White House Christmas Decorations…Blah
While this is mostly a political blog, I do love the domestic arts. Christmas is my favorite time of year, and decorating for Christmas is an art form. Yesterday, I decorated both of the Christmas trees in my apartment, a giant 7.5′ tree, which looked much smaller in Target than in my apartment, and a 4′ silver tree covered with my collection of vintage Shiny Brites.
Anyway, this is to premise my questions on this year’s White House Christmas decorations, which are the pinnacle of Christmas regalia.
I looked at a number of sites showcasing this year’s decorations. I don’t know. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. Something is just off. This isn’t to slam the Obamas because I disagree with nearly every policy they support or sometimes dislike the First Lady’s wardrobe. I just love Christmas and look forward to seeing the White House decorated each year. For the record, I also disliked a few years of the Bush Administrations’ decorations, particularly 2006 when I got to tour the White House at Christmas.
The theme this year is “Reflect, Rejoice, Renew,” which is perfectly fine. Vague themes are harder to decorate around since they have no parameters. My favorite year to date was in 2001 when Laura Bush chose “Home for the Holidays” and had an abundance of flocked trees, icicles and “snow.”
Overall, the decorations are just ok. I think that might be my problem. There’s no “wow!” factor. It’s Christmas at the White House for goodness sake. Decorations should be magical or over-the-top. This year is ok, but it’s not anything special. They look like decorations that could be seen in my mom’s living room or any random issue of a holiday decorating magazine. There’s nothing original.
My biggest issue is the tree in the Blue Room. Something is just off. I think that it’s the proportions. The gold bows simply overpower the tree, and you don’t notice that it’s covered with unique ornaments. I think it would look better if the ornaments were oversized to match the giant ribbon. When you have a huge tree, decorations need to be big as well.
Compared to up close:
I do like the cranberry mantle decorations in the Red Room. I’m a fan of using fruit and natural decorations
And I love the red topiaries in the Green Room.
There you have it. It’s ok and everything matches, but it looks like Michelle hired an upscale florist found in every American city. It’s not what I would expect with the resources of the East Wing staff who spend months working on Christmas plans. The White House should look more impressive than any random house in upscale suburbia, which is most evident in this slideshow. Pinecone wreaths in the East Hall?
I found the magic….it was the huge snowflakes falling outside the windows while I was there on Saturday!!!
The unique ornaments on the tree in the blue room are awesome, by the way. I plan on making some like them for myself next year. They are just pictures decoupaged onto giant ball ornaments. I think it would be fun to make one for each different fun trip I’ve been on, or something like that.
1. The picture of the pinecone wreaths was from the 2006 White House decorations. The 2009 giant interior wreaths were much more spectacular, made of magnolia leaves sprayed red; a fresh boxwood “frame” bordered the huge windows holding the wreaths; the interior wreaths backed exterior evergreen wreaths. 2. I thought the cardboard tree at the East Entrance was spectacular and imaginative. I made my wishes for peace and added my bit of color to the tree. 3. The official tree was so inclusive; I was impressed. 4. The State Dining Room had trees with bunches of dried pink hydrangeas as toppers, a first for me. 5. The East Room, which at Christmas time alway includes a 15th century creche/nativity scene donated to the White House, was decorated with a Renaissance feel on the four huge mantels and mirrors in the room, integrating decorations there. 6. I was on a tour with members of gardening clubs in Maryland; they thrilled to the beauty of the arrangements in the rooms on the tour. 7. According to the New York Times, the designer of the White House decorations this year was a Mr. Doonan, head interior designer, I believe, of Barney’s in New York; he designs Barney’s Christmas windows, which in some past years have been somewhat scandalous. We cannot expect that the White House would approve of any scandal so the decorations were surely toned down from Doonan’s usual “art”. But I loved them! The designer, of course, worked on all 43 (?) rooms of the White House, including 27 trees. The tours see only a fraction of them. 8. My favorite room was the green room with its abundance of pink pepperberries utilized imaginatively. Thanks for letting me vent – Mary