Christmas at the White House

Gallery

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This ca. 1896 photograph is one of the earliest known images of a White House Christmas tree. The Cleveland family had their Christmas tree upstairs in the Second Floor Oval Room.
White House Historical Association
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According to popular belief, President Theodore Roosevelt, an avowed conservationist, forbid Christmas trees at the White House. His children surprised the president by hiding a tree in a sewing room closet. December 1903.
White House Historical Association
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President Calvin Coolidge was the first president to participate in a public celebration of the Christmas holiday turning on the switch for the "National Tree Lighting" on the ellipse. December 24, 1923.
Library of Congress
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Britain's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, delivered speeches on the radio before participating in the National Community Tree Lighting Ceremony from the South Portico of the White House. December 24, 1941.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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The Eisenhower family steps from the North Entrance of the White House bearing holiday gifts. December 1957.
National Archives and Records Administration
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Caroline Kennedy and a friend inspect the sugar canes on the holiday tree in the Entrance Hall of the White House. December 12, 1962.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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President Lyndon Johnson adjusts an ornament on the Blue Room tree as children invited to the White House for a holiday party look on. December 16, 1964.
Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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The tradition of displaying a gingerbread house in the White House at Christmas began with First Lady Patricia Nixon. December 11, 1972.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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First Lady Betty Ford and her daughter, Susan, decorate holiday cookies in the White House Solarium. November 10, 1975.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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U.S. Olympic medalist Peggy Fleming performs on an ice stage set up on the South Lawn of the White House for the Carters and their guests at a holiday party. December 22, 1980.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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President Ronald Regan and First Lady Nancy Reagan decorate the family tree in the Second Floor family quarters of the White House. December 1983.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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First Lady Barbara Bush and her granddaughter top the National Tree. November 27, 1989.
George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton participate in a Menorah lighting ceremony in the Oval Office. December 2000.
William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
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First Lady Laura Bush receives the Blue Room tree at the North Entrance of the White House. November 28, 2005.
White House Historical Association
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama pose for a portrait in front of the official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room. December 6, 2009.
Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson
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First Lady Melania Trump receives the official White House Christmas Tree on the North Drive. November 25, 2019.
Matthew D'Agostino for the White House Historical Association

About this Gallery

The White House observance of Christmas before the twentieth century was not an official event. First families decorated the house modestly with greens and privately celebrated the Yuletide with family and friends. The first known White House Christmas tree, decorated with candles and toys, was placed in the Second Floor Oval Room, then used as a library and family parlor, in 1889 for President Benjamin Harrison and his family. In 1894, three years after electricity was installed in the White House, the first electric lights on a family tree delighted the young daughters of President Grover Cleveland. In 1912, President William H. Taft's children helped decorate the first tree in the Blue Room on the State Floor.