Jill Biden wants everyone who visits the White House through Christmas to feel like a kid again.
“Magic, Wonder and Joy” is the theme this year, the Bidens’ third in the White House.
The oversized decorations are meant to inspire the feelings that put children on joyful edge at this time of the year, White House aides said.
Throughout two public floors of the White House, the décor features numerous nods to the 200th anniversary of the publication of the poem and book commonly known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” (The official title is “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”)
The Library of Congress provided samples of editions of the book from the past 200 years that are on display in protective cases along the ground floor corridor. The traditional gingerbread White House includes a large sugar cookie replica of the book opened to a page that says “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.” Santa’s sleigh and reindeer fly above the cookie White House.
The White House released a fact sheet and allowed the news media to see the trees, lights and other decorations before the first lady’s unveiling. National Guard families, who were invited as part of Joining Forces, her White House initiative to show appreciation for military families, will be among the first members of the public to see the decorations.
Children of these and other military families were also being treated to an afternoon performance by the cast of the North American tour of the Disney musical “Frozen.”
One of the first Christmas trees visitors will see upon entering the White House is decorated with wooden gold star ornaments engraved with the names of fallen service members.
The official White House Christmas tree, an 18.5-foot-tall (5.6-meter-tall) Fraser fir, stands in its usual place in the Blue Room. The massive tree highlights cheerful scenes, landscapes and neighborhoods from across the country. A toy train runs around its base.
The State Dining Room has been transformed into Santa’s workshop, with elves’ workbenches, stools and ladders circling Christmas trees, and tools and gifts-in-progress rounding out the décor.
The dining room is the customary stage for the gingerbread White House, which was assembled using 40 sheets of sugar cookie dough for the book and 40 sheets of gingerbread dough for the house, 90 pounds (41 kilograms) of pastillage, a cake decorating paste, 30 pounds (14 kilograms) of chocolate and 50 pounds (23 kilograms) of royal icing.
The library honors the tradition of bedtime stories with dangling golden moons and shimmering stars;, the China Room has been turned into a sweet shop featuring baked goodies, and the Vermeil Room celebrates music with a display of rotating big Marine Band figurines with trumpets.
Glowing candles and stained glass in the Green Room celebrate faith, and holiday craft-making is the theme in the Red Room, where a tradition of featuring cranberries continues.
The official White House Menorah is on display in the Cross Hall connecting the State Dining Room and the East Room, which is decorated with trees and various advent calendars.
The Associated Press contributed to this article