White House Hallway Holiday Decoration 2017
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42 photos that show how the White House has celebrated Christmas through the years
Updated
2021-11-29T20:39:44Z
- December means homes across America are decking the halls, and the White House is no exception.
- John and Abigail Adams began the tradition with the first White House Christmas party in 1800.
- Jill Biden unveiled this year's White House Christmas decorations, themed "Gifts from the Heart."
The White House halls have been decked for the holidays every December since John and Abigail Adams held the first White House Christmas party in 1800.
The Adams' White House Christmas party was held in honor of their 4-year-old granddaughter Susanna Boylston Adams.
Every president has brought their own traditions into the White House.
Grover Cleveland, for example, lit up the first Christmas tree inside the White House to the delight of his young daughters.
Calvin Coolidge was the first president to host a public Christmas celebration at the White House, with the first National Christmas Tree lighting in 1923.
Over 6,000 people attended the first National Christmas Tree lighting.
The tree lighting ceremony and the president's participation has been a yearly tradition since then.
This year's National Christmas Tree lighting will air on CBS on Sunday, December 5.
Glowing trees lit up a side entrance to the White House in 1931.
A Christmas wreath also glowed above the door.
Franklin Roosevelt spent 10 consecutive Christmas holidays in the White House and emphasized the importance of family during the holiday season.
The East Room featured a Christmas tree decorated with string lights and tinsel.
FDR invited four generations of family into the White House for Christmas.
His children and grandchildren enjoyed spending Christmas Eve in the presidential residence to partake in two of Roosevelt's favorite holiday traditions: hanging stockings and reading, "A Christmas Carol."
Children joined Roosevelt at the White House to ring in Christmas with carols in 1940.
First lady Eleanor Roosevelt also invited Girl Scouts to sing carols with her in the East Room in 1936.
President Harry Truman welcomed some unusual guests to the White House in December 1948 when he was gifted turkeys for his Christmas dinner.
The turkeys were gifted to him by the Poultry and Egg National Board and the National Turkey Federation.
President Dwight Eisenhower and first lady Mamie Eisenhower posed with their family in 1958 on the North Portico of the White House.
The North Portico featured two lit Christmas trees.
Eisenhower's first family also posed for a Christmas Eve picture in front of a tinsel-covered tree.
The Eisenhowers had two children, Doud Dwight (nicknamed "Icky") and John.
First lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of themed White House decorations with Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" taking over the Blue Room in 1961.
First daughter Caroline admired the tree before a party for employees.
In 1962, the White House Christmas tree was decorated with ornaments inspired by children, including candy canes and gingerbread cookies.
The tree also reused many of the Nutcracker ornaments from the previous year, according to the White House Historical Association.
Despite Jackie's decorating efforts, the Kennedy family chose to celebrate Christmas Day in Palm Beach.
They spent Christmas at the home of financier C. Michael Paul.
The Johnson family included a 5-foot red, green, and gold piñata in the main hall.
Piñatas are a traditional holiday ornament in Latin American countries and Mexico.
In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson and first lady Lady Bird Johnson's dog Yuki sniffed their decorated Christmas tree.
The Johnsons piled presents underneath the Norway spruce.
Christmas in the Nixon White House was a lively affair.
First lady Pat Nixon told Empire Magazine their holiday traditions included the president playing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" on the piano for friends and family.
Another Nixon tradition was to decorate their Christmas trees with decorations made by disabled workers.
President Gerald Ford brought two dates to the White House Christmas ball in 1975: his wife, Betty, and his daughter, Susan.
The theme of the White House Christmas decor that year was "Old Fashioned Children's Christmas."
First lady Betty Ford presented the official White House Christmas tree in 1976.
At that year's lighting, President Ford said that as a former National Parks ranger he was proud to have real trees throughout the White House.
In 1983, the Reagans decorated their Christmas tree with ornaments made by two South Korean children they brought to the US on Air Force One for heart surgery.
One of the children, Brett Halvorson, reunited with Nancy Reagan in 2007.
"As I was only 4 years old, my memory of Mrs. Reagan is very vague," Halvorson, told ABC News in 2016. "But what I do remember is that I felt comfort and love from a woman that was a complete stranger."
