Melania Trump marked the official start of the White House holiday season on Monday, Nov. 24, stepping out of the presidential residence to receive this year’s Christmas tree.
According to People, the first lady, 55, accepted the towering fir from Korson’s Tree Farms, a Michigan grower honored as the 2025 Grand Champion Grower by the National Christmas Tree Association.
The farm is the first from Michigan to earn the title since 1985. As tradition dictates, the winning farm provides the White House with its official Christmas tree, which was selected in September by Dale Haney, the longtime superintendent of White House grounds.
With the tree’s arrival, attention now turns to what Melania Trump will unveil as her 2025 Christmas décor — a topic that drew national debate throughout President Donald Trump’s first term.
Melania embraced a classic, traditional look in 2017, but the following year she made a bold stylistic shift. In 2018, the East Colonnade was lined with 40 cone-shaped, blood-red trees in a theme she called “American Treasures.”
The display immediately set off a wave of online commentary. Some compared the red trees to the cloaks worn in The Handmaid’s Tale, while others saw echoes of the infamous river of blood from The Shining.
The White House pushed back, explaining at the time that the vibrant red symbolized the “pales, or stripes, found in the presidential seal designed by our Founding Fathers” and represented “valor and bravery.”
Melania defended her design choices, emphasizing that holiday décor is subjective.
“I think they look fantastic. I hope everybody will come over and visit it,” she said in 2018. “In real life, they look even more beautiful. You are all welcome to visit the White House, the people’s house.” She added that everyone has “a different taste.”
This year’s tree arrival signals that another highly watched White House holiday reveal is just around the corner — and with Melania Trump once again in charge, expectations are already rising.
