The Christmas party feud between CNN and the White House has officially taken a turn for the bizarre

The White House is ready for the holidays.
(Image credit: Astrid Riecken/Getty Images)

It is officially the holiday season, which means it's time to deck the halls with boughs of holly, roast some chestnuts over an open fire, and passive-aggressively snub your enemies by refusing to go to their Christmas parties. This year's highest profile cold shoulder is coming from CNN, which announced earlier this week that "in light of the president's continued attacks on freedom of the press and CNN, we do not feel it is appropriate to celebrate with him as his invited guests" at the White House's annual Christmas party.

The White House party planners, though, learned a few tricks from their high school years, apparently — chief among them, the best way to make someone jealous is to become BFFs with their best friend. On Thursday afternoon, deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters wrote an invitation to more than a dozen of CNN's behind-the-scenes staff, The Washington Post reports:

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.