Jill Biden Unveils White House Holiday Look

First lady wants visitors to see the decorations as a child does
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 27, 2023 4:43 PM CST
Jill Biden Unveils White House Holiday Look
Holiday decorations adorn the White House on Monday for the 2023 theme "Magic, Wonder, and Joy." Seventy-two wreaths sporting red ribbons adorn the north and south exteriors of the building.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Step inside the White House during the holidays by walking beneath the branches of a Christmas tree. Stroll along a hallway decorated with oversize holiday candy and other sweets. See Santa's sleigh and his eight reindeer suspended above the grand foyer in dramatic fashion. First lady Jill Biden wants everyone who visits the White House during the holidays to feel like a kid again, the AP reports. "Each room is designed to capture this pure, unfiltered delight and imagination" so visitors "see this time of year through the wondrous, sparkling eyes of children," she said Monday at the first of a month's worth of holiday receptions.

"Magic, Wonder and Joy" is the theme this year, President Biden's third in the White House. His wife said it was "so amazing" to see the Christmas tree atop the entrance to the East Wing when they returned Sunday night after spending the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts. "When Joe and I saw that last night, we were just, like, mesmerized," she said. The whimsical set of oversize decorations is meant to inspire the feelings of awe and wonder that put children on joyful edge during the holidays, White House aides said.

Throughout two public floors of the White House, the décor features several nods to the 200th anniversary of the publication of the poem and book commonly known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. (The official title is A Visit from St. Nicholas.) The papier-mache reindeer suspended in the foyer are "so cool," the first lady said. "It's like they're leaping from the storybook's pages." The Library of Congress provided samples of editions of the book from the past 200 years that are on display in cases along the ground floor corridor. The traditional gingerbread White House includes a large sugar cookie replica of the book opened to a page that says "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night." Santa's sleigh and reindeer also fly above the cookie White House.

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National Guard families, who joined the first lady as part of her Joining Forces initiative to support military families, were among the first to see the decorations. Children of these and other military families were also being treated to a performance by the cast of the North American tour of the Disney musical Frozen. One of the first Christmas trees visitors see after entering the White House is decorated with wooden gold star ornaments engraved with the names of fallen service members. Some 300 volunteer decorators and designers spent a few days last week gathering decorations from a warehouse, per the AP. They spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday putting the decorations in their proper places.

(More White House stories.)

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