Journalism of Courage
For her family's final Christmas in the White House, Michelle Obama used the holiday decor to highlight her core initiatives as first lady: military service, education and health.
"This year's holiday theme is 'The Gift of the Holidays,'" the first lady said after unveiling the decorations for military families. "We're going to be celebrating our country's greatest gifts, with special decorations celebrating our military families." The theme is also meant to encourage people to reflect on "the true gifts of life," such as service, friends and family, education and good health, her office said in a statement describing the decorations.
This year's White House Gingerbread House in the State Dining Room of the White House during a preview of the holiday decor. Gingerbread house features 150 pounds of gingerbread on the inside, 100 pounds of bread dough on the outside frame, 20 pounds of gum paste, 20 pounds of icing, and 20 pounds of sculpted sugar pieces. (Source: AP)
The Official White House Christmas Tree arrives at the White House in Washington, Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, where first lady Michelle Obama accepted it. The Balsam-Veitch fir from Mary and Dave Vander Velden, of Oconto, Wis., is 19 feet tall and 12 feet wide. (Source: AP)
First lady Michelle Obama walks with dogs Sunny and Bo, as she receives the Official White House Christmas Tree at the White House. The Vander Veldens won the National Christmas Tree Association's contest, earning the honor of supplying the White House with its official Christmas tree. Contest winners have provided the White House tree annually since 1966. (Source: AP)
A towering tree dominates the Blue Room, trimmed as it has been in the past to honor the U.S. military and their families, an issue Michelle Obama has emphasized.
This year's White House Christmas Tree is seen inside the Blue Room from the Cross Hall of the White House. (Source: AP)
No White House Christmas would feel complete without the annual gingerbread version.
The White House, is one of the fifty-six LEGO gingerbread houses, one for each state and territory, displayed in the trees in the State Dinning Room at the White House during a preview of the 2016 holiday decor. Each of the LEGO gingerbread houses are a one-of-a-kind creation and feature colors, architecture styles and details that pay tribute to each state or territory. This house was made for the District of Columbia. (Source: AP)
The Green Room is decorated at the White House during a preview of the 2016 holiday decor. Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" anti-childhood obesity is represented by a variety of fruit, to symbolize healthy eating, laid out in the Green and Red Rooms upstairs on the State Floor. Wreaths made of lemons and garlands made of limes decorate Green Room walls. (Source: AP)
In the library, education is the theme. Ornaments on two trees are written with the word "girls" in 12 languages, honoring the first lady's "Let Girls Learn" initiative to help countries educate tens of millions of adolescent girls around the world. Other trees in the library are made out of crayons or pencils. (Source: AP)
The Library of the White House is decorated during a preview of the 2016 holiday decor. (Source: AP)
The Lower Cross Hall is decorated with "snowball" arches created from more than 6,000 ornaments and snowmen lining the corridor in the White House. (Source: AP)
More than 90 volunteer decorators from 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico began arriving on Thanksgiving to begin the monumental task of decorating the White House, doing everything from hauling boxes and making bows to hanging lights and wreaths and trimming trees.
The East Wing Hallway of the White House. (Source: AP)
"Gingerfriends" made of LEGOs are displayed in the State Dinning Room at the White House during a preview of the 2016 holiday decor.
A team of Lego builders at the company's Connecticut offices crafted the houses from more than 200,000 Lego pieces, the White House said.(Source: AP)
Larger-than-life replicas of family dogs Bo and Sunny will greet tens of thousands of holiday visitors shortly after they enter through the East Wing. The replicas are made with more than 25,000 yarn pom-poms. (Source: AP)
Dog themed ornaments and presents are displayed next to larger than life replicas of Bo and Sunny in the East Wing Hallway of the White House. (Source: AP)
Models of Bo and Sunny sit out front, and The First Lady's revamped vegetable garden is represented.(Source: AP)
First lady Michelle Obama brings in the first family's dogs Sunny and Bo, as children of military families make holiday crafts and treats in the State Dining Room of the White House. (Source: AP)
First lady Michelle Obama makes holiday crafts with children in the State Dining Room of the White House. (Source: AP)
Most of the 70,000 ornaments and other decorations were reused, the White House said. Just 10 percent were new.
The North Portico of the White House is decorated for the upcoming festival.
