Christmas at the White House 2010

The White House has just released it's theme for this year's Christmas Season! The theme is "Simple Gifts". Below is a list of how each room is decorated this year. For more photos of the White House this Holiday Season, go to 

http://dc.about.com/od/christmasphotos/ss/ChristWhiteHous.htm

East Wing visitor's entrance: Magnolia and oak leaf garlands, and paper white flower blossoms; a "military appreciation tree" decorated to honor the five branches of the military; handwritten season's greetings notes collected from White House guests to be delivered to service members in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world.


East Colonnade: Eight wreaths, one in each window, made of natural materials, including oranges, pears and dried flowers.

Children's area: A small tree featuring gingerbread ornaments decorated by 300 children of military parents; a larger-than-life version of Bo, the Obama family dog, fashioned from 40,000 black and white pipe cleaners

East Room: Four large Christmas trees and hand-crafted decorations in turquoise, purple, green and gold with a bird and floral theme, and decorated with fake peacocks; wreaths hanging from the mirrors; a late 18th century Italian presepio, or creche.

Blue Room: The official White House Christmas Tree, an 18 1/2-foot Douglas fir anchored to the ceiling to keep it from tipping over, with a theme honoring county and state fairs, and decorated with prize ribbons from each state and territory. Students from the Savannah College of Art and Design helped design the ornaments using natural, locally sourced materials.

Red Room: Decor in deep plum, fuschia and red; red lacquer magnolia wreaths, used last Christmas, hanging in each window.

State Dining Room: Decorated as it might be for a holiday gathering with family and friends; garlands of fruit and foliage decorate trees, mantels and wreaths; two trees with leaves spray painted in gold and ornaments shaped like lemons and red and green pears.

Gingerbread House: A larger-than-scale replica of Bo, the Obama family dog, made of almond paste and condensed milk, according to White House pastry chef Bill Yosses. It weighs 350 pounds and is made of gingerbread covered in white chocolate. Thirty pounds of honey from the White House beehive was used to make the gingerbread. The house has cutouts to show the East Room and the State Dining Room. There is also a replica of Mrs. Obama's fruit and vegetable garden, made of almond paste.