First Lady Michelle Obama with dogs Sunny and Bo, and daughters Malia and Sasha, welcome the Official White House Christmas Tree to the White House, in front of the assembled media in Washington, DC. The First Lady was presented the Blue Room tree by the Botek family (left), growers of this year’s tree, and the Wyckoff family (centre), winners of the National Christmas Tree Association’s (NCTA) National Christmas Tree contest.
Reuters/DPA/Washington
First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters welcomed the official White House Christmas tree on Friday – an 18.5’ Douglas Fir donated by a Pennsylvania farmer.
The tree, which arrived on White House grounds by horse-drawn carriage, will be decorated and displayed in the Blue Room of the executive mansion.
Daughters Sasha, 12, and Malia, 15, and dogs Bo and Sunny were on hand to help welcome the tree.
“We are honoured to have it. This is the best part of the holiday season, when our tree comes,” the first lady said in a video posted on the White House website.
Michelle Obama told the Ladies’ Home Journal that they planned to dedicate this year’s tree to military families.
“This year, we’re going to decorate it with photos of military homecomings,” she was quoted as saying. “We’re also asking military families to share their traditions, and those will be reflected in the ornaments as well.”
The tree was donated by Chris Botek, a second generation Christmas Tree Farmer from Lehighton, Pennsylvania.