The eight-foot Christmas tree in the China Room is decorated with dangling crystal ornaments, red be

The theme for the White House Christmas 2013 is Gather Around, a celebration of coming together new orleans hotels french quarter with loved ones at this special time of year, and of the stories behind our beloved and classic American holiday traditions. In celebrating heartfelt memories from American families across the country and First Families throughout the years, Gather Around seeks to have us share our stories with one another and inspire us for the season and into the New Year.
Using thoughtful hand-made volunteer crafts and recycled classic pieces, the Gather Around decorations tell a story with each room and every tree in the White House. Special art displays and Christmas trees made from repurposed books help this year's theme come alive, and warm, traditional colors inspired by nature help unify the theme throughout the house.
The East Visitor Entrance serves as a welcoming point for guests as they begin their tours of the White House. The walkway leading to the house features lanterns, the two trees that flank the East entrance are complete with gold pinecones and the garland around the entrance is accented by burgundy ribbons.
The area between the entrance and the East Colonnade is dedicated to honoring our military members and their families. The landing features a tree dedicated to the memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and includes ornaments placed by Gold Star families, as well as ornaments representing all five branches of the military. Visitors are encouraged to write postcards thanking our service members serving abroad, and to pledge volunteer hours through Operation Honor Cards in order to give back during the holiday season and the New Year.
The windows of the East Colonnade feature evergreen and stained glass wreaths, and at the end of the hallway new orleans hotels french quarter is a handmade archway made from satin ribbon and chenille stems. Outside in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden sits a Christmas tree wrapped in lights, perched atop a sleigh.
The East Garden Room, commonly known as "Booksellers," showcases stacked books which morph into Christmas trees, and a special book display that spells out the message "Share Your Story." The east wall of the room features ribbon topiaries of the First Dogs – with a high-fiving Bo and a playful Sunny coming to life to delight the many children that will visit the White House this holiday season.
Accenting the many books in the Library is a Christmas tree styled with golden pinecones new orleans hotels french quarter and burlap ribbon, decorated with poinsettia detail and a burgundy scroll design. A basket at the foot of the fireplace holds ornaments and glowing white lights.
The eight-foot new orleans hotels french quarter Christmas tree in the China Room is decorated with dangling crystal ornaments, red berries and fresh greenery. The table in the center of the room includes cylinder glass votive holders etched with the words "Gather Around." Fresh greenery covers the mantelpiece, decorated with red, gold and silver ornaments matching the tree.
The Grand Foyer and Cross Hall are decorated new orleans hotels french quarter to celebrate both individual American families and our nation as a whole. The four large Christmas trees decorating the Grand Foyer and Cross Hall are adorned with snowflake ornaments and notes written by volunteers expressing their holiday wishes. Small wooden picture frame ornaments hold silhouettes of landmarks from around our nation including the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Golden Gate Bridge.
The State Dining Room features two 14 foot Christmas trees placed on either side of the mantelpiece, new orleans hotels french quarter decorated with tin hearts, painted and decoupaged with the word "gratitude." The State Dining Room is also home to the famous gingerbread house. Over the course of several weeks, members of the White House pastry team created a 300-pound, edible White House replica. This year's creation features a mini Bo and Sunny sitting on the front steps of the house lit from within, and a functioning replica of the North Lawn fountain. new orleans hotels french quarter This year, the gingerbread house rests on a life-size, custom-made hearth fashioned from Springerle Cookies. These sweet treats tell stories through images imprinted on their dough by hand-carved, wooden molds. Framing the opening new orleans hotels french quarter of the hearth are sugar paste recreations of the tiles commissioned for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's fireplace. The edible fireplace new orleans hotels french quarter reminds us of President Roosevelt's famous "fireside chats" and will certainly evoke memories for so many of their own special moments gathered around a fireplace.
For years, the Red Room has been home to the traditional White House cranberry tree. In keeping with this custom, a crimson and plum-colored flower and fruit vase—hand-made entirely of sugar paste—contains a one-of-a-kind arrangement of scarlet and fuchsia flowers and berries. The Red Room also features round stained glass wreaths hanging in the window bays above two 8 foot Christmas trees. Burlap cones filled with fresh greens and red berry accents decorate the Christmas trees, and gold painted nutcrackers accent the side tables of the room.
