First lady Melania Trump has unveiled her 2025 White House Christmas decorations with much aplomb—revealing a scaled-back take on the festive tradition amid the ongoing demolition of the East Wing.
Melania, 55, filled multiple rooms in the historic building with traditional decor, centering them around the theme of “Home Is Where the Heart Is,” according to a release issued by the Office of the First Lady.
The mother of one revealed that she turned to her own roles as a parent and as first lady for inspiration when pulling together the concept for this year’s decorations, detailing how the “constant movement” in her life has made her all the more aware that the concept of “home” is so much more than a physical structure.
“The constant movement has taught me that home is not merely a physical space; rather, it is the warmth and comfort I carry within, regardless of my surroundings,” Melania—whose son, Barron, has reportedly moved back into the White House while he studies at New York University’s Washington, DC, campus—said.
“This Christmas, let’s celebrate the love we hold within ourselves, and share it with the world around us. After all, wherever we are, we can create a home filled with grace, radiance, and endless possibilities.”
Melania teamed up with her personal stylist, Hervé Pierre, to bring her theme to life, working with the renowned designer to create a series of different creative concepts in several spaces in the White House.
While the first lady has, in the, past, embraced a more unusual take on festive decor, at one point filling the East Wing with enormous white trees, this year’s theme focuses much more on tradition, while also celebrating several charitable initiatives that Melania holds close to her heart.
For example, in the Red Room, visitors will find blue butterflies scattered throughout the space, adorning the Christmas tree, mantel garland, and window wreaths, which are meant to create a “transformational experience” that is dedicated to those within the foster care system.
“The striking color combination coupled with the butterflies’ symbolic meaning of transformation and renewal capture the essence of Christmas,” the White House statement said.
Ornaments bearing the logo of Melania’s anti-bullying “Be Best” campaign can also be found hanging from the tree in this space.
Meanwhile, the Blue Room has been decorated in honor of America’s Gold Star Families, honoring those whose loved ones have lost their lives while serving in the armed forces.
An 18-foot concolor fir, which was brought in from Sidney, MI, takes center stage in this space, having been adored with numerous gold stars, as well as ornaments that represent the official bird and flower of each of the states and territories in the U.S.
These, the White House said, are meant to serve as a “tribute to the resilience, bravery, and sacrifice of our military personnel and their families.”
Patriotism is the key theme in the East Room, which has been set up in honor of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the U.S., with red, white, and blue decorations filling the space—while a custom tree collar with the words “America 205” can be found at the base of the enormous fir.
Lastly, in the Green Room, guests will find a series of decorations themed around family game nights, including a custom tree mount that features numerous dominoes arranged in a grid. Dominoes were also used to form several snow-topped towers that sit on the mantel in the space, nestled in among some traditional green and red garland.
This room is also home to two presidential portraits—one of President Trump and another of former President George Washington—that are made up of “over 6,000 puzzle pieces” and were designed to give families a “chance to be challenged, have fun, and use their imagination together.”
While guests this year will have limited access to the White House as a result of the ongoing construction work that is taking place around the East Wing, which is being demolished to make way for the president’s $300 million ballroom, they will find many more festive touches scattered throughout the historic building.
Among these are the iconic gingerbread White House, “an artistic culinary triumph” that was constructed using 120 pounds of gingerbread and is proudly displayed in the State Dining Room.
“The Grand Foyer features a section of the historic White House Crèche, which is currently undergoing meticulous restoration by the White House Curators,” the White House statement added.
Meanwhile, Trump’s personal workspace in the Oval Office has also been given a festive overhaul, with the president’s special assistant and communications adviser, Margo Martin, sharing several videos of the room on her Instagram Stories, revealing the elegant touches that have been added in honor of the season.
The videos shared by Martin, 30, revealed the festive Christmas tree that has been set up in the iconic room, with ornaments to represent the many different branches of the armed forces.
Melania’s unveiling of this year’s Christmas decor comes at a time of transformation for the White House, which has undergone several renovations and updates since Trump took office for a second time in January of this year.
He began his overhaul of the historic building in March, when he announced plans to pave over the lawn of the Rose Garden, telling reporters that he wanted to make the event space safer for guests, particularly women in heels.
“You know, we use [the Rose Garden] for press conference and it doesn’t work because the people fall,” he said during a March interview on Fox News. “The terrain can be wet, and the soft ground can be an issue for some. Women, with the high heels, it just didn’t work.”
Despite the backlash over the plans, Trump pressed on with his redesign of the outdoor space, with images taken in June revealing that the grass had been ripped up and replaced with gravel.
The completed paved area was later filled with tables, chairs, and yellow-and-white umbrellas that many noted were almost identical to those used poolside at Trump’s Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.
As part of the redesign, the Rose Garden has been outfitted with new drainage systems to prevent water from pooling at its center.
Trump then added some new gold decorations to the White House—later shutting down speculation that the embellishments were in fact bargain accessories from Home Depot.
The president welcomed Fox News host Laura Ingraham into the newly revamped Oval Office during a wide-ranging sit-down in November, when he discussed everything from his 50-year mortgage plan to immigration.
But when the two took a break from the more hard-hitting talking points, Trump took the opportunity to proudly show off the changes he has made to his primary working space at the White House—showing off the many gilded embellishments he has added to the historic room.
“You know the one thing with gold?” he said while flaunting the lavish renovations. “You can’t imitate gold, real gold. There’s no paint that imitates gold.”
Ingraham, 62, then pushed Trump further, asking him: “So these aren’t from Home Depot or something?”
“No this is not Home Depot stuff,” the president responded. “This is not Home Depot.”
The Fox News host posted the short clip on her social media accounts, captioning it: “In the Oval Office with President Trump and can confirm that it is REAL gold!”
Meanwhile, Trump’s somewhat controversial ballroom project—which he has funded privately with the help of several prominent donors—is ongoing, with the East Wing demolition due to be completed soon, making way for the 90,000-square-foot space.
However, the decision to tear down the historic wing, which has long housed the office of the first lady, sparked uproar from critics, who hit out at Trump for making such significant structural changes to the White House.
Initially, Trump had insisted that the addition would not interfere with the existing structure, telling reporters in July: “It won’t interfere with the current building. It won’t be. It’ll be near it but not touching it—and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.”
However, those plans are understood to have changed after a meeting with architects revealed there would not be enough space for the planned ballroom without the destruction of the East Wing.
During his interview with Ingraham, the president once again defended the project, telling the Fox News host that the East Wing “looked like hell” when it was torn down—noting that the ballroom will be a much grander addition to the White House.
“The East Wing was a beautiful, little, tiny structure that was built many years ago that was renovated and expanded and disbanded and columns ripped out—and it had nothing to do with the original building,” he said.
“It was a poor, sad sight, and I could have built the ballroom around it, but it would not have been—we’re building one of the greatest ballrooms in the world.”