Christmas at the White House
Christmas celebrations at the White House have evolved from intimate family gatherings to large-scale public events over time.
Did you know? The first known Christmas tree in the White House was a private one for President Benjamin Harrison's family, and his successor Grover Cleveland took advantage of newly-installed electricity to add lights to his family's tree.
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The Cleveland family tree, ca. 1896.
Credit: White House Historical Association -
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, First Lady Mamie Dowd Eisenhower, and family in the State Dining Room, 1960
Credit: US Navy, Eisenhower Presidential Library/NARA -
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, 1962
Credit: George F. Mobley/White House Historical Association -
President Lyndon Johnson with children invited to the White House for a holiday party, 1964.
Credit: Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
First Lady Betty Ford and her daughter, Susan, decorating holiday cookies, 1975.
Credit: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
First Cat Socks with the White House Christmas decorations, 1993.
Credit: Barbara Kinney, William J. Clinton Library