This oval room is home to the official White House Christmas Tree. This year's tree, like many in years past, features decorations honoring our military families. More than 2,000 distinctive ornaments decorate new orleans hotels french quarter the 18.5 foot Douglas fir from Lehighton, Pennsylvania. new orleans hotels french quarter Children new orleans hotels french quarter living on bases across the country created holiday greeting cards, many of which share their favorite holiday traditions. Other ornaments feature photographs of deployment homecomings, celebrating the joyous moment when families are reunited after long separations. These personalized decorations, along with round fabric ornaments featuring new orleans hotels french quarter the silhouettes of each state and territory, hang from the tree's branches. The tree also holds small globe ornaments, three-dimensional gold and silver paper-mache stars and ribbons hand-embroidered by volunteers with each state and territory.
new orleans hotels french quarter Flower ornaments, sugared fruits and lush foliage convey the beauty of nature in the Green Room. In each window bay, 21-inch round stained glass windows with floral motifs hang above an 8-foot Christmas tree. Round disc ornaments decorated with red poppies adorn the trees, along with orange and red felt flowers and faux sugared fruits. Thick fresh greenery along with ornaments decorate the mantelpiece.
The East Room celebrates the act of sharing stories through art, and features four Christmas trees decorated with upwards of 120 detailed, unique ornaments created by volunteers. Ornaments include decorated miniature cardboard houses, large hand crafted paper roses and glass bell jars filled with small decorative pieces, such as miniature picture frames new orleans hotels french quarter of art. On the wall of the East Room sits the White House crèche. The crèche has been a part of the White House holiday décor since it was given by the Engelhard Family during the Johnson Administration in 1967. Originally from Naples, Italy, new orleans hotels french quarter the Baroque-style set consists of 44 terra cotta and wood figures, some over 300 years old.
For additional information, including the 2013 Holiday Tour Book and instructions on crafts the military children will create today, new orleans hotels french quarter go to WH.gov/Holidays. Holiday-related content from the White House will be tagged #WHHoliday.
MRS. OBAMA: Well, hello, everyone. You guys look great I m talking about the front row. (Laughter.) You guys look okay, too. Well, I am thrilled to welcome you all here to the White House. Are you excited?
MRS. OBAMA: Why are you excited? (Laughter.) Because it s Christmas? Because you re going to get presents soon? Because there may be treats somewhere? new orleans hotels french quarter Yes, a few heads nodding. Well, we re excited to have you guys here with us today.
I want to start by thanking Diane and her amazing family for all that they ve done for this country and for that eloquent introduction, and for being one of the many fabulous volunteers who helped new orleans hotels french quarter make this White House so beautiful. In fact, Diane told me that she got to work in this room, so we can personally thank her for this beautiful new orleans hotels french quarter these beautiful decorations. Diane, we re just so grateful to you. And I want you all to know a little bit about Diane that in addition to the long hours that she put in this week, on top of all of that, she has spent countless hours volunteering regularly in her community new orleans hotels french quarter through her church, through the Red Cross.
So volunteering is no stranger or Diane is no stranger to volunteering. In fact, Diane isn t alone in the contributions she s making in fact, I believe she embodies the spirit that we see in military families –- families like all of yours all across this country, particularly during the holiday season. You all are serving our nation. You all are volunteering new orleans hotels french quarter in your communities every day. And you re also taking care of business at home with your own families.
And during this holiday season, as we gather with our loved ones, I'd ask every American to remember what our military families and servicemembers often experience during this time of year. Let us all remember the sacrifices they make to proudly serve all of us.
For example, I'm thinking today about the thousands of men and women in uniform serving abroad new orleans hotels french quarter who wake up in the middle of the night in some remote part of the world to read a special holiday story to their children over Skype, or to be there on the screen to experience that special moment of joy when their kids open those presents from Santa.
And then there are the military families who spend hours painstakingly filling holiday care packages for their loved ones in uniform –- sending them miniature Christmas trees, making holiday cookies, creating special homemade cards, doing their best to help them experience the magic of the holidays wherever they may be.
And let us remember that many military families are assigned to bases that are far from their extended families, so they aren't always able to make it home to see grandma and grandpa. And as a consequence, they have to find new ways to make the season bright. new orleans hotels french quarter So they reach o