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The White House Historical Association’s Official 2022 White House Christmas Ornament features the annual White House gingerbread house, a cherished holiday tradition. In 1969, Assistant Chef Hans Raffert began the holiday tradition of building a gingerbread house for display in the State Dining Room. White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier carried on this tradition with more elaborate gingerbread displays. Mesnier became the first to depict the White House in gingerbread, which is the inspiration for the design of the Official 2022 White House Christmas Ornament.
See high-resolution images of the Official 2022 White House Christmas Ornament.
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Few first ladies enjoyed Christmas as exuberantly and creatively as did Pat Nixon. During the five holiday seasons she spent in the White House, Mrs. Nixon introduced traditions that continue to the present day. She set a standard for festooning the Executive Mansion during the holidays that every first lady since has honored and built on. For most of the
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When Jacqueline Kennedy established the White House Historical Association in 1961, she envisioned an organization that would educate and inspire Americans — and particularly children — to take part in our shared history. Twenty years later, the Association launched an initiative to celebrate that history by offering unique annual Christmas ornaments to the public. All sales of the ornaments benefit the Association’s missio
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