WASHINGTON, D.C. – This year’s White House Christmas theme is “Home Is Where The Heart Is.” Decorations throughout the White House shares that theme, like the Green Room celebrates the playfulness and imagination that makes a house a home and the Blue Room honors the courage and sacrifice of Gold Star families. We take a look back at how celebrating the holidays has changed throughout the decades and administrations.
The White House said this year’s theme shows how homes carry their own traditions but shared values bind us together as a nation. The White House Historical Association said celebrating the holiday season has gone through a lot of change throughout the years.
“For the first one hundred, one-hundred and 50 years Christmas celebrations were fairly simple, modest even,” said Dr. Matthew Costello, Chief Education Officer with the WHHA. “We’re talking like evergreens and small wreaths, ribbons and candles. A pretty far cry from what we see today.”
Dr. Costello explains the biggest change in decorating for the holidays happened after World War II.
“Post-WWII there’s the rise of the suburbs; you have people moving into homes; there’s more disposable income after WWII and it becomes a larger cultural shift where Americans are decorating for the holidays much more elaborately,” said Dr. Costello. “The first First Lady to really decorate the White House like we see it today is Maime Eisenhower. She loved all holidays.”
Later on, holiday themes evolved.
“Mrs. Kennedy introduces a theme, introduces a nutcracker theme during the first Kennedy White House Christmas and it continued to snowball since then where First Ladies select a theme and then they try to weave that theme throughout the entire operation throughout these different decorations,” said Dr. Costello. “Mrs. Reagan relied on an old-fashioned Christmas. Laura Bush after the September 11th attacks, her Christmas theme was “Home For The Holidays” and it was about the importance of having family and community together which was significant after 9/11.”
Visitors at the White House will get a chance to walk through the 2025 Christmas display.
