A WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS

Twenty two years ago, when my oldest son Nathan was 7 years old, we took him to Washington, DC for the first time.  It was my first trip to DC too!  Back then, I would have never guessed that one day my son would move to Washington, DC for college, get an internship at The White House……

start a business……

get married……

buy a house and have a baby……

all in Washington, DC!

It was on that very first trip to Washington that we visited the White House. Afterward in the gift shop, I purchased the official White House Christmas Ornament.  Every year, the White House Historical Society produces a new ornament.  It always commemorates a President or some White House Event.  That first ornament I purchased made a real impression on me.   So, year-after-year, for 22 years now, I have purchased the Official White House Ornament.  I now have a very large collection of White House Ornaments.  Michelle Obama would be jealous!

But I don’t just purchase one ornament each year, I usually buy at least a dozen of them.

That’s because I have made it a tradition to give a White House Ornament to my children and close friends every year.

If you’re my homie, you pretty much know you’re gonna get a White House Ornament – weather you like it or not.

Like me, many of these folks have enough White House Ornaments to decorate an entire small tree.  In fact, every year I do just that.

We always have a regular tree as well.

But, I have to admit, my White House tree holds a special place in my heart.

It goes on top of a table in my foyer and greets my guests when they arrive.

It’s quite a conversation piece.

If you look hard enough, you’ll actually get a history lesson.  You’ll see who got married in the White House……

……and you’ll see how they entertained at Christmas……

……and how they rode around in horse drawn carriages.  It’s a real trip down nostalgia lane.  But this year is particularly nostalgic for me.  That’s because this year I am adding another special person to my White House ornament gift list: My 1st Granddaughter!  This being her very first Christmas, I decided that I am going to get her started on her own White House Ornament collection.  By the time she is old enough to have her own tree, she will at least have ornaments to put on it.  So, to get her started on her collection, I decided to give her a special box to house them in.

This is a wooden box my mother painted for me when I was a young girl.

I decided it now needs to be passed down to the next generation.

So this year my Granddaughter will receive her first White House Ornament inside this wooden box.

I glued an envelope to the inside of the lid and wrote her a note explaining the significance of the box and the ornament inside.

One day she will be old enough to appreciate my first Christmas gift to her. After all, she was born in Washington, DC and lives very close to the White House.  I hope she will grow to love her White House Christmas Ornaments as much as I do.

You can buy your own official White House Christmas Ornament here by visiting The White House Historical Society’s website.

Wishing you and yours all the joys of this wonderful time of year.

So There You Have It: A WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS

Do you have a special ornament collection?  Tell us about it in the comment section.

All opinions expressed in this post are my own.   All photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.