While today, people may look at celebrities, Pinterest or TikTok for over the top inspiration for Christmas decorations, for decades, people often looked to the White House to guide how their home might look for the holidays.
It was in 1889 that then President Benjamin Harrison first included a Christmas tree in the White House’s winter decorations, though it wasn’t until 1894, under Grover Cleveland’s administration, that the decorations featured Christmas lights.
Moreover, it wasn’t until Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and her seemingly immortal knack for setting trends, that the Christmas decorations at the White House took a far more glamorous turn, when the tradition of decorating in Christmas themes began, starting with her beloved Nutcracker Suite ornaments in 1961.
Take a look below at some of the White House’s most magical — and maybe even notorious — decorations of Christmas’ past, from among the very first, to Jackie’s, to some of the most recent.
© Getty Images1961
During her husband John F. Kennedy’s first year in office, Jackie erected a massive Nutcracker-themed tree in the Blue Room of the White House, where the White House themed Christmas tree has been placed for almost every year since.
© Getty Images1967
True to the colorful 1960s, Lady Bird Johnson, pictured above on the eve of her 55th birthday, decorated 1967’s tree with a flower power motif.
© Getty Images1977
Rosalynn Carter, pictured above with husband Jimmy Carter and their daughter Amy Carter, had her tree decorated with ornaments made by members of The Arc of the United States, a disability rights organization advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
© Getty Images1985
In typical 1980s fashion, for Christmas 1985, Nancy Reagan gave a smooch to Dallas star Larry Hagman, who played the legendary J.R. Ewing.
© Getty Images1991
Barbara Bush’s 1991 Christmas tree was decorated with 1,200 needlepoint ornaments, including of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy.
© Getty Images2000
For Hillary and Bill Clinton’s last year in the White House, the theme was “Holiday Reflections,” and a smaller tree placed in the library was decorated with miniature versions of historic places.
© Getty Images2003
Taking a cue from her mother-in-law Barbara, whose 1989 Christmas tree featured dolls from popular children’s books, Laura Bush repeated the theme in 2003.
© Getty Images2009
To celebrate their historic first year in the white house, Michelle and Barack Obama opted for a Reflect, Rejoice, and Renew theme.
© Getty Images2018
Melania Trump was quick to go viral her second year in the White House with her somewhat unorthodox red trees that adorned the East Colonnade, which earlier this year was demolished to make way for Donald Trump’s ballroom. The trees were widely mocked, and in a highly-publicized audio recording from that year, which was leaked to CNN two years later, she could be heard complaining about the responsibility of decorating the White House, saying: “I’m working … my [expletive] off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a [expletive] about the Christmas stuff and decorations?”
© Getty Images2022
The Bidens honored both tradition and democracy with their We the People theme in 2022, with each room representing different things that bring people together.
© Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images2025
For her first year back at the White House, Melania chose the theme of Home Is Where the Heart Is, drawn from the joys, challenges, and frequent motion derived from motherhood and business,” according to the Office of the First Lady. It’s just wonderful to be back. Decorating, bringing unique touches. “It’s the first time Gold Star Families are honored with the tree at the heart of the White House and the Blue Room in this way,” a spokesperson shared with us.
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