White House Christmas Decorations (VLOG)

Another VLOG Episode

 

Gates to the White House

Getting Ready:

Touring the White House is always exciting.  No matter what you think of the resident at the time of your visit.  I have been living in the area for a few years now and I have visited under three different presidents.  There are couple of different tours you can take.  You may have seen an earlier post, in which it was just a garden tour.  Will this post is about the Christmas Decorations.  

You must have a ticket and go through a background check.  When you receive the invitation, be sure to read it, all of it, and the small print.  It is constantly changing, so the rules may be different than the last time you visited. 

When should I go?

My wife and I like going during the week, in the middle of the day.  Parking is always a challenge.  The Metro can get you close, and is not a bad ride.  However, recently the crime spree in DC has cautioned me to recommend the Metro Rail.  If you travel in a group, you should be fine.  But the other issue with public transportation, is there is no where to store you stuff (backpack, purses or camera bag) while you are touring.

With all of that in mind, I drove.  I paid for parking at the Willard hotel.  Just across the street from the entrance.  I did have to return to the car once prior to the tour.  This is because of the small print, I mentioned above,  My wife and her friends thought they could bring in their clutches.  But you cannot.

Christmas Tour

During the Christmas time, you can see how the "House" is decorated for the holidays.  each room is a little different.  I believe, but I am not sure, the First Lady is un charge of decorations. This year was a great a tour, as you can see from the video.  It was a great day, a little on the cool side, but clear.  Our group was able to take a few minutes before the tour and see the Williad Hotel Lobby decorations. The hotel lobby is always a breathtaking adventure.  

Plan your visit

To arrange a tour, visit the White House web site.  Follow the directions.  Make sure you read any restrictions on what can be brought into the White House.  If you drive, parking will run between $30-$50 in a garage.  I recommend spending the money on parking.  

You will have to wait outside for a 30-50 minutes, once you make it past the first line ranger checking you invitation/ticket.  Depending on how many people are visiting, you could be waiting outside the compound for close to an hour.  I would arrive in plenty of time, maybe an hour and half prior to your time slot.  They will let you in early, but I am not sure about how late (past your time slot) they will admit you.

Take a moment to view the history while you are there, not just Snap a picture and move on.  Do not be afraid to ask the staff, posted through out the tour questions.  In my experience they have all been very informative to the visitors.  

Salutations:

Thank you for visiting the site.  You will find the video is hosted on Rumble, if you don't Rumble you should try it out.