First Lady Jill Biden Debuts This Year’s Official White House Holiday Decorations

Every year, it is customary for the First Lady to unveil the official White House holiday decorations, and yesterday Dr. Jill Biden did the honors by revealing the 2021 theme and decor that she spearheaded. Titled “Gifts from the Heart,” the sentiment of this year’s holiday decorations is to focus on “things that unite and heal, and bring us together.” Through decor, the First Lady wanted to honor those who persevered through a difficult year brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we celebrate our first holiday season in the White House, we are inspired by the Americans we have met across the country, time and again reminding us that our differences are precious and our similarities infinite,” the President and First Lady said in a joint release. “The things we hold sacred unite us and transcend distance, time, and even the constraints of a pandemic: faith, family, and friendship; a love of the arts, learning, and nature; gratitude, service, and community; unity and peace. These are the gifts that tie together the heart strings of our lives. These are the Gifts from the Heart.”

Each room of the White House represents this theme in some form or another. The Library Room, for instance, is decorated with butterflies to reflect the “gift of learning.” In the State Dining Room, Christmas stockings hang above the fireplace mantel for each of the Biden grandchildren; two large trees are also decorated with framed photographs of former first families, taken at the White House during the holidays. “The first lady spent the last several weekends when she was home in Delaware looking through photo albums and picking her favorites,” said East Wing communications director Elizabeth Alexander.

The official White House Christmas tree, meanwhile, is located inside the Blue Room, which represents the “Gift of Peace and Unity.” The tree is decorated with peace doves, all of which carry banners embossed with the names of each U.S. state and territory. To accommodate the 18.5-foot Fraser fir tree—which was sourced from Jefferson, North Carolina—the room’s iconic chandelier was temporarily removed. The annual Gingerbread White House was also made into a gingerbread village this year, weighing 350 pounds. The addition of a school, grocery store, warehouse, and hospital—as well as police, fire, and gas stations—serve as an homage to the frontline workers who carried on through the pandemic.

According to Biden’s office, the First Lady began planning this year’s holiday theme back in the summer. It reportedly took 100 volunteers, 25 wreaths, 41 Christmas trees, 300 candles, 6,000 feet of ribbon, 10,000 ornaments, and nearly 80,000-holiday lights to make the “Gifts from the Heart” theme come to life. Unfortunately, though, public tours of the White House are still closed due to the pandemic, meaning few will be able to witness it in person. “We wish you a happy, healthy, and joyous holiday season,” the Bidens wrote in their closing remarks. “As we look to a new year full of possibility, may gifts from the heart light our path forward.”