HGTV’s back at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, poking around the Oval Office’s tinsel and gauging the structural integrity of the gingerbread executive mansion. Yes, it’s the annual “White House Christmas” special, a holiday tradition as predictable as fruitcake and as unavoidable as your aunt’s political rants at the dinner table. This year’s edition, airing Sunday, December 15th at 6 PM, features First Lady Jill Biden leading the charge – or should I say, the caroling.
Our guides through this winter wonderland of executive décor are Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt, the relentlessly perky HGTV personalities who likely haven’t met a shiplap they didn’t like. They’ll be traipsing through the White House with Jill Biden, revealing this year’s theme: “A Season of Peace and Light.”
Viewers can anticipate the usual festive fanfare: close-ups of the official 18.5-foot Christmas tree, likely sourced from a forest guarded by elves with top-secret security clearances; the Gold Star Tree exhibit, a somber yet necessary tribute to fallen service members; and enough doves in the Cross Hall to make even Noah envious.
And then there’s the 2024 Gingerbread White House, a caloric monstrosity constructed from what I can only assume is the entire annual output of a small gingerbread factory. We’re talking 25 sheets of gingerbread dough, 50 pounds of royal icing, and enough chocolate to induce a national sugar rush.
The Kleinschmidts will even pitch in with some decorating in the Diplomatic Room, a space apparently now open to the public. I’m sure they’ll resist the urge to install a farmhouse sink and some open shelving.
As for the rest of the White House holiday explosion, we’re talking numbers that would make Santa’s accountants weep: 165,075 holiday lights (enough to illuminate a small country), 83 Christmas trees, 28,125 ornaments, 9,810 feet of ribbon, and enough doves to stage a feathered coup.
So, there you have it. “White House Christmas” is back, and this season looks every bit as festive, over-the-top, and ultimately harmless as ever. Tune in, pour yourself some eggnog, and try not to think about the national debt.
“White House Christmas 2024” airs Sunday, December 15 at 6 p.m. on HGTV.
