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First lady Jill Biden decorated the White House for the 2024 holidays.
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She chose the theme ‘A Season of Peace and Light’.
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Hidden details in the Christmas decorations refer to the theme and pay tribute to the fallen soldiers.
The White House is once again decked out for the holidays.
For her final Christmas decorations at the White House as first lady, Jill Biden chose the theme “A Season of Peace and Light,” writing in the 2024 White House Holiday Guide that she and President Joe Biden hope that “the nation will be blessed with the peace and light of the holidays.”
Hidden details in the decorations include peace symbols and tributes to Hurricane Helene relief efforts and fallen soldiers.
Take a look at the White House Christmas decorations for 2024.
A radiant starlight sculpture above the east entrance referenced the theme “A Season of Peace and Light.”
The east entrance to the White House.Susan Walsh/AP
Wreaths with matching gold ornaments were mounted on the gates of the White House.
The gingerbread white house had a similar starlight design on the roof.
The Gingerbread White House.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
White House Chef Susan Morrison built the gingerbread White House out of 25 gingerbread sheets, 10 sugar cookies, 45 pounds of chocolate and 50 pounds of royal icing, according to the White House Holiday Guide.
The official White House Christmas tree comes from North Carolina to honor the victims of Hurricane Helene.
Jill Biden received the official 2024 White House Christmas tree on the North Portico of the White House.Mark Schiefelbein/AP
The Fraser fir was grown at Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm in Newland, North Carolina, which was affected by the storm.
“The Cartner family lost thousands of trees to the storm,” Jill Biden said in her speech as she accepted the tree at the White House. “But this one stood – and they called it ‘Great’ because of the extraordinary hope it represents.”
The 18-foot-tall tree, which was displayed in the Blue Room, is decorated with the names of each U.S. state and territory.
The official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The official White House Christmas tree was also surrounded by a carousel and featured candy-shaped ornaments.
The Golden Star tree in the east entrance was made of six stacked stars, representing the six branches of the military.
The Golden Star Tree.The White House
The names of fallen soldiers appeared on gold star ornaments hanging from the other trees near the east entrance.
The families of service members on two Navy ships that Jill Biden is sponsoring made streamers of paper chains for the State Dining Room.
Paper chain garlands on a Christmas tree in the state dining room.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The first lady is a sponsor of two Navy ships, the USS Delaware and the USS Gabrielle Giffords. The Navy families contributed to the White House Christmas decorations as part of its Joining Forces initiative.
The decorations in the State Dining Room also include self-portraits drawn by students from across the US.
A hand-drawn self-portrait on a Christmas tree in the White House.Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
According to the White House Holiday Guide, the self-portraits were included so that “children see themselves reflected in this year’s Christmas display.”
The official White House menorah was displayed in the Cross Hall.
The official menorah of the White House.Susan Walsh/AP
The menorah, which first appeared in the White House Christmas decorations in 2022, was built with leftover wood from a renovation of the White House during Harry Truman’s presidency.
In the Red Room, the Christmas trees featured dove-shaped ornaments that matched the theme, “A Season of Peace and Light.”
Dove ornaments on a Christmas tree in the Red Room of the White House.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Inside the dove recesses were red envelopes that said “peace.”
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