PHOTOS: The 2024 White House Christmas decorations
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PHOTOS: The 2024 White House Christmas decorations

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

A playful stuffed bear driving a toy truck beneath President Obama’s portrait serves as a festive centerpiece in the White House Grand Foyer.

First lady Jill Biden has decided to celebrate a “season of peace and light” for her and President Biden’s final holiday season in the White House. And while most of Washington was busy celebrating Thanksgiving last week, a team of more than 300 volunteers, along with Executive Residence staff, worked tirelessly for an entire week to bring this vision to life.

Nearly 10,000 feet of ribbon, over 28,000 ornaments and approximately 2,200 paper doves, along with 165,075 lights, were used to decorate the White House. Around 100,000 visitors are expected to stream through the East Wing doors throughout the season.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as your first family,” the First Lady said in her holiday message to the nation today. She and President Biden have “opened the doors of the People’s House ever wider so that we can bring the light of more Americans into these halls.”

The seal of the President of the United States is located above the entrance to the Blue Room, as viewed from the Grand Foyer.
Above the entrance to the east wing is an impressive sculpture that bathes guests in starlight.
As guests make their way through the East Colonnade, they are surrounded by a series of bells that symbolize the peaceful sounds of the holidays.
The Gold Star Tree is the first Christmas tree featured on the White House tour. It consists of six stacked stars representing all six branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The names of fallen service members are written on ornaments hanging from nearby Christmas trees.
A cascade of peace doves flies over the Cross Hall, which combines the state rooms of the White House.
As part of this year’s holiday decorations, there are 83 Christmas trees scattered throughout the White House campus.
The official White House Christmas tree is in the Blue Room. This year’s tree, an 18½-foot-tall Fraser fir from North Carolina, features a whimsical carousel and the names of every U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia are listed in the surrounding decor.
A forest of vintage Christmas trees is displayed throughout the library.
Festive dioramas line the shelves of the library, which also houses about 2,700 books, mostly on American history and literature.
A baker’s bench and handmade loaves characterize the China Room, reminding guests of the “peaceful, patient and loving process of bread baking.”
First Lady Edith Wilson first opened the China Room in 1917, with most presidents represented by either a personal or state service made of porcelain, glass or silver.
Colorful greenery and garlands decorate the lobby in the east wing and are intended to envelop guests in “the peaceful tranquility of nature” at the beginning of their vacation.
The Vermeil Room decor revolves around floral arrangements using different materials.
Portraits of a handful of former first ladies hang on the walls of the Vermeil Room, including Mamie Eisenhower, Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson and Jacqueline Kennedy.
White paper doves deliver messages of peace in the Red Room. And on surrounding tables are displayed drawings from children across the country that were sent to the president and first lady.
A three-dimensional horse-drawn sleigh pulling a Christmas tree decorated with bells and lights dominates the East Garden Room.
The marble arches of the ground floor corridor are covered with festive garlands.
The Green Room plays with light through a series of glass ornaments and prisms designed to reflect colorful hues throughout the room.
The families of the USS Delaware and the USS Gabrielle Giffords— two U.S. Navy ships sponsored by the First Lady — were invited to provide the colorful paper chain garlands that hang throughout the State Dining Room. And the ornaments on the trees were made as self-portraits by students from across the country.
A glowing starry sky shines above this year’s Gingerbread White House, made from 25 sheets of gingerbread dough, 10 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 65 pounds of pastillage, 45 pounds of chocolate and 50 pounds of royal icing.
A joyful scene of ice skaters on the South Lawn is also reflected in the sugary masterpiece.
A portrait of President Ronald Reagan on display in Cross Hall.
The Diplomatic Reception Room made its debut as part of the White House public tour last fall. Holiday flowers and fruits are displayed “as a nod to the importance of hospitality and grace in peaceful diplomacy.”

Dan SwartzDan Swartz

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