A final, whimsical holiday for the Bidens

WASHINGTON — While unveiling the official holiday decorations Monday, Jill Biden said she wanted to make the White House “come alive” for her last Christmas as first lady.

In the East Room, where the first lady gave her official holiday message to the nation, a cascade of silver wraps descends from the ceiling.

Illuminated silhouettes of Americans holding hands encircle the base of both trees that flank the center door.

White House staff plan and prepare for the annual holiday decorations months in advance. This year’s display required 300 volunteers.

Susan E. Morrison, the executive pastry chef, led a team of five that began work on an almost entirely edible gingerbread replica of the White House in October. A rink on the gingerbread South Lawn features tiny ice skaters.

“I could eat anything that’s there — and gladly,” Morrison said.

Brass bells hang from archways in the East Colonnade, leading visitors to a gift-laden sleigh pulled by a stuffed horse.

Decorations required nearly 10,000 feet of ribbon and more than 28,000 ornaments. More than 150,000 holiday lights shine on the trees, garlands and wreaths.

The gingerbread replica of the White House weighs in at 170 pounds of chocolate, royal icing, pastillage and gum paste — not counting the weight of dozens of sheets of gingerbread and sugar-cookie dough that form the walls and roof.

Members of the U.S. Marine Band play holiday music throughout the White House as visitors come and go.

The president and first lady offered a goodbye message in their letter introducing the holiday season at the White House.

“It has been the honor of our lives to serve as your president and first lady,” they wrote. “Our hope is for the nation to be blessed with the peace and light of the holiday season.”

Citrus slices and fat, red pomegranates made of paper adorn two Christmas trees in the Diplomatic Reception Room. Jill Biden has for the first time opened the room, where foreign dignitaries are received, to the public tour of the White House.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt held his fireside chats there.

Next door in the China Room, visitors are greeted by a baker’s bench with baked goods, loaves of bread and croissants.

Thousands of white paper doves dangle from the ceiling of the Grand Foyer. Below, a child-size vintage red pickup truck is driven by a teddy bear dressed in red plaid.

Hundreds of schoolchildren from across the country drew self-portraits that now hang on trees in the State Dining Room.

Lorynn Guerrero, who helped with the decorations, said she was thrilled to recognize the faces of her former students nestled in the branches. Guerrero, a former English teacher, is now an administrator at a high school in Anthony, New Mexico.

Guerrero, who was first invited to the White House in 2022 after being named New Mexico’s Teacher of the Year, praised Jill Biden’s focus on education. Guerrero said it was special to be able to help with the Bidens’ last Christmas in the White House.

“I was told it’s kind of like high school,” Guerrero said. “After four years, you graduate. It’s change that’s inevitable.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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