The holiday season at the White House is a time of dazzling decorations and brilliant entertainment. For over two hundred years the celebration of Christmas at our President's house has evolved from a simple family observance into a grand public celebration.

The gallery click image for enlarged view

The earliest Presidents in our exhibit celebrated the Christmas season but not always with decorated trees. Blown glass and glittery decorations had not yet been manufactured so natural embellishments were used such as greenery, flowers, and other such items provided by nature. In order to include these in our display, we used our imagination to create decorations that perhaps represent the time in which they were used by occupants of a White House of long ago.

As the idea of decorating Christmas trees became popular in the United States, the Presidents and their families adorned the White House Christmas trees as people would in their own homes. As time passed the decorations as well as the number of trees increased. In 1958 Mamie Eisenhower had 27 decorated Christmas trees in the White House. Then in the 1960's the "theme" Christmas trees appeared in the White House and each year the press anxiously awaits news of the latest theme to be used by the current White House couple.