From the very first White House Christmas party — held in December 1800 by President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams, for government officials and their families — to this year’s public celebration of “Magic, Wonder and Joy,” during which more than 100,000 visitors are expected to stop by, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. has hosted historic holiday festivities, both literally and figuratively. Grab a cup of cocoa and join us in revisiting some of its most memorable contemporary decorations, like 2023’s “Magic Under the Tree” illusion, above, in which a towering evergreen seems to be growing through the East Portico’s roof.

The entrance to the 2024 White House Christmas display features a massive rotating star, which serves as a beacon of welcome and an indication of the official 2024 theme: “A Season of Peace and Light." The elegant guiding light is one of more than 165,000 installed for the holidays. Inside the White House, reflective ornaments, bells and soaring doves create a serene and festive experience.

The season’s most joyful and wondrous decor might be the eight tiny reindeer pulling a sleigh through the Grand Foyer — no mean feat, given the White House is also a working museum and seasonal decorators are strictly forbidden to alter it. This ingenious display celebrates the 200th anniversary of Clement Clarke Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas — better known by its iconic opening words, “’Twas the night before Christmas.”

In 2022, guests were welcomed back into the White House for the first time since the pandemic — and so 2022's “We the People” theme was only fitting. Here in the Grand Foyer and throughout the building, the First Lady chose mirrored decorations and ornaments so visitors could "see themselves" in its rooms.