WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s the final holiday season in the White House for President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, who decorated the executive mansion with the theme “A Season of Peace and Light.”
The first lady will unveil the decorations and deliver a Christmas message at an event at the White House on Monday.
Several hundred volunteers spent the past week decorating the public areas of the White House with nearly 10,000 feet of ribbon, more than 28,000 ornaments, more than 2,200 doves and about 165,000 lights on wreaths, streamers and other displays.
Trusted news and daily treats, straight to your inbox
See for yourself: The Yodel is the source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.
There are also 83 Christmas trees in the mansion, including the official tree in the Blue Room: a towering Fraser fir from North Carolina that was anchored to the ceiling after the chandelier was removed.
“As we celebrate our final holidays here at the White House, we are guided by the values we hold sacred: faith, family, service to our country, kindness to our neighbors, and the power of community and connection,” the wrote Bidens. in a commemorative holiday guide that will be given to all visitors.
The White House expects about 100,000 people this month.
Guests enter the White House under a rotating starlight and are surrounded by a collection of bells – copper-colored bells hanging from the ceiling and sleigh bells lining the arches – symbolizing the sounds of the holidays as they walk down the eastern colonnade corridor.
Upstairs, the ceiling and windows in the East Room are wrapped in a reflective canopy to create the feeling of a peaceful snowfall. Silhouettes of people holding hands decorate the base of two large Christmas trees in the room.
Light shines through colored glass ornaments and prisms in the Green Room, while paper doves in the Red Room convey messages of peace. Pigeons also hang overhead in the Cross Hall.
The Blue Room tree features a light-filled carousel with the names of each U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia surrounding the tree’s decorations.
In the State Dining Room, a fireworks display shines above the Gingerbread White House, which this year features a scene of people ice skating on the South Lawn.
The sweet treat – which is for display purposes only and is never eaten – was made with 25 sheets of gingerbread dough, 10 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 65 pounds (29.48 kilograms) of pastillage, a sugar paste, 45 pounds (20.41 kilograms) of chocolate, 22, 68 kilograms of royal icing and 4.54 kilograms of chewing gum paste.
As part of Joining Forces, Jill Biden’s White House initiative to support military families, the first lady invited National Guard families to be the first members of the public to experience the holiday decor. Beau, the Bidens’ late son, served in the Delaware Army National Guard.
