US first lady Jill Biden unveiled holiday decorations on Monday for the Bidens' first White House Christmas, with the decor honouring front-line workers who persevered during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nurses, doctors, teachers, grocery store workers and others are recognised in this year’s gigantic Gingerbread White House, which was made into an almost 160-kilogram gingerbread village with the addition of a school and police, fire and gas stations as well as a hospital, post office, grocery store and warehouse.
Fewer people are likely to see the decked-out mansion in person this year, with public tours suspended because of the continuing threat from Covid-19. But videos, photos and other details about the decorations are available online.
“Gifts from the Heart” is the White House theme this year.
“The things we hold sacred unite us and transcend distance, time and even the constraints of a pandemic: faith, family and friendship; a love of the arts, learning and nature; gratitude, service and community; unity and peace,” the Bidens say in a commemorative 2021 White House holiday guidebook.
“These are the gifts that tie together the heart strings of our lives. These are the gifts from the heart.”
Dr Jill Biden, a long-time community college professor, invited Maryland second-graders to help her unveil decorations matching the theme on Monday afternoon.
The decorations were inspired by people the couple met while travelling around the country this year, the White House reported.
Front-line workers are also represented in the iridescent doves and shooting stars that illuminate the East Colonnade hallway, “representing the peace and light brought to us by all the front-line workers and first responders during the pandemic”, the guidebook says.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the White House holiday season in other ways, though it is unclear how parties and receptions may be tweaked to compensate for it.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said parties will be held, but they will be “different” than in years past.
Some indication will come on Wednesday when the president and first lady and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, light a menorah to celebrate Hanukkah. Mr Emhoff, who is Jewish, helped light the National Menorah on the Ellipse in front of the White House on Sunday.
Volunteers who decorate the White House came only from the surrounding area instead of from all over the US as in past years because of Covid-19 concerns.
The White House also was not spared the supply shortages that many Americans are contending with. Some topiary trees took a little longer to arrive, said social secretary Carlos Elizondo.
The other showstopper at the White House is the official Christmas tree, a 5.5-metre tall Fraser fir that commands the Blue Room and is trimmed with white doves and ribbon bearing the names of all US states and territories to celebrate peace and unity.
More than 100 volunteers decorated the White House, including the Oval Office, while the Bidens spent Thanksgiving week in Nantucket, Massachusetts. They trimmed 41 Christmas trees, hung some 1,800 yards of ribbon and put up more than 10,000 ornaments.
Twenty-five wreaths adorn the exterior of the White House and about 79,000 lights illuminate the Christmas trees, garlands, wreaths and other holiday displays.
Christmas stockings for each of the Biden grandchildren — Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, Hunter and baby Beau — hang from the fireplace mantel in the State Dining Room, which celebrates family, while two trees in that stately room are decorated with framed Biden family photos and photos of other first families during the holiday season.
Many of the photos are personal favourites of the first lady, who picked them out of old family albums on trips home to Delaware, said communications director Elizabeth Alexander.
The decorations are the product of months of work by the first lady and her staff in the White House East Wing, starting as far back as June.
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The East Entrance during a press preview of the 2021 holiday decor at the White House in Washington. EPA -
The official White House Christmas Tree with the theme of 'The Gift of Peace and Unity' stands in the Blue Room. Reuters -
Members of the US Marine Band play holiday music in the Grand Foyer. Reuters -
A tree of purple ornaments and natural orchids decorates the Green Room. Reuters -
Christmas trees in the State Dining Room are decorated with snapshots of US presidents and their families. Reuters -
A Christmas tree in the East Room is decorated with thank-you notes. Reuters -
Christmas trees in the State Dining Room are decorated with snapshots of US presidents and their families. This photo shows the Obamas and Bidens. Reuters -
Christmas trees in the State Dining Room are decorated with snapshots of US presidents and their families. This photo shows a younger President Joe Biden. Reuters -
Christmas trees in the State Dining Room are decorated with snapshots of US presidents and their families. This photo shows Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Reuters -
Christmas trees in the State Dining Room are decorated with snapshots of US presidents and their families. This photo shows Donald and Melania Trump. Reuters -
A photo of former US President John F Kennedy and his wife, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, hangs from a Christmas tree in the State Dining Room. EPA -
The theme for the 2021 White House holiday season is 'Gifts from the Heart', the first lady's office reported. EPA -
Wreaths have been placed on the backs of chairs in the China room. AFP -
About 1,800 metres of ribbon, more than 300 candles and more than 10,000 ornaments were used this year to decorate the White House. EPA -
There are also 41 Christmas trees throughout the White House. EPA -
The East Colonnade during a press preview of the 2021 holiday decor at the White House. EPA -
Stockings hang from a fireplace in the State Dining Room. EPA -
A portrait of former US president John F Kennedy hangs in the Grand Foyer. EPA -
The Library during a press preview of the 2021 holiday decor at the White House. EPA -
Wreaths of interlocking hands adorn the chairs of a table set with the Obama china in the China Room. Reuters -
The Gold Star Tree, honouring members of the US military, sits in the East Landing. Reuters -
Doves and shooting stars decorate the East Colonnade of the White House. Reuters -
The Centre Hall during a press preview of the 2021 holiday decor at the White House. EPA
A second-grade class from Malcolm Elementary School in Waldorf, Maryland, was invited to the White House and bantered with PBS KIDS characters Martin and Chris Kratt from Wild Kratts and costumed characters Ms Elaina, Daniel Tiger, Molly of Denali, Arthur and Rosita from Sesame Street.
The first lady then read her children’s book, Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops.
“Let’s move on to happier things,” she said after stopping to ask the children about their pets and one boy started talking about his dogs that had died.
Dr Biden invited a local National Guard family whose daughter was among the second-graders to highlight the role the Guard has played in the US response to Covid-19 and military families spending the holidays away from loved ones.
“As we celebrate our first holiday season in the White House, we are inspired by the Americans we have met across the country, time and again reminding us that our differences are precious and our similarities infinite,” the Bidens wrote.
Still to come will be various interactive viewing experiences on Instagram, Google Maps Street View, Snapchat and other platforms, the White House said.
