by Komala A

Each December, the White House has the famed White House Christmas, a mixture of things old and things new, with the current administration putting up a tree and traditionally, the First Lady decorating the White House in decorations of her choosing. However, one integral component of the White House Christmas commonly overlooked by the American public is the White House Christmas Ornament, crafted each year exclusively by the non-partisan and private nonprofit White House Historical Association to commemorate either past United States Presidents or monumental moments at the White House.

The Christmas Ornament is prominently showcased for sale at the unassuming White House Historical Association’s Shop, located just across Lafayette Square, where the White House is housed. A brown brick building, the only clue that the Historical Association is located inside is a gold plaque marking its presence and a poster with the design of that year’s ornament. Inside the Association lies immense history, however and a subdued ode to Jacqueline Kennedy, who was the principal architect of the Association’s founding in 1961. The Association feels like a piece of history that needs to be sought out to be found, not highlighted through the expected culprits of DC tourism such as the Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. When I was there, on a Friday afternoon, which one of the “busier” evenings as declared by the three shopkeepers that were

there, only two groups of people funneled in to take a glimpse at the shop, both leaving with numerous ornaments from the showcased set. The first group was a couple from Oregon, and the second, a family from DC that knew of the Historical Association and were buying their annual Christmas Ornament in their preparations for the holiday season.

Both groups also bought his year’s Ornament, meant to commemorate the iconic Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson’s comforting Christmas display. On the back is engraved one of Lyndon B. Johnson’s quote, “Our mission is at once the oldest and most basic of this country: to right wrong, to do justice, to serve man.”

The quote is especially significant because, as The Official White House Christmas Ornament: Collected Stories of a Holiday Tradition book says, Johnson proclaimed this when he “called on legislators to support a bill that would protect the right to vote” in his joint session with Congress. The quote is momentous because it marks a tremendous change in American history, marking the beginning of Johnson’s Presidency and his first action memorializing John F. Kennedy’s legacy before his assassination. This year’s ornament and its baby blues also call back to the Blue Room of the White House where Lady Bird presented the Official Tree, demonstrating how significant the White House Christmas is to the American public.

However, the history of the Historical Association is not devoid of the stains of America’s past. The Association is within what was previously Decatur House, which is one of the most distinguished pieces of D.C history. The House is one of the oldest surviving houses in D.C. and previously housed prominent American figures such as Henry Clay and President Martin van Buren. Initially purchased by Stephen Decatur and passed on to his wife, Susan, after his untimely death, she worked to retain ownership of the house by renting it out to politicians who were attracted to the house because of its prime location next to the White House.

When it was finally purchased in 1836 from Susan Decatur by John Gadsby, him and his wife also built slave quarters as an extension of the house, which are still available to see as a part of the expansive museum that accompanies the Historical Association. The slave quarters stand as a symbol of the closeness of America’s sordid past to the Executive Leadership. As the Civil War and Gilded Age rocked the nation, the House stood tall next to the White House, able to resist the rising pressures of modernization and rising taxes that threatened it. In 1953, Decatur House’s final private owner, Marie Oge Beale, sold the house to the National Trust for Historic Preservation which allowed it to become the flagship for the White House Historical Association in 1961 when it was formed.

The history of the Association goes from there, as First Lady Kennedy formed the White House Historical Association in 1961 during Kennedy’s tenure as president. Now, as a North Carolina local news reports, the Historical Association’s Ornaments’ revenues all go towards “programs, including the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, education programs for visitors who through the White House, the White House Visitor Center, and online digital education programs” (Quesinberry).

The Ornaments are the shining light of the Historical Association, located right next to the register.

With stories of all the Presidents highlighted through the glittering pieces of art, each ornament is able to stand on its own and is an outstanding piece of both White House and American history. As I asked Lara, the shopkeeper that led me to the book on the history of the White House Ornaments, she shared a bit of her personal history with the ornament, including about how she’s been working at the Association for twelve years and more about her favorite ornament, the 2002 ode to Teddy Roosevelt’s renovation at the White House. As she described, “if you just stick a Christmas light behind it, it’ll shine and light up the room.” The ornament is the only one to be made of Bohemian glass and has the inscription of the date of the renovation and the year 2002.

However, I am certain that if I asked someone else what their favorite ornament was, it would be vastly different as each ornament undoubtedly has its own appeal. Each year, the Ornament grows to be more extravagant, almost always outdoing its predecessor. First started in 1981 with a simple angel, the instant fame of the ornament as lines of federal service workers lined up outside Decatur House brought the Association to start releasing new ornaments each year and highlighting Presidents as they did so. By the 1990s, the ornaments started to become a part of people’s Christmas traditions, as Middleburg Life & Hunt Country describes. For Nancy Novak in Middleburg, Virginia, she describes how “I [Nancy] had a new co-worker who, the first Christmas that we worked together, as a kind of welcome to the Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. area, gave me the White House Christmas Ornament” (Hill). The tradition continued and for her, the ornaments are a testament to her friends and family in the city who gift her the ornaments every year now.

The ornaments stand as a testament to adapting traditions of a classic White House Christmas and the importance of recognizing White House history in creative ways. The beauty of the ornaments is not so significant in comparison to what they mean to so many people.

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Further Reading:

Middleburg Life’s White House Christmas Ornament Story

• The story of Nancy Novak’s attachment to the White House Christmas Ornament and what it means to her. This story highlights the narratives that are a part of the Ornaments and how important they are as a part of the holiday tradition for so many Americans. A heartwarming story about new and old holiday traditions.

History of the White House Historical Association

• The history of the White House Historical Association and the immense impact that Jacqueline Kennedy had on the history of the White House and how people perceive the Historical Association. This speaks of the importance of the Association and what it has done previously.

What the White House Historical Association Does

• The White House Historical Association’s mission and vision for the past and future. This speaks of the significance of the Association on the modern-presidency and the numerous events that the Association hosts every year.

Where to Find the White House Christmas Ornament

• Where to find the White House Christmas Ornament and buy it online. This is the official website for the Ornaments and the all of the Ornaments can be purchased from this website year-round.

White House Christmas Ornament for 2019

• The White House Christmas Ornament for 2019 which shows the “First President’s White House Helicopter.” The ornament commemorates Dwight D. Eisenhower and focuses on his accomplishments as President along with the significant steps, such as the first helicopter, that happened during his presidency.

JFK’s White House Christmas Ornament

• The White House Historical Association’s Ornament for 2020, commemorating John F. Kennedy’s White House tenure and particularly, Jackie Kennedy’s impact on the White House, as well. The quote at the back of the ornament, which says that the “White House belongs to the American People,” is Jackie Kennedy’s legacy for the White House.

For further viewing: I also have The Official White House Christmas Ornament: Collected Stories of a Holiday Tradition if you would like a read.

• This book has all the stories of the White House Christmas Ornaments and also speaks of the history of the ornaments and which Presidents they commemorate, as well.