Obamas entertain thousands at holiday parties
December 13, 2013 | 02:28 PM
Reporters and guests gather in the White House State Dining Room Thursday night to enjoy a buffet that includes beef, smoked salmon, potatoes and First Lady Michelle Obama’s special recipe for macaroni and cheese. (Eddie Gehman Kohan/Obama Foodorama)
Left: Heath, a White House bartender, makes martinis with 209 Gin distilled at Pier 50 in San Francisco, and Hangar 1 Vodka distilled from grapes the same day they are picked in Alameda, Calif. Right: Members of the White House pastry staff serve a variety of desserts, including cookies made in the shape of the dogs, Bo and Sunny. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The gingerbread White House this year features miniatures of the Obama family dogs, Bo and Sunny, created from dark chocolate. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
Left: Cheeses served on the buffet included, from left, Grayson, white cheddar, St, Andre, Tomme and Appalachian. Right: The portrait of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, painted by Douglas Chandor in 1949, is in the Vermeil Room and features multiple images showing her various interests. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
From left, Obama Foodorama Founding Editor Edward Gehman Kohan, Hagstrom Report Founder and Executive Editor Jerry Hagstrom, and Kohan's twin sister, Meg Holub, enjoy the White House holiday reception Thursday night. (The Hagstrom Report)
During these parties, the Obamas, like previous presidential couples, stand for hours at a time having their pictures taken with their invited guests while the guests eat, drink and mingle on the State Floor of the White House.
The Blue Room features the official White House Christmas tree, which this year is an 18-foot-6-inch Douglas fir from Lehighton, Pa. It features decorations made by children living on military bases across the country, who created holiday greeting cards made in their shape of their home states.
For more coverage of White House entertaining, see Obama Foodorama.
