To Get You Into the Holiday Spirit -- The 2010 White House Holiday Tour! -- (**PICTURE HEAVY**)

[Skinner]

A friend of mine at the DNC got me tickets to the White House Christmas Tour. Unfortunately, all I had was my iPhone, so they aren't very good pictures. But hopefully this will help get you into the holiday season...

Cover of White House Christmas Brochure, and letter from President and Mrs. Obama:



East Entrance:





East Corridor:



Bo:



Library:



East Room:











Green Room (With trees made from recycled newspapers):





Blue Room (With Official White House Tree):





Red Room:







State Dining Room:









Entrance Hall Foyer and Cross Hall:



President Carter:







President Clinton:





Happy Holidays!

Skinner
DU Admin

[gateley]

1. Rec! Beautiful! The last one w/the Seal gave me chills. nt

[liberal N proud]

11. Huh?

[gateley]

35. The last pic - the Presidential Seal. I find it moving. nt

[liberal N proud]

36. You said "chills" and I thought what the

Sorry for misreading your op.

[gateley]

37. Really, why can't you read my mind?

I'm often guilty of not making myself clear, which is no great loss since what I usually have to say isn't important or wise. :7 :hi:

[onehandle]

2. I've taken the regular tour. It was like like a tiny, crummy museum, but it was cool to be there.

President Clinton was there while we toured. That was very, very cool.

[Suich]

3. How exciting! Thanks!

That's a lot of trees...looks like there's at least one in every room!

:)

[Lorien]

4. This kind of excess doesn't give me warm and fuzzy feelings.

All I'm thinking about is how many families are going hungry and without heat this Christmas while millionaire on the Hill consider grabbing another 700 billion for themselves. x(

[aquart]

13. Pretty much my mood.

I remember going to the Forbes Magazine exhibit of Faberge eggs. I came out thinking I completely understand the Russian Revolution. Those beautiful money-no-object eggs horrified me.

[trud]

49. Faberge eggs = ugly

Never could understand what anyone sees in those.

[kestrel91316]

30. And of course, the decorations are SO much more elaborate than in the past.....

:sarcasm:

[AsahinaKimi]

46. Seems like

In some of the neighborhoods in San Francisco there are very few lights. I am wondering if people are thinking "why bother?".

[Carni]

47. Me either...

I could give a rat's ass what their decorating scheme is...

[GoCubsGo]

63. Yet, you clicked on the thread and looked at the photos...n/t

[MineralMan]

67. "Bah," she/he said, "Humbug!"

Ish da!

[MrMickeysMom]

5. Nice pix, Skinner... thanks!

Nice touch - the re-cycle'd tree.

[Vickers]

6. I think it's cool that you have the Instamatic Photo Emulator© on your iPhone.

:P

K&R

[pinboy3niner]

9. LOL!

I can't believe I somehow overlooked that app. :rofl:

[northoftheborder]

7. Beautiful, classic, traditional! Love the newspaper trees!

[Mimosa]

8. I seriously love the simplicity of the decorations. ( please pin? )

The modest scale and natural elements evoke the Christmas Spirit, not consumerism. Kudos to the First Family! :D

[Sheepshank]

17. Kudod from me too :)

sorry, couldn't resist :)

[TwilightGardener]

21. I agree--they are very well done and NOT excessive.

[JuniperLea]

23. +1

I agree!

[TexasObserver]

10. Happy Holidays!

[lamp_shade]

12. Thank you. That was genuinely uplifting for me.

[lillypaddle]

14. Thanks, Skinner!

Great pics!

[leftstreet]

15. Their dog Bo looks....uh

what?

Cool pics!

[kestrel91316]

31. He was too rambunctious. They sent him to the taxidermist.

[JanMichael]

61. and sent Americans to the cleaners.

nt

[Tx4obama]

65. The Bo decoration is made out of pipe cleaners. n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Very lovely. Excellent taste...

The White House wears Christmas well, how fun to see it during the season.

[jaxx]

18. Lovely pics, thanks for sharing them.

I think the decorations are less ornate this year than usually seen. Simple Gifts. Very tasteful.

Happy Holidays.

[Oceansaway]

19. thanks...n/t

[TwilightGardener]

20. +1000 for Christmas cheer!

(this place could use some...:yoiks: )

[calimary]

54. Yeah, no shit.

Things have been pretty grim lately. Nice to have some reminders of lovelier things. And yeah, they're THINGS. But screw it. I love these THINGS around Christmas time, and I need them, too. I need the moment of beauty, the uplifting, the craftsmanship and design, the new ideas every year, the lights, the colors, the wonderful spicy and evergreeny fragrances, all that stuff. It feeds the spirit and lets you stop and take a momentary break from the grim everything-else-out-there-all-the-time. It's just stuff. But it's damn lovely.

