HISTORY OF THE WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS TREE

The Obamas

The White House Christmas tree is a tradition that dates back to 1889. The very first Christmas tree in the White House was when Benjamin Harrison lived there. It was displayed in the Oval Room on the second floor. The Harrison White House Christmas tree was decorated with lit candles. This very first simple Christmas tree displayed in the White House has transformed into a treasured, national tradition. The national Christmas tradition didn't take off right away, however. Not all of the presidential families displayed Christmas trees during the holidays. The event became official with the 1929 White House Christmas tree. First Lady Lou Henry Hoover was in charge of the decorations for the Christmas tree in the White House. Since then, decorating the White House Christmas tree has become an honor bestowed upon the First Ladies.

The Bushes II

The Bushes I

The first White House Christmas tree to display electric lights instead of candles was in 1895. First Lady Frances Cleveland decided to bring the Christmas tree in the White House up to modern standards by decorating it with the popular electric Christmas tree lights.

The Reagans

The Fords

First Lady Jackie Kennedy started the White House Christmas tree tradition of decorating with a specific theme in mind. There have been many White House Christmas tree themes over the years. Jackie Kennedy's selected theme was inspired by the popular Christmas ballet, "Nutcracker Suite". She decorated the 1961 Christmas tree with candy canes, toy ornaments, and tiny gift packages. The ornaments were made by American craftsmen that were disabled or senior citizens

The Clintons

The Kennedys

The Nixons

The official White House website shows a photograph of a popular White

House Christmas tree. It was the early American themed Christmas tree chosen by Lady Bird Johnson. The Christmas tree was decorated with traditional Christmas tree decorations such as gingerbread cookies, popcorn, fruit, and a paper mache angel was perched at the top. The White House Christmas tree was displayed in the blue Oval Room.

The Johnsons

The Carters

One of the Reagan White House Christmas trees had a Mother Goose theme. The base of the tree featured scenes from Mother Goose nursery rhymes. 100 miniature geese decorated the Christmas tree, as well as gingerbread men and ornaments made out of Christmas cards.
The White House Christmas tree tradition has evolved somewhat over the years. Today, the First Lady selects a theme for the White House Christmas tree. Then American artists think up ways so decorate the Christmas tree for the White House. Each year, the National Christmas Tree Association presents the official White House Christmas tree that is displayed in the Blue Room. This has been a tradition since 1966.

The Roosevelts

The 2007 White House Christmas tree was so large that the chandelier had to be removed to display it in the Blue Room.

VANILLA PEACH COFFEE CAKE!!

Did you know that the fruit this summer is supposed to be the best it has been in years? Apparently, fruit loves hot weather. I personally have eaten more peaches and cherries this summer than I have in about five years just for that reason. As I have been a little overzealous lately buying peaches and cherries I found myself with a few peaches that were going to be too ripe for me to eat on the same day. That is unless I wanted to have them for every meal plus a few snacks. So I decided to make this recipe for Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake. Vanilla Peach Coffee Cake Adapted from Allrecipes.com Batter: 2 eggs 1 C milk 1/2 C oil 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 C sour cream 3 C flour 1 C sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda Topping: 5 or 6 large peaches, diced. 3 Tbsp. butter, melted 11/4 C brown sugar 1Tbsp. cinnamon 2 tsp. nutmeg 4 Tbsp. flour Vanilla Icing: 1 Tbsp. butter 1 tsp

PRESENT TOPIARY TO DECORATE YOUR PORCH AND FRONT DOOR!

This comes from www.thatvillagehouse.blogspot.com . I made something similar a couple years ago, without the pots. It was about 6 feet high. I got the inspiration from a Chirstmas dectoration that we bought at Target. This is a very good idea and make a great enterance to your home. So here's a little something to thing about for next year. Before you know it December will be here again. You could also do something like this for an Easter theme. Enjoy! A Merry Welcome! So here is my first Christmas project for the year!! I saw something similar at our church's Advent celebration & pretty much straight up copied it. I couldn't help it. It was love at first sight! I plan to make a 2nd stack to go on the other side of my door, so I'm not completely done, but I thought I would share it with you anyway. I started with 3 different sized boxes...9, 12 & 14 inch cubes. I used an ice pick to punch holes in each of them so that I could run

SAPPORO SNOW FESTIVAL FROM JAPAN!!!

The Sapporo Snow Festival is a famous festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan, over 7 days in February. Currently, Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main sites of the festival. The 2011 Yuki-matsuri dates are February 7th to the 13th. The festival is one of Japan's largest and most distinctive winter events. In 2007, about 2 million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of snow statues and ice sculptures at the Odori Park and Suskino sites, in central Sapporo, and the Satoland site. The festival is thought to be an opportunity for promoting international relations. The International Snow Sculpture Contest has been held at the Odori Park sit since 1974, and teams from various regions of the world participate. The subject of the statues varies and often features as event, famous building or person from the previous yer. For example, in 2004, there were statues of Hideki Matsui, the famous baseball player who at that time pl

DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

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