If the call across the land is for a more maximalist Christmas, first lady Melania Trump did not heed it. In her first holiday back in charge of White House decor, she presented a straightforward, even understated — at least by White House standards — look on a tour that has been halved in size.
This year’s theme? “Home Is Where the Heart Is.” And it’s officially called Christmas at the White House, rather than referring to the broader holiday season. (Indeed, there’s not a menorah or a nod to other religious traditions in sight. A White House staffer confirmed there is no menorah.)
The decorations include ample ribbon throughout, LEGO portraits of Presidents Donald Trump and George Washington in the Green Room, 3D-printed ornaments on the White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room, and 75 of what the first lady’s office is calling “Mrs. Trump’s Signature Wreaths.” (They look like traditional wreaths festooned with big red ribbons, though her office notes that she has featured them every year. During the first Trump administration, the White House similarly mentioned her “signature Christmas wreaths.”)
In previous years, rooms have brimmed with adornments and frippery. Not so this year.
The large East Room had a massive wooden table in the middle, which was bare aside from three golden candelabras festooned with angels. Marble tables in the Blue Room were empty aside from a single white candle holder. While the State Dining Room featured the famed White House Gingerbread House (made with a record-breaking 120 pounds of gingerbread dough and 100 pounds of pastillage dough) and three burgundy-filled trees, it otherwise felt sparse.
The trees and mantles, however, still featured an explosion of lights, ornaments and ribbons. (There are 51 trees this year, compared to last year’s 83. The smaller number makes sense given the truncated tour.)
The annual White House Christmas Tree, an 18-foot concolor fir from Michigan, stood in the Blue Room, its top grazing the ceiling. This year, the tree was dedicated to Gold Star families. The main bulbs were glowing white and featured each state and territory’s bird and flower — they were 3D-printed and made with the help of AI, the first lady’s office noted. Navy ornaments and ribbon complimented those, with dried aster spray and snowberries as a lush filler.
Perhaps most striking was the Red Room, where more than 10,000 vibrant blue butterflies fluttered in the light breeze, covering the tree, mantles and furniture and contrasting with the dark red walls. Aside from the insects, hand-painted “Be Best” ornaments, promotion for the first lady’s initiative, covered the tree.
The home may be where the heart is, but this year the White House is also where the construction is.
The tour route differs from years past because the traditional entrance has been leveled, along with the rest of the East Wing, to build the president’s 90,000 square foot ballroom.
The construction does not directly affect the executive residence, which holds most of the decorated rooms. However, this year’s holiday tour excludes the entire ground floor, because the office of the first lady has been using the Library, China Room, Vermeil Room and others as make-do offices.
Even the White House creche, an 18th century Nativity scene, isn’t immune from the restoration fever striking the building under the Trump administration. Only a portion of it appears in the Grand Foyer this year, as it undergoes repair overseen by the White House curators.
The Grand Foyer also has a painting that depicts Trump bloodied yet triumphant after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, with three small holiday bouquets sitting on the table beneath and flanked by a flower-filled light.
For generations, the first lady has overseen the annual Christmas decorations at the White House, a task that has grown ever-larger as it gets laden with new traditions and more attention. Planning begins many months before the holiday season kicks off.
Private recordings of Melania Trump released in 2020 revealed her frustration with the responsibility. “I’m working … my a– off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f— about the Christmas stuff and decorations?” she said in 2018, according to the recordings. “But I need to do it, right?”
However, she has taken the helm once again. The Office of thefirst lady began soliciting volunteers in August and a short video posted to X in October with the caption, “Christmas meeting in the @WhiteHouse,” served as a tease to the forthcoming decor. The planning has been underway for many months, according to her office.
While volunteers helped bring the Christmas cheer to the White House, they were not there for the media preview, in contrast to previous years.
Just in time for the holidays, the public tours suspended in September due to construction will resume on Dec. 2. The White House is expecting tens of thousands of visitors.
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