In a true American tradition, the First Lady is assigned with the responsibility of decorating the White House for the Holidays.
As such, it is Jill Biden, the wife of US President Joe Biden, who has been tasked with the special job for the second year in a row.
As a result, the 72-year-old educator unveiled on Monday (November 26) how she had transformed the president’s official residence with 98 Christmas trees, 72 wreaths, and 2.8 miles of ribbon.
According to CNN, letters to Santa Claus have been installed to appear as if they fly magically in and out of old mailboxes, while a vintage train weaves around the base of an 18.5-foot Fraser fir Christmas tree.
Jill reportedly stated that this year’s theme, the “Magic, Wonder and Joy” of the holiday season, was inspired by “childlike marvel and awe.”
She explained: “Children are unbound by time and inherently know beauty: the rich, colorful mosaic of autumn leaves piled high on an emerald blanket of grass; the mesmerizing rhythm of soft, powdery snow as it falls from a glistening night sky.
“The holidays offer a time for reflection and a break from our hurried lives, a season to be fully present with our friends and our families. It’s also a season of gratitude.
“Because, you know, children have something to teach us if we’re wise enough to listen: how to remain present, even as a busy world beckons us; how to open ourselves up to love and wonder and to marvel at every moment, no matter how ordinary; how to find beauty at a Metro stop.”
Jill Biden recently unveiled this year’s White House Christmas decoration, prompting comparison with Melania Trump’s older decorations
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The English professor further stated that each room has been designed to capture children’s “pure, unfiltered delight and imagination.”
This year’s presidential annual gingerbread house was created using 40 sheets of cookie and gingerbread dough, 90 pounds of pastillage, 30 pounds of chocolate, and 50 pounds of royal icing, the First Lady’s office said, as per ABC news.
Jill explained that the Blue Room, which she stood in front of while unveiling the house’s decoration to National Guard families, features the official White House Christmas tree.
She said: “A vintage passenger train weaves around the tree’s base.
“I know the kids are just going to love it when they visit.”
Jill reportedly stated that this year’s theme, the “Magic, Wonder and Joy” of the holiday season, was inspired by “childlike marvel and awe”
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Forbes reported that this year, the White House also featured giant pieces of candy hanging from the ceiling of the East Wing, while holiday crafts have been seen as the focal point of the Red Room and workbenches, tools, and ladders circle trees in the State Dining Room, which has been transformed into Santa’s workshop.
The China Room has reportedly been decorated to recreate a sweets shop, the Vermeil Room represents the “joy of music and performance during the holidays” and the Blue Room hosts the official White House Christmas Tree, an 18.5-foot Fraser Fir that features the name of every state and territory.
As much as this 100-year-old tradition has stunned Americans from all across the US every year, another tradition has also emerged, pinning women against each other.
Naturally, people online could not help but compare Jill’s Christmas decoration with Melania Trump’s interpretation of the assignment in previous years.
“I know the kids are just going to love it when they visit,” Jill said
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
In 2020, Melania, the former US President Donald Trump’s wife and therefore the former First Lady, unveiled the White House’s theme as “America the Beautiful”.
In the Blue Room, the 53-year-old Slovenian-American former model had picked an 18-foot-tall Christmas tree decorated in ornaments from students across the country who had been asked to depict what makes their state beautiful, NPR reported.
The national public radio recalled that in the State Dining Hall, the White House’s iconic gingerbread house featured a pastry re-creation of the West Wing, Executive Residence, East Wing, and, for the first time, the Rose Garden and First Ladies’ Garden, with 275 pounds of gingerbread dough, 10 pounds of pastillage dough, 30 pounds of gum paste, 25 pounds of chocolate, and 25 pounds of royal icing.
At the entry of the East Wing, the traditional Gold Star Family Tree had been placed to honor the lives of those lost in service with a ribbon of names, inscribed by the Gold Star families that decorated the tree.
In the Red Room, trees held ornaments highlighting the professions of frontline workers and first responders.
Jill transformed the State Dining Room into Santa’s workshop
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
But it is Melania’s 2018 Christmas decorations that were brought up again this year as a comparative reference to Jill’s cheery enhancements.
At the time, Melania had filled the East Colonnade with 40 blood-red trees and hung 14,000 red ornaments elsewhere in the White House, the public radio reported.
As the former First Lady’s decorations were seemingly more somber and simple, it often prompted memes online.
“Melania’s Christmas decorations look like they’re straight out of the Shining,” a person had written of the blood-red trees on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Another person commented: “The image of Melania walking alone through the bloody handmaid trees seriously made my morning.”
The China Room has reportedly been decorated to recreate a sweets shop
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Following Jill’s decoration reveal, people came together on social media to compare both women’s tastes, as a person wrote on X: “Every arrangement at the White House is so mediocre, Jill Biden fails miserably at arranging and organizing things. And so does her team.
“Melania Trump was way better, even a simple comparison of Christmas and Halloween decorations would prove my point.”
A separate individual commented: “That woman’s stupendous gift for Evil Christmas aesthetics was the one good thing Trump brought to the White House.”
Another X user penned: “What a delight compared to the Christmas trees that looked like they were dipped in blood.”
An additional person chimed in: “A huge improvement from those dystopian blood-red trees we saw in the last administration.”
“Melania’s Christmas decorations look like they’re straight out of the Shining,” someone wrote on X
Image credits: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Pawel Wasik, a head expert, color consultant, and company director for Uptown Interiors, shared his own professional opinion on the matter with Bored Panda.
“When comparing the Christmas decorations by Melania Trump and Jill Biden, there’s a notable difference in the tone and symbolism, which might reflect their personalities or experiences,” Pawel.
When referring to Melania’s “America the Beautiful,” theme, Pawel said she “had a more solemn, traditional, and perhaps darker tone.”
He explained: “This might be seen as a reflection of her more reserved public persona or a response to the unique challenges faced during that year, including the pandemic and political tensions.
“Her choices in previous years, like the line of icy, Balsam fir trees in 2017 or the blood-red trees in 2018, have also sparked discussions about her favoring a more dramatic, unconventional aesthetic, which some interpreted as ‘witchy’.”
In contrast, Pawel stated that Jill’s “We the People” theme “exuded warmth, inclusivity, and a more jolly atmosphere, aligning with her background in education and her focus on family, community, and unification”.
He further explained: “The decorations, featuring birch trees, glowing lanterns, and woodland animals, along with themes of kindness, gratitude, and family traditions, reflect a more approachable and optimistic view, perhaps mirroring her own approach to public life and personal experiences of Christmas.”
In 2018, Melania Trump filled the East Colonnade with 40 blood-red trees
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Pawel went on to reveal that his personal preference between the two rested on Jill’s choice.
The interior design expert stated: “The emphasis on unity, inclusivity, and optimism seems particularly resonant in today’s world.
“Her decorations not only celebrate the season but also invite reflection on shared values and community spirit, which are core aspects of the holiday spirit.
“I also find that when we work with clients who have a more positive, upbeat, and outgoing personality, we see that energy flow through into the decorations, which I believe you can see when comparing the two.”
Meanwhile, Laura Lygren, an interior designer who has been short-listed for the 2023 International Design & Architecture Awards, told Bored Panda: “The wreaths with red bows outside are striking and chic and for me, the highlight of the White House Christmas decorations.
“The decorations will largely come down to the designers but Jill’s brief is child-focused, while Melania’s is more glamorous.”