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Entry bubble Holiday Season at the White House

By: Colleen | December 03, 2008 | Category: Fun

white house christmas

Although wreathes and trees have popped up in stores and certain radio stations have been playing 'round the clock Christmas music since Halloween, the holiday season is now officially upon us. I'll be the first to admit that I'm kinda "bah humbug" about the whole thing, but if there's one part of the season I really do enjoy, it's seeing all the houses lit up and decorated for Christmas.

That said, what better residence to take a look at during the holiday season than the White House? As a kid, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd almost always say, "White House party planner." So, I guess there's just something about the idea of festivities at the most prominent address in the world that gets me giddy about the holidays.

White House Christmas Tree: Each year a theme is picked for that year's holiday décor. Although many trees can be found throughout the White House, there is always a main one decorated in the theme of the First Lady's choosing. This year's tree was delivered on November 30th and comes from North Carolina.

Holiday Card: President Coolidge issued the first Christmas message to the American people in 1927. This has since developed into the yearly issuing of a holiday card. Often they feature the Presidential seal, photograph, or artwork by an American artist of a winter White House scene.

National Christmas Tree: This living Christmas tree was planted on the Ellipse, south of the White House, in 1978. It is lit each year, and serves as a year-round reminder of the spirit of the holiday season.

Menorah Lighting: An electric menorah is placed in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to commemorate the "festival of lights." President Clinton lit the first menorah in the West Wing, and President George W. Bush was the first to have one lit in the White House residence.

Ornaments: Every year the White House issues an official ornament. They usually commemorate a specific President or other significant event for the year, such as the 200th anniversary of the White House. Living in the DC area, I like to get these as gifts for family members.

Other fun stuff: Follow along with First Dog Barney as he makes his way through the White House this season. Want a tasty treat? Check out the First Lady's hot chocolate recipe. Leading up to the new year, the President leaves a message for those observing Kwanzaa.

What kind of special holiday decorating do you do? What traditions do you maintain?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: colleen   decorations   holiday   white_house  

 

Entry bubble Happy Halloween Ghouls and Boos

By: Ginger | October 31, 2008 | Category: Fun

Kids in Halloween costumesMy earliest Halloween memory is being dressed as Casper, the friendly ghost, when I was 4. I insisted on sleeping in that costume for the next 3 years and probably would be sleeping in it today, if it hadn’t been tragically and accidentally (so my mother claims) thrown out in the garbage.

My parents would sit us down every Halloween for a safety lecture. They would warn us about razor blades being hidden in Halloween candy; hence the mandate to not eat any candy until they checked it out. As a kid, I had a suspicion that this was really more about my parents wanting to pick out the good candy first. In hindsight, I actually think this is fair. There ought to be some perks to being a parent.

Nowadays, the Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Fire Protection Association, and the American Red Cross have web pages devoted to sharing Halloween safety information. In addition, the USA.gov Halloween page has links to all kinds of interesting Halloween facts and customs. Check out the Halloween pages from the American Folklife Center, the White House, the Patent and Trade Office, and the U.S. Census Bureau.

One Halloween, while trick-or-treating, a man told me that I had to do a trick to get my treat. I did an out-of-control cartwheel that nearly took out 2 ghosts, a princess, and a lumberjack. I remember grumbling to my sister about the “old geezer” who made me do a trick to get my treat.

Now, I am the “old geezer.” I make trick-or-treaters earn their treats. I sit outside with the candy and our 2 dogs. I tell the kids they can take one piece of candy or a handful by getting Doc and Daisy to do tricks. Most opt for the handful, so I show the kids the commands for sit, play dead, roll-over, and dance. When the kids get the dogs to complete the correct trick, they grab a big handful of the good stuff.

We know some of the neighborhood kids pretty well. For them, I bring out our cat. I tell the kids if they can get her to do a trick, I will give them my car. They try, but Keeboo just yowls at them and smacks them with her clawless paw. My husband says one day Keeboo may actually cooperate and I will have to give my car to a 5-year-old, but I’m not worried.

So, what Halloween memories do you have?

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: ginger   halloween  

 

Entry bubble Your Special Day

By: Nancy | October 16, 2008 | Category: Fun

Being the Thursday blogger is the best! Not only do I get to share Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day with you in the coming months (and I KNOW you'll be reading Gov Gab on those days, right?) but I get to hang out with you today, on my birthday.

birthday girl and her candlesAs I'm writing, I'm devouring a piece of birthday pie baked by our apple pie expert, Arlene, the manager of Kids.gov. I wish I could send you a slice, but the crust keeps getting stuck in our fax machine. So in lieu of that, how about I share some birthday-related sites that I found today?

