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Decorating the White House

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Decorating the White House Decorating the White House

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Floor Corridor. His team decorated 24 of the 83 trees in the White House.

“The whole thing is just surreal,” he said. “it was absolutely incredible.”

He recalls watching HGTV’s annual White House Christmas special that details how 300 volunteers throughout the nation decorated the White House. Peter heard the White House receives between 3,000 and 5,000 applications from people each year to be chosen to decorate it for Christmas. His first application was denied because he was 17 years old at the time.

Even though Peter heard that people usually fill out multiple applications before they are finally chosen to decorate the White House, he figured that his talent as an interior decorator and his writing prowess would give him a good shot at getting picked. (He founded Nick Peter Weddings and Events in 2019.)

Peter filled out an his most recent application on www.whitehouse.gov and wrote an essay about why he wanted to decorate the White House before the Sept. 8 deadline this year. He received an e-mail from the White House on Oct. 8 notifying him that he’d been chosen as a volunteer to decorate the White House during the week of Thanksgiving from Nov. 25 through Dec. 2.

First Lady Jill Biden chose this year’s White House Holiday decoration theme as a “Season of Peace and Light.” Peter at first wondered why there was a carousel showcased around the 18-1/2 foot Fraser Fir tree in The Blue Room of the White House until he realized lights from the carousel provide children with peace. He said The China Room has loaves of bread in it to signify that it’s a peaceful process of being patient while letting the dough rise.

Peter and the other volunteer decorators spent the first few days of their trip gathering repurposed Christmas decorations from previous years that are stored in a large warehouse located 45 minutes from the White House. He spent Thanksgiving with his mother, Julie Gertschen, in their Washington, D.C. hotel room.

Volunteers were only given 2-1/2 days to decorate the White House. He was tying up garland last minute before the 1:45 p.m. deadline on Dec. 1 so housekeeping could clean the White House.

Volunteers took a two-hour tour of the White House on Dec. 2 before a reception was held to honor them. Peter personally met First Lady Jill Biden when she toured each room in the White House to see how each group of volunteers decorated them. He said he will forever cherish his experience of decorating the White House for Christmas.

DECKING THE HALLS - As guests proceed down the East Colonnade of the White House in Washington, D.C., they are surrounded by a collection of bells, symbolizing the peaceful sounds of the holiday season. Brass-colored bells suspend from the ceiling and sleigh bells line the archways. Nick Peter’s team of volunteers decorated 24 trees, seven arches and 1,500 feet of garland in the White House. PHOTO BY NICK PETER

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