Christmas at the White House this year was BIG. Big because it is the first Christmas the Trump family is celebrating at the White House. Big because President Trump vowed to end the war on Christmas. And big, well, of course, because First Lady Melania Trump outdid herself with Winter White decorations and numerous festivities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5qcfsZUSxg

Decorations required an army of White House staff and more than 150 volunteers to wrap 180,000 feet of lights around 53 Christmas trees. The main Christmas tree was presented to the First Lady and her son Baron from Silent Night Evergreens of Endeavor, Wisconsin, which won the 2017 National Christmas Tree Association contest and presented its tree to the White House in a horse-drawn wagon.

Staff and volunteers hung more than 12,000 ornaments and placed 71 wreaths on the doors and windows of the presidential mansion. Pastry chefs cooked and decorated 31,000 Christmas cookies. They even built a 350-pound gingerbread replica of the White House adorned with candy.

After all of the staff’s hard work, the First Lady tweeted:

A special thank you to all the amazing volunteers who made this year's @WhiteHouse #Christmas decorations a success! https://t.co/K4jR5fNx2H

— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) December 11, 2017

The White House hosted several Christmas parties, including one for children, and one for the media. The most recent party was attended by President Trump’s family, staff, and roughly 300 guests. The U.S. Marine Band played Christmas carols amidst appetizers and drinks, 53 decorated Christmas trees, a huge huge crèche with flying angels, and a gigantic gingerbread White House.

Guests included Gov. Chris Christie, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his wife, Hilary Geary Ross.

Keeping another campaign promise, Trump made sure that everyone was celebrating and exclaiming, “Merry Christmas!”