The annual White House Christmas party is a way for employees and their families to have fun with loved ones and enjoy the holidays. Everybody has their own holiday traditions or just something that they look forward to every year. In spite of the holidays being over and everyone going back to work and school, I would like to share mine. I am so lucky as to be able to attend the White House Christmas Party each year.

Every year, the President and First Lady host a Christmas party for the employees of the White House. This year, the party started at 5pm. Attendees must go through multiple security checkpoints before entering the White House. Once I reached the White House, there was a coat check inside. Then I walked through the hall, looking at all the decorations, which is my favorite part of the whole experience. Then I walked up the stairs to a band playing in the entrance hall. Past the band, there were five rooms. To my left was the East Room, the largest room on the level. There was a big, long table in the middle of the room displaying all of the food, around the rest of the room were smaller tables where guests could sit and eat. At the front of the room was a bar.

 This room also featured red, white, and blue that accentuate America’s upcoming 250th birthday. This year is a big milestone for the United States or America. 250 years ago we gained independence from Great Britain. On July 4 of 2026 we will celebrate America breaking ties and reflecting on our accomplishments, history, and looking forward to other milestones.

Moving from the East Room to the right, the next room is the green room. Along with other seating, the Green Room held Lego portraits of our President and George Washington. The next room was the Blue Room. In this room was an 18-foot Christmas tree decorated with 50 ornaments, an ornament for each state, including the state flower and state bird of each one. These ornaments were gold to commemorate the Gold Star families across the country. 

“Fostering the Red Room” is an experience dedicated to the foster-care community. Blue butterflies illuminate the Red Room to help support a cause Mrs. Trump has supported since 2021. The room all the way to the right is the State Dining Room. It had the same layout as the East Room, just smaller. Also in the room was a table holding a 120 pound gingerbread house of the White House. Guests are free to walk around to each room, socialize, and eat. 

In past years, the President and First Lady have taken family portraits with the employees and their families. This year, the Trumps took single pictures with the employees and ended the night with a speech thanking all the volunteers and employees for their work, which was different than other years, also. The decorations this year were great, I loved them. Each year the White House hires volunteers to decorate. The First Lady is the one who comes up with the theme and plans out the decorations. This year the theme was Home is where the Heart is, reflecting on how a home is not a physical place but rather a space that feels warm and comforting. 

Being able to go to get dressed up and go to the White House, eat fancy food, see the president, meet new people is something that I look forward to doing every year. I realize how blessed I am to be a part of that experience. Without all of the volunteers and planning from Mrs. Trump, it wouldn’t have been as magical as it was.