First lady Jill Biden on Monday unveiled the theme and decor for this year’s holiday season, which marks her and President Joe Biden’s last in the White House.
This theme, titled “A Season of Peace and Light,” is intended to remind the nation “that we are stronger as a community than we are apart,” the Bidens wrote in a holiday guidebook that will be given to White House visitors this season.
“As we celebrate our final holiday season here in the White House, we are guided by the values that we hold sacred: faith, family and service to our country, kindness toward all of our neighbors and the power of community,” the first lady said at an event at the White House Monday afternoon. “So that’s what inspired this holiday theme.”
Alongside the announcement of the theme, the first lady on Monday showcased the corresponding White House holiday decor, which took the work of more than 300 volunteers from across the country over a full week, according to her office. The decorations include 83 Christmas trees, more than 165,000 lights, nearly 30,000 ornaments and nearly 10,000 feet of ribbon throughout the White House.
“This would not be possible without your work,” Biden told volunteers Monday. “It’s been incredible to watch all of you transform this space year after year.”
The official White House Christmas tree, an 18½-foot Fraser fir from the Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm in Avery County, North Carolina, an area heavily impacted by the powerful Hurricane Helene this fall, features a carousel bearing the names of every state and territory in the U.S. as well as three dimensional candy. In keeping with a tradition dating back to the 1960’s, the tree stands floor-to-ceiling in the Blue Room.
Elsewhere in the White House, this year’s festive decorations embrace symbols of peace and tranquility, including brass-colored bells and thousands of white paper doves.
As she wraps up her time in the East Wing, the first lady is also leaning into one of her signature initiatives in the White House, “Joining Forces,” which aims to support military families. This year’s decor includes a tree honoring Gold Star Families made of up of six stacked stars, each one representing a branch of the military. Other Christmas trees include ornaments bearing the names of fallen service members.
Jill Biden earlier on Monday invited National Guard families to be the first members of the public to see this year’s decorations, declaring that the Bidens are a “guard family.” Beau Biden, their late son, served in the Delaware National Guard.