
For the most part, the first lady’s remarks didn’t venture far from the welcome letter she and President Biden penned for the commemorative 2024 White House Holiday Guidebook.
In it, they said the holiday season has always held a special place in their hearts.
“We’ve loved opening the doors of the People’s House wider and wider each year, continuing the spirit of goodwill and gratitude. America’s story is your story, and we hope you feel at home here,” they wrote.
“As we celebrate our final holiday season here in the White House, we are guided by the values we hold sacred: faith, family, service to our country, kindness towards our neighbors, and the power of community and connection,” they said.
The first lady then offered a quick oral tour of the decor in each room. As she spoke, white paper doves hanging from the ceiling of the Cross Hall could be seen behind her.
A number of people cheered when she mentioned aspects of the decorations meant to honor U.S. troops, including an impressive gold tree/sculpture, dedicated to Gold Star families.
This year’s Gold Star Tree exhibit is constructed of six oversized and stacked stars, representing all six branches of the military.
Names of fallen service members are written on Gold Star ornaments on the four accompanying Christmas trees.
The overarching theme of the display this year is “a Season of Peace and Light,” the first lady said.
The tour itself followed the route of a traditional White House tour: visitors enter the East Wing of the White House under a large star emblazoned by rotating lights, and then proceed down the East Colonnade surrounded by a collection of brass-colored bells that are suspended from the ceiling.
Just before entering the mansion itself from the East Garden Room, visitors will encounter a horse-drawn sleigh — in this case, a large plush “toy” horse — and along the opposite wall is a collection of presidential Christmas cards.
The first real stop on the tour is the presidential library. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt designated this room to serve as the White House Library in 1935, and today the space holds roughly 2,700 volumes, mostly on American history and literature.
For the holiday season, they’ll also be joined by a forest of vintage ceramic Christmas trees, and here and there, small, seasonal dioramas.
The Vermeil Room, which features portraits of a number of first ladies, including Mamie Eisenhower, “Lady Bird” Johnson and Jacqueline Kennedy, is filled with festive floral displays, while the China Room features a baker’s bench and artisanal breads.
They are set among the room’s usual displays of State Service porcelain, glass and silver.
The Diplomatic Reception Room, which First Lady Biden added to the traditional White House tour only this past fall, features holiday florals and fruit.
In addition to the Christmas trees in the East Room — which, by the way, is the largest room in the White House — the holiday display includes a Neapolitan crèche, or Nativity scene, with over 40 figurines, most dating back to the 18th century.
The crèche has been displayed during every White House holiday season since 1967.
In the Green Room, once Thomas Jefferson’s dining room, light shines through colored glass ornaments and prisms, reflecting beautiful hues throughout the room.
And then there’s the Blue Room, in effect, the centerpiece of the White House holiday celebration, because it is home to the official White House Christmas Tree.
As previously reported by The Well News, this year’s tree is an 18.5-foot Fraser fir from the Cartner Christmas Tree Farm in Newland, North Carolina, and stands floor to ceiling, filling the oval room.
Every year, the Blue Room chandelier is removed to accommodate the Christmas tree’s full height.
This year’s tree features a light-filled, whimsical carousel, with names of every state, territory and the District of Columbia showcased throughout the tree’s décor.
As part of the First Lady’s Joining Forces initiative to support military families, Dr. Biden invited families of the USS Delaware and the USS Gabrielle Giffords, two U.S. Navy vessels for which she serves as sponsor, to provide the colorful paper chain garlands hanging throughout the State Dining Room.
The ornaments on the Christmas trees were crafted as self-portraits by students from across the country, ensuring that children see themselves reflected in this year’s holiday display.
In the Red Room, white paper doves carry messages of peace. Drawings from children across the country sent to the president and first lady are displayed throughout the room. Large, illuminated gift boxes are placed under the Red Room’s Christmas tree.
The Cross Hall unites the State Rooms of the White House, with the East Room and State Dining Room at the opposite ends, and the Green, Blue and Red Rooms opening from the south side.
The slightly arched ceiling springs from the cast plaster molding designed during the Theodore Roosevelt renovation of 1902.
Suspended overhead in the Cross Hall is a cascade of flying paper doves. Christmas trees trimmed with red and green plaid décor, as well as a vintage red truck, complete the holiday scenery.
Guests leave the annual holiday display through the Grand Foyer. Along the way, however, they’ll encounter the official White House Menorah, crafted from wood removed more than 70 years ago during the Truman-era renovation of the White House.
The first lady said the menorah, which is located just outside the Green Room, was first displayed in the White House during her husband’s first year in office.
“Make sure that you see it, it’s truly beautiful,” she said.
Earlier on Monday, as photographers and television crews got a preview of décor, the first lady welcomed National Guard families from across the country to be the first members of the general public to experience the holiday decorations firsthand.
The invitation was part of her Joining Forces initiative to support military families. In all, about 100 members of the National Guard and their families gathered at the White House for the event.
General Steven S. Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said celebrating the holidays at the executive mansion is “an incredible event for us,” and thanked the first lady for her work on behalf of military families.
He also took a moment to remember Beau Biden, who was a Delware National Guardsman.
“The Bidens are a guard family,” the first lady said, acknowledging Nordhaus’s remarks.
She went on to recall how, the day after her husband’s inauguration, she brought chocolate chip cookies to the guardsmen “who kept us safe on that day,” adding later, “I began my time as first lady by thanking National Guard members, and I remain grateful.”
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