Is someone special in your life getting ready to celebrate a BIG birthday? If they're 80 or better, the White House can send them a birthday greeting. Greetings can also be sent for births, weddings and 50th+ anniversaries. You can also get birthday greetings from past presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter. Be sure to request presidential greetings at least six weeks ahead of the big day.

Know a birthday person, veteran or patriot who'd appreciate a flag that was flown over the US Capitol? You can order one from your Senator or Member of Congress and you can specify which date you'd like the flag flown.

About three months before each birthday, you're mailed your Social Security Benefits Statement calculating the amount of money you've earned over the years and estimating the amount of Social Security benefits you and your family may receive. When you can collect your benefits depends on when you were born. The Social Security Administration's full retirement age calculator can help you figure it out. As of today, I am exactly 26 years from full retirement age. I'm not sure if that sounds alarmingly close or too far away right now. Either way, I'd better console myself with another little slice of pie.

Every day, the Library of Congress features a significant event that happened each date in history. Wonder what else happened on your birthdate over the years? Wander over to Wikipedia and search your birthdate. I'm sharing my birthday with dictionary creator Noah Webster, playwright Oscar Wilde and musician John Mayer. On this date, Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, John Paul II was elected pope in 1978, and both the Walt Disney Company (1923) and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) got their start. What a busy date!

Take a peek and let me know: what happened and who was born on your birthdate?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [13] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: birthday   nancy   october  

 

Entry bubble When I Turned One...Happy Birthday, Gov Gab!

By: Colleen | September 24, 2008 | Category: Fun

baby colleenThe year was 1984...there was something strange in your neighborhood. Who were you calling? Ghostbusters! Bruce Springsteen and a teenage Courtney Cox were "Dancing in the Dark" and everyone was tuned in to Dynasty.

In 1984 (the year, not the Orwell novel), the average movie ticket was $2.50 and a gallon of gas ran you $1.10. The first Apple MacIntosh went on sale and widespread famine in Ethiopia inspired musicians to record, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" under the name "Band Aid." In politics, Geraldine Ferraro was a Vice Presidential nominee.

Fast-forward to 2008: our neighborhoods are still strange. Bruce Springsteen continues to tour, and Dynasty is a work of genius compared to the reality tv we watch today.

While the cost of movies and gas have us saving our pennies, Mac has us wired to iPods and iPhones. "Do They Know It's Christmas" is in heavy radio rotation the day after Halloween, and once again a woman is a Vice Presidential nominee.

I suppose it's accurate to say, "everything old is new again." However, considering my current Internet and cell phone addictions, I'm not willing to go back to the 80's. Plus, the hair? Just bad.

| View Comments [0] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: 1984   birthday   colleen   gov_gab  

 

Entry bubble GovGab Birthday Week!

By: Jake | September 22, 2008 | Category: Fun

Happy Birthday to us! Happy Birthday to us! Happy Birthday dear us! Happy Birthday to us!

Baby JakeGov Gab is now a Year Old. Technically today is not Gov Gab's first birthday (it was Saturday), but we decided to make our first b-day a week-long event. Each Govgabber will talk about what was going down in the U.S. when he or she turned the big numero uno. As you can see from the adorable whippersnapper on the swing (aka me), we're also including pics of ourselves circa 12 months. We've also released a Gov Gab's First Birthday Social Media Release, which we think is the first U.S. government example of a social media release.

Even though I was just swinging around, 1980 was a busssssy year. There was a United States presidential election, Olympics and the U.S. Census Bureau did its thing (conducted a census). Mother Nature showed her fury with the Mount St. Helens explosion and a major heat wave.

Ordinary People won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Robert De Niro won Best Actor for playing a Raging Bull named Jake (no relation). Of course Star Wars fans know 1980 as the year that Luke learned who his father was. Music lost icons John Lennon and John Bonham and was well on its way to becoming 80's music with releases by the Talking Heads, U2 and (sigh) Loverboy.

I think the most notable occurrence in 1980 that relates to Gov Gab was the passing of Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan. McLuhan was best known for the phrase "the medium is the message" but he also wrote extensively about the term "global village," which today is synonymous with the Internet.

McLuhan's interpretation of the global village was negative, but he never lived to see the Internet. It's no secret that the Internet has changed our lives. From paying bills or even finding a date, you can do just about anything on the web (even conduct government transactions!).

So how do you think the global village has changed your life? Also, feel free to suggest on any post this week what we can do here at Gov Gab to improve as we work toward our terrible twos.

| View Comments [10] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: 1980   1980's   birthday   global_village   govgab_birthday   jake   social_media   social_media_release  

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