[JI7]

22. nice, it has that old fashioned feel to it which is my favorite look for Christmas

everything looks like something people can do themselves at home .

[catgirl]

24. Simple Gifts

I love the Obamas holiday wishes. Thanks for sharing!!

[Little Star]

25. Beautiful! Happy Holidays DU.

[pacalo]

26. Thanks for sharing, Skinner!

As a parent who spent a lot of volunteer time making props for school plays, I was drawn to the tree made of recycled newspapers. For a Halloween play we made bales of hay using large-sized, newspaper-stuffed paper bags, hot-gluing strands of raffia on the surfaces. Those were fun times.

[WolverineDG]

27. That pic of the Bo decoration is very cute

but the tree made from recycled newpaper is cool! I want one of those

dg

[DevonRex]

28. You took some good pics.

Thanks. Careful, though. Greenwald might rant about you and compare you to some Nazi.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

29. Thanks for the great tour, my dear Skinner!

Your pictures are wonderful...

How lucky for you to get to go on such a tour!

Happy Holidays to you and your family!

:hi:

[yodermon]

32. *sigh*

[Dr.Phool]

33. I've got a book written by Will Pitt about that place.

[Dystopian]

50. Yes...

:thumbsup:

Me too...
That Place.

peace~

[knitter4democracy]

34. No guilds involved that I can see. *sigh* I'd wondered.

The Knitting Guild Association will probably never be asked again after the fiasco of 1998, but still, the other crafting guilds are usually represented and enjoy putting their efforts forth.

I must say, though, that the official tree is way, way, WAY prettier than the one my ornament was on in 1998. The Clinton tree that year was ugly. Massively ugly. At least these decorations were pretty.

[flvegan]

38. I'm so glad I don't have to clean that place.

So much...stuff. Not finding fault, just saying.

Cool pics and opportunity, though.

[InvisibleTouch]

39. Thanks - that did help get me in the holiday spirit a little. :)

I'd been feeling kinda bummed about the season until now.

I took that tour back in 2000. Good memories!

[Pithlet]

40. So pretty. Thanks for sharing!

Holiday :kick:

[Buns_of_Fire]

41. I've always wondered: What if you gotta go potty REALLY REALLY BAD right in the middle of the tour?

Pretty place, though. Even if it doesn't have public restrooms.:thumbsup:

[Crystal Clarity]

42. All of it was beautiful. Thanks!

K&R :hi:

[KatyaR]

43. Beautiful photos--thank you, Skinner!

I've always thought going to the White House at Christmas would be fabulous, lucky you! Trees and lights are my favorite things at Christmas.

I love the Bo likeness, he's so cute!

[LittleGirl]

44. Are you a famous photographer

because if you aren't, you should be. Nice composition and wow, beautiful angles too. Lovely. Brilliant.

[stillrockin]

45. Ah, the simple things of the season . . .

[rug]

48. Timing is everything.

[apocalypsehow]

51. Meaning?

:eyes:

[Greyhound]

55. Indeed. n/t

[Turborama]

52. K&R Thanks for sharing, happy holidays to you too! I have one critique, though...

The portraits of Presidents Carter and Clinton appear to be waaaay too small!!

[calimary]

53. Hey - iPhone or not - these photos are great!!! Thanks for posting!!!

I bet with all the ornaments that have been collected by all the White House occupants and staff - they'd need a tree in every room and bathroom and hallway and closet and stairwell and alcove.

It's really lovely! I loved the little First Dog toy! And I really appreciated the recycled-newspaper tree! Very clever and I'm glad it's elevated to White House status!

:patriot: :fistbump: :applause: :headbang: :thumbsup: :toast: :kick: :yourock:

[Rhiannon12866]

56. These are terrific pix! K&R!

So glad that you got the opportunity and thank you for sharing this with us. I especially like the pic of "Bo..." :D :applause:

[secondwind]

57. As a botanical artist, I am thrilled to see the work of students and faculty of the Corcoran

in the tour book. Thanks so much!

K&R

[nichomachus]

58. I understand the Czar decorated the palace very nicely too

So, the starving peasants could admire it -- from afar.

[RufusTFirefly]

59. Ho, ho, ho

[MineralMan]

68. "Bah," he said. "Humbug!"

Thanks for crapping on the White House.

[LibertyLover]

60. Neo-classical houses like the White House just beg to be decorated for Christmas

Thank you for the photos, they were lovely. Happy Yule, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Alban Arthuan, Saturnalia, Dies Natalis Invictus Sol, Mother Night, Holidays to all.

[classof56]

62. Great photos of lovely decorations.

Good job, Skinner. Thanks for going on our behalf and for posting your pictures!

Blessings.

[GoCubsGo]

64. Enjoyed the photos.

Thank you!

[Scurrilous]

66. Thanks.

:kick: