Decorating the White House for Christmas as a Volunteer

The day after Thanksgiving, I hopped in my car for a super secret mission. I joined the almost 300 volunteers decorating The White House for the 2023 Christmas season. THE WHITE HOUSE! Every morning as I walked through the halls, I was in awe. I was surrounded by history while also being part of one of the time-honored traditions of White House volunteer decorators. Rooms I had only seen in movies and online were part of my daily commute. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and today I’m sharing different ways you can share in that experience!

2023 WHITE HOUSE HOLIDAY DECORATIONS THEME: MAGIC, WONDER AND JOY

The First Lady selects the theme for each year’s decorations. This year’s White House holiday decoration theme was Magic, Wonder, and Joy, celebrating how children experience the holiday season. Here are a few stats from the official White House website about what an incredible undertaking it is!

The volunteers and designers used approximately 14,975 feet of ribbon, over 350 candles, over 33,892 ornaments, and over 22,100 bells in creating the décor theme!

Over 142,425 holiday lights decorate the trees, garlands, wreaths, and displays.

HOW TO RECREATE THE WHITE HOUSE HOLIDAY DECORATIONS AT HOME

What took me by surprise? Many of the White House decorations are either recycled from past years or DIYed using items you have at home. The most used material? PAPER!! Yep – paper! Most of the White House Christmas decorations are made the old-fashioned way, sitting around a table with a hot glue gun and scissors. That made my crafty heart ridiculously happy! My fellow creators and I are all sharing ideas for recreating these White House decorations at home. I hope you’ll give them a try! The end results are breathtaking and grand! However, many of the individual projects are simple enough for beginning crafters and let you add your own style.

HOW TO APPLY TO BE A VOLUNTEER HOLIDAY DECORATOR

Does this sound like something you’d love to do? This opportunity is open to the public! Volunteer applications are online and usually go live in late Summer/early Fall, so put a reminder in your calendar! This year they received over 3000 applications and selected 300 people. One of their goals is to select volunteers from every state and territory. You also have an opportunity to write a few sentences about why you’d like to be chosen in addition to the “check the box” questions on the application

Note that you DO have to pay your own way: airfare, hotel, etc to the District of Columbia (Washington DC). You do get breakfast and lunch every day. You also get to select how long you are available to volunteer (for a few days or the entire week). I met many people who came with their best friends, their sisters, etc. It would be a wonderful early Christmas gift trip!

Can’t volunteer for that length of time or don’t get accepted to decorate? There is also the opportunity to be one of the Holiday Open House Volunteers! That application also opens in the Fall.

ON BEING A TEAM CAPTAIN IN 2024 (AND TALKING TO ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST)!

In 2024 I was honored to be selected as a Team Captain along with my design partner Charlotte Smith of At Charlotte’s House. We were assigned the Diplomatic Reception Room (which was open to the public for the first time) and the Palm Room, a private entryway for White House staff between the public and private areas. Once again, we were tasked with creating elegant DIY projects, but this time we were in charge! Gah! We had the best volunteer group in the world (Team Clementine) and the results were magical. It was the experience of a lifetime. Want to make some of these decorations at home? Charlotte and I shared the tutorials for two projects that will bring a little bit of the White House to your house this Christmas!

DIPLOMATIC RECEPTION ROOM PAPER DAISY ORNAMENTS

We cut 12,000 (yep – TWELVE THOUSAND) paper strips to make our ornaments, but you can use whatever you’ve got at home! We’ve shared the full tutorial over on Instagram.

DIPLOMATIC RECEPTION ROOM ORANGE GARLAND

The orange garland was THE talk of the town, so much so that Dr. Biden spent a moment to talk with us about how much it meant to her. She puts an orange in the toe of every stocking on Christmas Eve, it is a tradition that has been handed down through her family for generations! It was a labor of love for us and our volunteer team, but the results were absolutely worth it!

Imagine my giddiness when Architectural Digest interviewed me as part of their feature on White House Christmas Decorations through the years! You can read the article here, but I wanted to include the full interview as well:

In your blog post, you wrote that you were surprised to find out that many of the decorations are reused it DIYed. Can you share an example or two of how decorations from past years were repurposed and/or what your favorite DIY was?

I was so impressed with how the “basics” (ribbon, ball ornaments, greenery etc) are organized and stored to be re-used year after year after year. I’ve never seen a more organized system! For example – the ball ormanents are stored by color, size and finish, so we were able to get EXACTLY what we needed. I also always assumed that most of the “themed” ornaments and decor would be store bought, but when I helped decorate the Red Room in 2023 almost every single ornament we hung on the tree was handmade, either by the volunteers themselves or – in the case of the Red Room- military children from around the world. 

The faux popcorn garland designed by Johanna Burke of Burke & Pryde (she was the Red Room Team Leader) was hands down the most talked about DIY of the entire White House. It was fun to make, elevated a Christmas tradition while still being handmade, and it was easy enough that many volunteers went home and recreated it for their own trees. I shared a tutorial here: https://thekingstonhome.com/blog/how-to-make-a-faux-popcorn-garland-for-christmas/ (or here if you prefer IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0w8CwxOn1D/)

Was there anything else about the process that surprised you?

