‘A Season of Peace and Light’ Inside the White House

First Lady Jill Biden’s expanded holiday decor is on full display for the last time.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden unveiled the White House Holiday decorations earlier this week. The Green Room features a traditional Christmas tree and was once Thomas Jefferson’s dining room. (Credit: Jennifer Taylor/East Wing Magazine)

Kimberly Johnson stands at the base of one of the majestic Christmas trees flanking the fireplace inside the White House State Dining Room. She wears a shiny gold necklace that spells “blessed” in all-caps. But, in this moment with holiday music humming in the background, it was her smile—bursting with pride—that sparkled. Over her shoulder adorning the lit tree hangs hundreds of handcrafted, paper ornaments showcasing the self-portraits drawn by Auburn Junior High School students, the Alabama school where she works as an interventionist.

Johnson, the 2022 Alabama teacher of the year, describes the fervor it took to get the ornaments ready in time for decorating the White House. There were revisions. And in the end, she says, almost all the ornaments made it…