White House Christmas Tree Arrives the Day After Thanksgiving [Video]

It’s officially Christmas time at the White House. President Obama and his family didn’t waste any time after Thanksgiving to get their Christmas tree. The 18-and-a-half-foot balsam fir tree from Wisconsin was delivered to the White House by a horse-drawn carriage this afternoon.

The Star Tribune reports that White House staffers traveled to Wisconsin last month to pick out the tree.

The White House Christmas tree will go up in the oval-shaped Blue Room where it will be the centerpiece for holiday decorations this holiday season. The tree will be decorated to honor Blue Star families, or people who have loved ones serving overseas.

Here’s a video of Michelle, Malia, Sasha, and the president’s dog Bo inspecting the White House Christmas tree.

The Washington Post reports that the tree came from Schroeder’s Forevergreens near Neshkoro, Wisconsin. Tom and Sue Schroeder, who own Forevergreens, won the honor of providing the White House Christmas tree after winning a national contest run by the The National Christmas Tree Association. (The contest has been running since 1966.)

Sue Schroeder said:

“It’s just very thrilling.” Seeing our tree at the White House is the “highlight of our Christmas.”

The White House Christmas tree will be trimmed, lit, and decorated with the help of volunteers from around the country. The decorated tree will be unveiled on Wednesday.

Do you put up a Christmas tree? Real or artificial? Does it come anywhere close to standing 18 feet tall like the White House Christmas tree?