The camaraderie and the willingness to share knowledge and ideas was a bit of a surprise and an absolute gift. When you have so many creative people in one place you’d expect there to be some ego or difference of opinions, but the people I met were just a joy to be around. Everyone was thrilled to be there and was willing to do whatever it took to be successful. Just in our Red Room group we had a retail business owner cutting circles at one table while a small town museum curator strung popcorn garlands at another while a retired florist tied wire to ball ornaments at another. We told stories of our own Christmas traditions, shared ideas and swapped spots when someone hit a snag, it sounds so corny but it is everything we all wish America could be 365 days of the year. It was just wonderful.

Are there any decorating tips or tricks that you learned as a White House volunteer that inspired you for decorating your own home for the holidays?

I came home and made yards and yards and yards of popcorn garland, and I also learned how to tie the “preferred” White House bow for a tree and will never do it another way again! My biggest takeaway was something I learned about myself. I am a minimalist by nature when it comes to my own decor style, and over the top, extravagant trees were something I never would have tried on my own. Seeing finished trees throughout the White House just filled and filled to overflowing with bows and balls and ornaments made me realize when it comes to Christmas apparently I have been a “more is more” girl trapped in a minimalist’s body!

Tutorial for the bow: https://www.instagram.com/p/C04GO4buh04/

What are you most looking forward to about returning again this year?

Being surrounded by so many incredible, creative, and talented people is like a week-long masterclass for anyone who works in a creative field. Seeing how people manage their teams, pivot when a project idea isn’t working, turn their vision into a reality, check their egos at the door, and just do the work to create something the whole country can enjoy is priceless! Can’t wait!

Feel free to include anything else you’d like to share about the experience!

I think not enough people know that not only can they apply to decorate, they can also apply for tickets to see the end result! No matter their political affiliation, Christmas at the White House is something everyone should see if they have the chance. It is created by the people for the people! 

HOW TO SEE THE WHITE HOUSE’S HOLIDAY DECORATIONS IN PERSON

White House Holiday Open House tickets are available to the public! It is the people’s house after all. Open Houses are available the entire month of December, but tickets go quick! Head on over to the White House website for information on how to request a tour. While a White House tour is special any day of the year, the Christmas Open Houses are a two-fer! You get a White House tour and get to see some incredible holiday décor. 

I’m sharing photos of a few of my favorite rooms below, but every single room has something amazing! The Green Room symolizes the joy found in strength of faith. The Vermeil Room celebrates the joy of music and performance. The China Room features an oversized sweets shop. The Cross Hall of the White House features the official White House Menorah, constructed using wood from the Truman-era renovation.

RED ROOM

The Red Room represents the joy of making holiday crafts together. It also celebrates military families as part of Dr. Biden’s Joining Forces initiative. Volunteers are assigned to specific rooms. So as both a crafter and an Army wife (and sponsor mom of six midshipmen at the Naval Academy!) I was beyond thrilled to be assigned to the Red Room for the weekend. 

There were so many fun DIY projects in this room. The ones nearest and dearest to my heart? The self-portrait ornaments created out of drawings from military children around the world. Each drawing was framed in ribbon and spray painted pasta for an elevated kids’ craft project. I can’t wait to share a full tutorial for these!

Volunteers do not have input into the design of each space. However, we immersed ourselves in the process of creating the projects and executing the vision of the First Lady and our incredible design leads. Our team lead was Johanna Burke (you should follow her on Instagram!) – who creates STUNNING windows for Bergdorfs. Working with Johanna and so many other talented people inspired my own creativity. I took away so many tips and ideas!

THE GOLD STAR TREE

There are 98 Christmas trees throughout the White House. However, the first Christmas tree you see when entering is the Gold Star tree. The Gold Star ornaments are made with wood and engraved with the names of fallen service members who have given their lives for our country. In the midst of all the celebrations of the day it was a beautiful and solemn reminder. As a military spouse, it was a tender moment remembering the friends we’ve lost. 

BLUE ROOM

The Blue Room of the White House features the official White House Christmas tree. Next to the red room (obviously) it was my favorite! The Blue Room and Red Room are right next door to each other. Watching this tree (celebrating all 50 states) and train tableau come to life was a thrill.

STATE DINING ROOM

​This is where the famous gingerbread White House is on display! Inspired by Twas the Night Before Christmas (which was published 200 years ago) it features a sugar cookie replica of the book as well as Santa’s sleigh flying above the White House grounds. It arrived on the final day of decorating to cheers and applause from the entire volunteer crowd!

The gingerbread house includes 40 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 40 sheets of gingerbread dough, 90 pounds of pastillage, 30 pounds of chocolate, and 50 pounds of royal icing.

EAST ROOM

The East Room is the largest room in the White House. It is decked out in a GIANT advent calendar filled with oversized sugar cookies to help announce the theme for each day. First Lady Jill Biden is sharing each day on her social media channels, and they are partnering with organizations like the National Parks Service!

GRAND FOYER

There were many “gasp out loud” moments. One of those moments was coming up the stairs and seeing a life-sized version of Santa and his reindeer soaring across the Grand Foyer. This stopped me in my tracks! Surrounded by groupings of snowy trees, it is as if Santa and his sleigh are soaring through the skies delivering gifts to kids around the world. Photos don’t do it justice!

I could go on and on and on about the experience! If you have the opportunity to apply, you MUST. In the meantime, I hope you’ve been inspired to bring a little bit of the White House decor to your house with some of the DIY projects we’ll be sharing over the next few weeks. This could become one of your new family traditions!