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Yellowstone Park ornament White House photo by Chris Greenberg

First LadyLaura Bush picked “Holidays in the National Parks” as her theme to use to decorate the White House for the holidays this year. As part of this, the White House sent to each of the 391 national parks a big ball and asked them to decorate it. They did, and they got 347 back. Those ornaments are hand-created by artists whose designs represent America’s national parks, memorials, seashores, historic sites and monuments. They are displayed on the holiday tree in the Blue Room of the White House. This year’s holiday tree is a 20-foot Fraser fir from North Carolina.

Both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks sent in decorated ornaments. Other Wyoming scenes include Fossil Butte National Monument, John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and Fort Laramie National Historic Site.

Many people do not realize that the National Park Service maintains the White House grounds and it is also considered a national park. All of the White House employees, including the gardeners and the ones who work outside, are national park employees.

Similarly, President’s Park, 82 acres of land which includes statutes, memorials and structures surrounding the White House, is also maintained by the National Park Service as a national park.

Our country also has a very newly added national park into the system, the Flight 93 National Memorial. It's at the site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed.

Related Links:
Holiday in the National Parks
2007 Holiday ornaments
Fact Sheet: White House Holiday Decorations