Christmas at the White House

An enchanting tour of the holiday decorations and traditions of 12 presidential families

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The Christmas tree in the White House Blue Room gets Caroline Kennedy's attention, Dec. 13, 1961.
(Image credit: The Associated Press)
1894
(Image credit: The Cleveland family Christmas tree, set up in the second-floor Oval Room of the White House, was the first to boast electric light bulbs.)

1923
(Image credit: President Calvin Coolidge participates in the first national Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the White House grounds.)

1933
(Image credit: Workers decorate the front of the White House for Christmas.)

Dec. 25, 1939
(Image credit: The Roosevelts try to pose for a family holiday card in the East Room.)

1961
(Image credit: Caroline Kennedy inspects the Christmas tree in the Blue Room before a party for White House employees.)

1968
(Image credit: Lyndon B. Johnson and his family on Christmas Eve.)

1975
(Image credit: Staff from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection decorate the Blue Room Christmas tree.)

1975
(Image credit: First lady Betty Ford, Santa Claus, and clowns lead a procession of Diplomatic Corps children at a White House Christmas party.)

1978
(Image credit: President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter share the first dance of the evening at the Congressional Christmas Ball at the White House.)

1983
(Image credit: First lady Nancy Reagan poses alongside a 20-foot noble fir, which will be decorated for Christmas.)

1984
(Image credit: President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan play with their new dog Lucky in the family's private quarters.)

1992
(Image credit: First lady Barbara Bush, holding her grandson, places the star on top of the national Christmas tree.)

1997
(Image credit: President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to local kids in the East Room.)

2007
(Image credit: President George W. Bush, first lady Laura Bush, and the kids of military personnel serving overseas watch a performance of A Christmas Carol at the White House.)

2011
(Image credit: First lady Michelle Obama and White House staff decorate cookies with kids from military families.)

2012
(Image credit: White House pastry chef Bill Yosses explains his design for the nearly 300-pound gingerbread house — a White House holiday tradition since the 1960s.)

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.