After an election year filled with rancor and ultimately voter rejection of the Biden administration, the White House is calling for a “Season of Peace and Light” with this year’s holiday theme.

“Each year, the holidays bring Americans together in community and faith, reminding us that we are stronger as a community than apart,” President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wrote at the end of the holiday guide. “The strength of our country and the soul of our nation come from you. May the promise of this “Time of Peace and Light” guide your path forward.”

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This year’s decorations, unveiled in a media preview Monday morning, largely stick to the tried and tested in terms of both aesthetics and message. The East Colonnade, the long hallway that welcomes visitors and sets the tone, pays homage to the classic Christmas baubles. It consists of garland arches wrapped with sleigh bells and red ribbons suspending brass-colored bells suspended from the ceiling, ending in a red sleigh filled with gifts pulled by a stuffed horse.

White paper doves in the Red Room convey messages of peace. For the trees in the State Dining Room, families of those who served on U.S. Navy ships provided colorful garlands, and students from across the country created charming self-portraits to serve as decorations. The China Room is an ode to bread baking, with a generous display of artisan breads – even the wreaths in this room are made from braided bread. The library has a wonderful selection of vintage ceramic trees. And in the diplomatic reception room, which the public can now enter, there are trees and a mantel decorated with holiday fruits — especially oranges — and flowers.

White House staff expect about 100,000 visitors this season, including guests at about two dozen planned holiday parties. The entire operation is accompanied by a festive pomp and circumstance that would be appropriate at the North Pole itself, or at least at a FAO Schwarz in its heyday. It begins with the President’s Own Marine Corps Band playing Christmas carols as visitors pass through the east wing doors decorated with gold wreaths. Guests are never far from the sound of live music – whether old standards or newer classics like “Last Christmas” by Wham! – which echoes from the historic walls. During the preview, the fireplaces in every room radiated warmth and the sound of cracking wood could be heard. An event for National Guard families followed, where Jill Biden gave a speech.

At the Biden family’s last Christmas at the People’s House, the focus is on calm. But that doesn’t mean Christmas is all beige: the decorations actually include a lot of color and, yes, lots of candy.

Among the most vivid offerings is the White House’s annual Christmas tree, which has been transformed into an old-fashioned carousel with carnival music playing in the Blue Room. The 18½-foot-tall Fraser fir from Newland, North Carolina, has a large red-and-white striped base that completely covers the underside of the tree. Red ribbons stretched from top to bottom are reminiscent of a circus tent. Giant stuffed animals that move up and down circle the tree like real carousel characters. The effect is playful, although the tree itself fades into the background on a dissonant note. A time of peace and light? Nothing feels particularly peaceful in this room, even though there are a bevy of lights.

The East Room, the largest in the house and the site of bill signings, receptions and other important events, is more in keeping with the broader theme. A sparkling canopy on the ceiling and windows evokes a particularly photogenic snowfall, and white and silver ornaments adorn the trees.

And the ever-popular Gingerbread White House in the State Dining Room has a sophisticated look this year – all white with deep green trees and white lights and a scene of moving ice skaters on the South Lawn. The effort required 35 sheets of cookie dough, 65 pounds of pastille, 45 pounds of chocolate, 50 pounds of royal icing, 40 pounds of powdered sugar and 10 pounds of gum paste.

Lest you think this year’s theme is a deliberate response to everything that happened last year, brainstorming for the White House holidays begins in January, basically as soon as the previous year’s decorations come down. Planning begins in earnest after the annual Easter Egg Roll, and the execution phase begins in the fall, with the final push after the tree arrives. (This year’s tree arrival ceremony took place on November 25.) The final 72 hours before the unveiling are filled with last-minute gluing, mad ribbon-making, and the holiday rush familiar to many people struggling to get theirs Getting your own decoration just right.

“We worked, put stuff together and, I mean, did everything you could imagine,” said Darrion Cockrell, who was named the 2021 Missouri Teacher of the Year. “There are so many little things you don’t do. Think of all the details that I’m just so grateful to be a part of.”

Cockrell is one of more than 300 volunteers from across the United States who spent a week bringing the White House decorations to life. For this year’s project, they were equipped with 9,810 feet of ribbon, more than 28,125 ornaments, more than 2,200 doves and more than 165,075 Christmas lights for garlands, wreaths, displays and 83 Christmas trees. (These numbers are largely the same as last year, although there are 15 fewer trees.)

This year’s friendly atmosphere is consistent with previous appearances at the Biden White House, all of which have been an elevated version of what many do in their own homes, rather than a more sophisticated presentation. Last year, the White House wanted to capture the joy of the holidays from a child’s perspective by creating an East Colonnade with candy cane columns and holiday treats hanging from the ceiling. In 2022, the “We The People” theme was full of home-cooked touches designed to make the People’s House decor more accessible, including a display of the First Lady’s frequently used recipe cards. The Biden family’s first White House Christmas of 2021, scaled down due to the pandemic, was themed “Gifts from the Heart” and the rooms were designed to honor military members, frontline workers and first responders.

While the future of White House holiday decorations was not (and should not be) a major issue for voters in the 2024 election, any outcome would have promised a dramatic shakeup in this area. Former and now new first lady Melania Trump made a splash in 2018 with her hallway of 40 crimson topiaries, which are still among the most talked-about White House decorations. And a victory for Vice President Kamala Harris would have meant the first First Gentleman and the first Jewish First Wife would steer the merry ship.

This time next year, Melania Trump will once again bring the holiday splendor. But secret recordings released in 2020 by a former confidante show her frustration with the task traditionally left to the first ladies. ““I work…my enthusiasm for Christmas stuff, you know, who cares about Christmas stuff and Christmas decorations?” she said in 2018, according to records. “But I have to do it, right?”

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