The Reagans commissioned artists to paint scenes from inside the Executive Mansion during the holiday season for their annual Christmas card.
Many presidents, including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and both George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush, have since followed suit.
The Reagan White House incorporated pop culture into their playful decorations.
Nancy Reagan shared a moment with ALF during a children's Christmas party at the White House in 1987.
In 1984, then-second lady Barbara Bush helped place the star on top of the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse.
Bush was joined by Joseph Riley, president of the Christmas Pageant of Peace committee.
When the Bushes became White House occupants themselves, Christmas was a family affair.
George H.W. Bush's grandchildren were treated to a story when they spent Christmas Eve at the White House in 1991.
President George Bush celebrated all four of his Christmases as president at Camp David.
Bush also spent Christmas at Camp David during his son George W. Bush's presidency, according to the Washington Times.
The Clinton White House had plenty of edible decorations each year.
Over the course of several years, the Clintons enjoyed gingerbread house versions of the Washington Monument, Mount Vernon, and even a replica of Hillary's childhood home.
In 1994, Hillary Clinton decorated the White House around the theme "The Twelve Days of Christmas."
The ornaments on the National Christmas Tree were designed by schoolchildren across the US and the National Society of Tole and Decorative Painters, The New York Times reported.
In 2001, George W. and Laura Bush read books to local schoolchildren surrounded by Christmas trees decorated with lights and fake snow.
The president and first lady hosted students from Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, which American Airlines Flight 77 flew over before it crashed into the Pentagon on September 11.
First lady Laura Bush chose a "Red, White and Blue Christmas" theme for their final Christmas in the White House.
The patriotic theme was inspired by letters the president and first lady received after September 11.
In 2009, first lady Michelle Obama decorated the White House around the theme "Reflect Rejoice Renew."
Christmas trees on the State Floor shone with lights and ribbons.
For the Obamas' last year in the White House, larger-than-life replicas of their dogs Bo and Sunny added a playful and personal touch to the decorations.
The replicas were made with over 25,000 yarn pom-poms.
First lady Melania Trump's non-traditional Christmas decorations in 2017 created a stark scene in the East Wing.
Not everyone was a fan of the ghostly white branches, which sparked a series of memes on Twitter.
Trump's crimson topiary trees as part of the 2018 theme "American Treasures" also garnered criticism.
"We are in 21st century and everybody has a different taste. I think they look fantastic," Trump said in response to criticism of the decorations. "I hope everybody will come over and visit it. In real life they look even more beautiful and you are all very welcome to visit the White House, the people's house."
Trump kept things more traditional for the 2019 decorations with the theme of "The Spirit of America."
The Grand Foyer was lit up with green Christmas trees covered in fake snow and white lights that shone overhead to make "a glistening winter garden," the White House said in a release.
In 2020, the White House went with the theme "America The Beautiful," offering a "tribute to the majesty of our great Nation."
Small details throughout honored themes like 100 years of the 19th amendment and wildlife in the US.
The theme of this year's White House Christmas decorations, chosen by first lady Dr. Jill Biden, is "Gifts from the Heart."
President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden wrote in the 2021 White House Holiday Guide that "Gifts from the Heart" such as faith, family, friendship, and unity "tie together the heart strings of our lives."
Christmas trees in the State Dining Room feature photos of the Bidens, as well as past presidential families.
Former presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin D. Roosevelt are pictured with their families.
In the East Colonnade, clear blue circles and dove-shaped cutouts line the windows and glowing stars hang from the ceiling.
The doves and shooting stars represent "peace and light brought to us all by the service of frontline workers and first responders during the pandemic," according to the White House Holiday Guide.
Wreaths in the China Room feature stars comprised of interlocking hands.
The China Room displays tableware and china sets used by past presidential families.
The Grand Foyer and the Cross Hall decorations center around the "Gift of Faith and Community."
"The hallway alcoves and tree displays depict wintry scenes of life within our towns and cities, reflecting the solace of faith, the lasting bonds of community, and the perseverance of the American spirit," the White House Holiday Guide reads.
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White House Hallway Holiday Decoration 2017
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-christmas-photos-historical-2017-12