Decking the Halls at the White House

Call me a decorating fiend or a Christmas junkie, but I love to decorate for the holidays. But this year, I got the opportunity of a lifetime when I was chosen to decorate the White House.

After watching the annual White House Christmas on HGTV program last December and seeing an army of volunteers work to transform 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. into a winter wonderland of gingerbread and tinsel, I was hooked.

I wrote a letter to Michelle Obama and around August, when I had almost forgotten about it, I received a letter from the White House Social Office to apply online to be considered for the task. After submitting an extensive application, I was notified by email that I had been accepted, pending a security check.

Agency EA, an event planning company based out of Chicago, contacted me with the details. Volunteers were expected to spend two days at an off site warehouse doing preliminary preparations and then three full days at the White House installing the trimmings.

The week would be capped off with a volunteer reception at the White House. Agency EA had also reserved blocks of rooms for the volunteers at two different hotels located within walking distance of the White House.

There were around 130 volunteers from all over the country. The ages of the participants ranged from 12 to 93. There were some people who had volunteered before, but the majority were experiencing it for the first time. I felt fortunate to have been accepted when I learned that almost 500 people had applied. The theme was a secret until the "big reveal" at the volunteer reception.

The week passed in a whirlwind of hard work, long hours and waking up at 5 a.m. to get to the White House security stations. It was also loads of fun.

During the two days at the warehouse, I made three feet high cedar stars that were to hang in the East landing of the White House, inventoried supplies for each room and wired ornaments on pine cone garlands. We were supplied with plenty of food and drink and I made lots of friends from all over the country.

The White House days were hectic in our rush to get everything perfect for the 85,000 expected visitors during the holiday season. My first task was to lead a team to decorate the Red Room, which included a beautiful historic marble fireplace mantel and two trees. We were reminded by a curator that the White House is a living museum when we arrived to do the work and not to touch anything.

I was interviewed by HGTV while decorating the Red Room and was delighted to see the mantel featured on the White House's website.

The East Room was my next task and volunteers climbed ladders and scaffolding to decorate the large trees and mirrors.The East Room four large trees were decorated with crystals and shimmering gold leaves and winter moss gardens planted with paperwhite bulbs. It was indeed like a winter wonderland!

The eagerly anticipated reception capped off the week where everything that we had accomplished was revealed. The theme chosen by Michelle Obama— Shine, Give, Share—was selected to pay tribute to our troops, veterans and their families.

The First Lady addressed our volunteer group and thanked everyone for doing such a fabulous job. We were wined and dined and thoroughly enjoyed the chance to see everything at its best. 

This year, the White House decorations feature 37 Christmas trees and a gingerbread model of the White House made out of 400 pounds of gingerbread, white chocolate and marzipan. The First Dog, Bo, is represented in six different rooms and I made a tiny one for the East Room out of pine cone scales.

I had the time of my life and will certainly throw my hat in the ring again for next year. So stay tuned!

To read about my experiences in more detail, click here.