The White House for Christmas
Written: Jan 03 '05 (Updated Feb 02 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Absolutely a delight at Christmas Time
Cons: Very little interaction or White House information from staff as we walked through.
The Bottom Line: Though the White House tour might be interesting any time of year, there is something very special about seeing it all decked out for the holidays.
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| popsrocks's Full Review: The White House |
Having watched the H&G television station that aired the anual show featuring the White House being prepared and decorated for the Christmas Holidays, my wife wanted to see the house in person. Immediately after 9/11 tours of the White House ceased. It is open once again but to get a tour you must contact your congressperson. No longer can you wait for same day tickets at the kiosk at the Ellipse or in the White House Visitors Center.
Getting Tickets
I contacted my congressman Peter Kings office about 6 months ago. From what they tell me, the earlier the better.
Even with the early call I was on some kind of "availability" list. I put in particular dates during the Christmas season. Perhaps because of the specific request and time of year, I did not get a firm date immediately.
About two weeks before Christmas a representative from the congressman's office called me confirming the dates we put in for and the number of people. It was a bit strange in that upon my first call to the office we were told we "should" have a group of ten or more. If that was the only way we would have filled the request anyway. We had a number of people on standby.
As the dates came closer I called their office again. They assured me they were working on it. We did receive a call a couple of days later giving us a date that would not work out for us.(it was different from our requested days) After declining, I thought we may have lost our chance to go. We were however asked at that time for birth dates and SS#s of those who were on the request list. I gathered them together and gave them the list less than an hour later.
Fortunately we received a call from the congressman's Washington office a few days later confirming four tickets and not the ten or so we were originally told. We were also told we would be receiving further information in the mail, and we did.
Some Guidelines
The four page letter came just a few days later. Information on where to meet and times were detailed. One page was pretty much a list of don'ts. This list relayed information of what can and cannot be brought into the White House. Besides some obvious items like explosives, guns, knives and pointed objects we also learned that most anything you do not carry on your body is excluded. No pocketbooks are allowed and NO cameras at all. Most of the items a woman keeps in her pocketbook are also a no-no.
A Quick Story
After reading the list my wife was disappointed about not being able to bring in a camera. I suggested we purchase a throw away and if they were very strict about the rule we would just toss it in the trash or find a place to tuck it away on the grounds while we toured and pick it up later. The paper told us there are no lockers or any place you can leave items on the grounds and to keep all items in your car or hotel room.
After talking to a friend my wife thought it a poor idea to have the throw away camera and try to hide it on the grounds.
The night before our tour we happened by the back area of the White House as we walked toward our hotel. I saw some people coming out and thought they may have just come from the tour. I was correct. After some talk we learned that those particular people we relatives of workers in the White House. The woman assured my wife that taking in a camera was no problem at all. They took many pictures. My wife then goes to a secret service type fellow near one of the gates. She asked him about cameras and he gave a sort of "Well for now it's OK". My wife was very happy and decides we will take our good camera the next day for the tour. I reminded her that these were employees that just came out from the tour.
The next morning we were in line and shortly thereafter a Park Ranger comes out with a sign that replicated the letter we received. "....No this and no that and specifically No Cameras..." was highlighted. My wife marched right up to the security people at the head of the line and told them of her information from the night before. Sorry, they said, No Cameras and you can't leave them here. We saw some people chuck their throw aways in the trash. I suppose a number of us had the same idea.
Our problem now is that we have our good camera. Plan One goes into affect. Pops walks away from the crowds and hides the camera in the park like area near a bush under some leaves. No helicopters appeared overhead, no sounds to halt from a loud speaker and no secret service guys came over to knock me to the ground, handcuff me and take me away for questioning or perhaps psychological help. I went back into line and that's when we were approached. Uh OH!!
Getting In
My wife heard it first. Someone was calling out our name. It happened to be the gal that I spoke to many times from our Congressman's office. This staff member, Alison, greeted us and took us right up to the front of the line, introduced us to the security people and wished us a nice day and wonderful tour. (How surprised I was to see her after all the persistent and insistent calling I made to her office. I certainly would have not wanted to meet me.) We showed our ID and my wife and I walked off, just the two of us, through the garden area and into the East Wing of the White House. I do not know why we were shown this preferential treatment. The others in line soon followed us. I would say they were in about ten minutes later.
We went through security and the alarm went off when I went through due to a replacement knee. I was searched and then we were on our own. When we were on that initial line outside the White House we were given books that were a sort of guide and keepsake. This book was also available to anyone at the White House Visitors Center that we explored the next day.
The book contained information about the Christmas theme of the year and decorations and which room highlighted what.
I do wonder if any kind of booklet is given at other times of the year.
A Quick Note
Though it is not part of the tour and no longer a place to get tickets for the White house tour, I do recommend going to the White House Visitors Center just across the street from the White House on its east side. You can get some good information of what you are about to see and will help to bring the tour more alive. This is especially true when the White House is not decorated for the holidays. The center is free to get in and it opens earlier than most other sites on the Mall. It also closes an hour earlier at 4PM. This is a winter time. Check other times of the year.
