Ballerinas leaping to the strains of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker helped to launch this year's Christmas at the White House, featuring a traditional decor that Melania Trump chose for her family's first holiday season in the White House.
The first lady's theme is "Time-Honoured Traditions", a nod to 200 years of holiday celebrations at the executive mansion.
"The decorations are up!" Mrs Trump tweeted on Monday morning. "(at)WhiteHouse is ready to celebrate! Wishing you a Merry Christmas & joyous holiday season!"
Among the new touches this year: on the outside, wreaths topped with red bows adorn every White House window. Inside, glistening wintry branches line an East Wing hallway that leads guests to a tree decorated with the Trump family's official Christmas ornament, a gold-toned bauble featuring the presidential coat of arms surrounded by a wreath of holly.
On Monday the first lady welcomed students from a nearby military base in Maryland to check out the decorations and try some holiday-themed arts and crafts.
Wearing a winter white dress with cape-like sleeves and gold-toned heels, Mrs Trump descended a staircase from the residence to the Grand Foyer and spent a few minutes taking in the ballerinas before she joined a group of children.
The family Christmas card is framed and on display, along with cards from past presidents. "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year," says the card signed by President Donald Trump, the first lady and Barron, their 11-year-old son.
That's a change from the Obama years, when the annual cards offered more generic sentiments of "Season's Greetings" or wishes for happy holidays. Trump has vowed to put "Christmas" back at the centre of the holidays. During the presidential campaign, he complained that saying "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" amounted to "chipping away at Christianity".
More than 150 volunteers from 29 states spent 1600 hours over the holiday weekend decking the White House halls. The White House said Mrs Trump chose every detail of the decor and did a final check late on Sunday after returning from the family's Thanksgiving at their resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
