In 1889, President Benjamin Harrison set up an indoor Christmas tree for visitors to enjoy. But it was President Calvin Coolidge who really made the holiday a public event when he lit the first national Christmas tree on the White House grounds in 1923. The first families who have since called 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home have only expanded these traditions, adding festive balls, holiday readings, performances, and mouth-watering gingerbread displays for both the public and invited guests. Below, a look at the very festive White House through 12 first family Christmases.
1894 | 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. | (The White House Historical Association)
1923 | President Calvin Coolidge participates in the first national Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the White House grounds. | (Library of Congress)
1933 | Workers decorate the front of the White House for Christmas. | (Library of Congress)
Dec. 25, 1939 | The Roosevelts try to pose for a family holiday card in the East Room. | (AP Photo/File)
1961 | Caroline Kennedy inspects the Christmas tree in the Blue Room before a party for White House employees. | (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs)
1968 | Lyndon B. Johnson and his family on Christmas Eve. | (LBJ Library/Wikimedia Commons)
1975 | Staff from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection decorate the Blue Room Christmas tree. | (NARA)
1975 | First lady Betty Ford, Santa Claus, and clowns lead a procession of Diplomatic Corps children at a White House Christmas party. | (Library of Congress)
1978 | President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter share the first dance of the evening at the Congressional Christmas Ball at the White House. | (AP Photo/Ira Schwarz)
1983 | First lady Nancy Reagan poses alongside a 20-foot noble fir, which will be decorated for Christmas. | (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
1984 | President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan play with their new dog Lucky in the family's private quarters. | (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
1992 | First lady Barbara Bush, holding her grandson, places the star on top of the national Christmas tree. | (ROBERT GIROUX/AFP/Getty Images)
1997 | President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to local kids in the East Room. | (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
2007 | 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. | (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
2011 | First lady Michelle Obama and White House staff decorate cookies with kids from military families. | (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
2012 | White House pastry chef Bill Yosses explains his design for the nearly 300-pound gingerbread house — a White House holiday tradition since the 1960s. | (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