The center also has a store where you can purchase books and souvenirs such as the annual official White House Christmas ornaments.
One more note for those who have National Passports that they would like posted. The ink stamps are in the White House Visitors Center and not in the White House itself. The National Passport is a way of "collecting" National Parks via a stamp that is dated and states the park or national site you are visiting.
The Tour
Though we were escorted to the front of the line we did not see anything any differently than anyone who waited in line. Everyone went through security and then were free to wander through a number of rooms that had security people throughout. The way through was set up by stanchions directing everyone toward a flow from beginning to end. Out of all the rooms we walked through there was just one fellow who actually engaged the tourist and gave information freely. Fortunately for us he moved to another room and we were able to listen to him and ask questions a second time. The other people stationed would answer questions but not in an enthusiastic way and did not show the knowledge of detail of this one fellow had.
We first walked through the East Wing. It was Abraham Lincoln and then the Rev. Doctor Martin Luther King that we saw portraits of. The rest of the wall had photos of other presidents celebrating Christmas. Ronald Reagan was highlighted first and was again shown as the last group of photos. Most of the presidents of this century had a photo collage. You could see the progression of greater detail put into the decorating as the years moved closer to more contemporary times.
We then made a turn into the East Foyer and were greeted by a display showing the original artwork that was reproduced on the cover of the keepsake booklets that each visitor was given.
Also in this room was a display of all the official White House Christmas cards that started with President Eisenhower in 1953. Anyone can get a White House Christmas card by sending a Christmas or Holiday card to the president and his wife. We are expecting out 2004 card soon.
This year he and Mrs. Bush had Texas artist Cindi Holt paint the cover for their card. She used the Red room as decorated for Christmas as her subject matter and did it in a whimsical impression. I like it. The original painting of the card is on display too.
The Tour Continues
The theme for this years White House Decorations is "A Season of Merriment and Melody". It was thought to bring Christmas songs that have been favorites to life by making setting of the song and placing them throughout the public and not so public areas of the White House.
What I liked about the freedom in this tour was that we could take as much time as we liked to wander and inspect. It was quite relaxed. We looked through the Ground Floor Corridor and under a portrait of Hillary Clinton was a vignette of the song "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Gene Autry. I remember this tune as a young child and the display conveyed the words of the song.
Barbara Bush's portrait was above "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". I liked this one too. Two others were not visible to us on our tour that day. They were Betty Ford above "Up on the House Top" sorry, I don't recall that tune and Roslyn Carter's portrait with the vignette of "All I want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. One other that was out of sight was "Blue Christmas" with Mamie Eisenhower keeping an eye from her portrait. We are told ahead of time that due to calendar changes and use of the building, some parts of the White House tour may not be available to see.
"Rockin around the Christmas Tree" was another setting that was off limits on our visit.
The East Room was beautiful to walk through. It's a large room that had no furnishings in the open middle area. There were many trees all in white with snow on them welcoming us in. Four other Christmas Song settings were in this room. They included, "Frosty the Snowman", "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", "Toyland" and another I didn't know but my wife did, "Marshmallow World"
The booklet has the names of the authors included in it.
Also in the East Room is a carved wood Creshe that was made in Italy in the 1700s. This is displayed so that it can be seen from the Cross Hall off the main entrance hall.
We then moved on to see the Green Room, The Blue Room, and the Red Room. All were spectacular looking. The Blue Room is home of the official White House Christmas Tree that is an 18' 6" Noble Fir from Washington State. It is covered with hand painted musical instruments and is quite stately in its presence.
As the balance to the East Room in this federal style building is the State Dining Room. It had white rose flower arrangements that filled the air with their fragrance. Only one portrait is in this room. It is of Abraham Lincoln.
As we went into the Cross Hall and Entrance Hall, the last rooms of the tour, we get to see two more vignettes. One is of Jingle Bells and the other, a favorite for both my wife and me was Irving Berlin's "White Christmas". This was in the Entrance Hall that was stunning! It truly was a winter wonderland inside.
This is the room where the president greets many guests. It is certainly set up to impress.
After we looked at more of the room we walked out the main doors that are on the north side of the White House. My wife and I walked out alone. We were sorry we could not get a picture inside or outside but were extremely happy to have had the opportunity of taking this tour.
Other DC reviews by popsrocks
The White House and Washington DC is noted as one of the...
1,000 Places To Visit Before You Die
The Capital Hilton
Fairmont Washington Hotel
The Old Ebbit Grill Good Eats near the White House
The Washington Monument
Lincoln Memorial
Washington DC
The Korean War Veteran's Memorial
The Vietnam War Veteran's Memorial
The National World War II Memorial This is a new major memorial that will be dedicated May 2004
The National Art Gallery
The National Archives This has just reopened and it's bigger and better!!
The National Air and Space Museum
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
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