WASHINGTON — The White House is once again all decked out for Christmas.

“A season of peace and light,” is the holiday theme First Lady Jill Biden selected this year for the final Christmas she and her husband, President Joe Biden will celebrate at the White House.

What You Need To Know

  • First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy is acknowledged to have originated the tradition of a White House Christmas theme
  • This year, Jill Biden’s theme was “a season of peace and light”

  • The tradition of a blue room tree was started by First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, who was the first to welcome the champion of the National Christmas Tree Association’s competition in 1966

  • The White House ornament tradition began in 1981 with First Lady Nancy Reagan. This year, the 2024 ornament honors Former President Jimmy Carter

Holiday traditions at the White House have developed over decades, reflecting the influences of the first families who have lived there. Although the White House has been the home of presidents for centuries, Matthew Costello of the White House Historical Association says many of its Christmas traditions are relatively new.

“We acknowledge Jacqueline Kennedy as being the first one to select a specific theme. And then first ladies, more or less, have consistently followed that since,” said Costello.

That first theme took inspiration from the Nutcracker ballet. The tree in the famed blue room was adorned with ornamental birds, toys and angels. In 1966, the next first lady, Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson began another tradition by welcoming the winner of the National Christmas Tree Association’s annual contest in 1966.

This year, an 18-and-a-half foot fir from North Carolina was selected as the official White House tree. In all, 83 trees are on display this year, with 28,000 ornaments…one of them, highlighting another tradition.

“There was an idea to create an annual ornament to commemorate the White House and the presidents who have called White House home,” explained Costello. “And so it began in 1981 and First Lady Nancy Reagan approved the idea, and she was very excited to put it on the blue room Christmas tree that year.”

This year, the ornament celebrates Former President Jimmy Carter, who recently turned 100 -- the first time a living former president has been so honored. His features an anchor, a symbol of hope and an homage to his navy service.

Other ornaments tell a unique story, like the fire truck from 2016 that depicts the West Wing fire of 1929, when president Herbert Hoover and his staff rushed to save paperwork and essential documents, while the First Lady continued to host a reception for children.

“I mean it’s such a great story,” says Costello. “I think it's just another good example of a really lesser known story that people probably don't know and we find a way to tell that story through our ornament program.”

Costello says there usually is a concerted effort to make the holiday displays memorable and evocative

“I think there's this public expectation that the house really is from the moment that you step into it, from the moment you leave it, it's like a winter wonderland, and it's supposed to have that experience and that feel the entire way.”

This year, the White House was decorated with the help of 300 volunteers from across the country, who assisted the First Lady for a week to create a holly jolly experience for all who visit.