Once the White House decorations are up, you know it’s really Christmas in DC. Today we got a wonderful preview of the decor this year, titled “A Timeless Tradition,” and including rooms decorated by Carolina Herrera, and the minds behind Kenzo and Opening Ceremony. The display included 62 trees and over 70,000 ornaments, most of them repurposed from years past.
Sunny and Bo, the First Dogs, were again the stars of the show, with life size replicas made out of 55,000 feet of yarn and 7,000 pom poms, and tennis ball trees accompanying them. A hallway ceiling positively swirling with handmade snowflakes—made by local schoolchildren—welcomed guests into the lower level, and each state (oh yeah, and DC) had its own custom-made flake. The 500-pound gingerbread house perched on the side of the State Dining Room finally (finally!) included the East and West Wing, and a set of iPads that allow visitors to directly well wishes to troops stationed across the country and overseas.
First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed the crowd—largely made up of military families—in the lavishly bedecked East Room, and reminded the group that “a commitment to giving back is what the holidays are all about.” A crying baby that interrupted Mrs. Obama’s speech was told she could have “whatever she wanted” from the gingerbread house.
Alas, not a Bo-shaped cookie was in sight.
Keep scrolling for all the photos of the White House’s fabulously festive Christmas decor.
Hillary writes about interiors, real estate, arts, and culture. She is the former digital media editor of The New Republic, and her work has also been published in Glamour, The New York Times Book Review, and The Washington Post, among others. You can follow her on Instagram @hillarylouisekelly or on Pinterest @hlkelly.
