Obama now officially living like a czar. Check out these White House Christmas photos.

The people at the White House have not yet heard the news that there’s a bit of a recession going. As a result, the Obamas continue to live lifestyles reminiscent of the czars. The only thing missing is a nice little collection of Fabergé eggs.

Take, for example, the way the White House was decorated for Christmas. A couple weeks ago we had the story of hundreds of employees taking more than four days to decorate the White House Christmas tree. Silly us. We assumed that “the White House Christmas tree” meant there was one White House Christmas tree. But no. The White House has a friggin’ forest of Christmas trees. It’s just this side of an environmental disaster. And that’s just the beginning of the Obama’s ostentatious display of conspicuous consumption.

Here’s how Time Magazine describes it:

Inside Obama’s White House: a replica White House (made of gingerbread), a marzipan version of dog Bo and more Christmas trees than you can count.

The president’s Washington home has been elaborately outfitted for the holidays, with this year’s theme being “Simple Gifts.” Some of the decor is absolutely tiny. Inside the 350-pound, white chocolate-covered gingerbread replica White House is a miniature reproduction of the East Room (containing chocolate furniture), and there’s even a mini White House garden (also made of marzipan).

But dog Bo is the true star of this year’s Christmas decorations. Besides the marzipan Bo, there is another Bo replica made of 40,000 twisted black and white pipe cleaners.

Even though the theme is “Simple Gifts,” much of the decoration throughout the White House is anything but simple, including the numerous Christmas trees throughout as well as large stone urns filled with birch, beech and crystal branches.

The theme is “Simple Gifts” and yet they have a friggin’ forest of Christmas trees and a 350-pound white chocolate-covered gingerbread replica of the White House complete with a marzipan version of the President’s dog? Call us crazy, but that seems to be just about as far away from the concept of a simple gift as is possible.

Don’t look now, but the Obamas aren’t even in Washington, DC to enjoy this excess of excess. Why, in the middle of the Obama recession, are we pissing away this kind of money to decorate their home when they’re halfway around the world in freakin’ Hawaii for Christmas?

white-house-replica
Unbelievable. It's the 350-pound, white chocolate White House, complete with a marzipan version of Bo, the President's dog
The White House China Room: Another Christmas tree in, as Time gushes, a room decorated with china from the Clinton and Bush eras.
Here's the view from the Grand Foyer That's the "official" White House Christmas tree back there in the Blue Room and you'll be happy to know that those large stone urns are filled with birch, beech and crystal branches.

Photos by Brooks Kraft/Corbis for Time

Source: Time

This post was last modified on December 26, 2010

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View Comments (20)

  • Fear not! For I thinketh they enjoyeth their Hawaiian Vacation not! It is raining so hard here, people's car alarms are going off. Not to mention the raw sewage they had to release up their way do to all the rain flooding the system. The Hawaiian Gods are angry at their excess!

    • OK, fact is we don't have a clue what marzipan is, either. Sounds like some kind of damn effeminate confectionary. But we faked it well, didn't we?

      Now that you have us on a roll, we would assume that liberals eat confectionaries. Conservatives eat candy.

      • Actually, we're all supposed to eat cake. Just ask Moochelle.

        (Marzipan is a kind of play-doh made out of ground-up almonds. Chefs use it all the time to make those metrosexual cake decoration thingies. It's kinda gross if you ask me.)

  • Is it possible for us, as a country, to agree that the White House should not be any better or worse decorated than a post office? I'm fed up with hearing about the cars, airplanes, helicopters, fine china, expensive furniture, et al. from the gov. on our dime. I paid for that crap, I should be able to go pick up my share, right? STOP SPENDING MY MONEY ON CRAP I CAN'T USE!!!!

  • I saw a Bush special where the Christmas decorations were very grand indeed... and I am sure the same is for all Presidents in the past even perhaps those that were Presidents during recession (although perhaps not... *shrugs*) My point being that I don't mind the White House which in essence is OUR building to look good especially to visitors both national and international. I wouldn't want the house to look disgusting or less than and then in the end we end up looking bad. Would I prefer if it was SIMPLER yet elegant especially in view of the "theme" and our circumstances? Yes... but I am not going to hate. The White House and its grandeur in the end is for us and for our national identity. If Obama had gone for something gross that I would be angry about. I am just happy that seemingly he is not putting socialist crap around like last year.

    • Hey excuse me for being an American citizen that likes her historical and national buildings tax supported by me and my fellow citizens to look nice and appropriate for us and especially international visitors. If Obama didnt do a good job in making sure my and your White House look good it would be deserving of great hate, but as it stands I don't see the hate. I have seen other Administrations do a good job in decorating our White House. Again considering where we stand economically AND the theme that the Lady set up then it makes sense to indeed make it simpler yet still elegant. I just don't see a specific problem here. This is not for him nor his family per se, this is for all of us (and international visitors). I like my country and I take great pride in it and its federal and state buildings in looking appropriately.

      • I see this as the silliness of the season -- while it is a bit ostentatious, it *is* the seat of our government, and in the hands of a less spenderiffic government, we'd still want it.

        It isn't *all* about the Obamas here. After all, a somewhat more mercenary president & his wife rented out the Lincoln Bedroom -- saving money isn't all good, you know.

        However, I can certainly understand the fun in letting the air out of their tires...

        • Right.

          I dont understand the hate. I like to rip on the obamas as much or perhaps more than the normal person, but I got to chose my battles right. I love Holiday decorations in our national buildings... If the Obamas hadn't bothered I would serioulsy be angry.

          • The problem is, "Simple Gifts" and "Marzipan White House" just don't seem to go together, unless your idea of a 'simple gift' is a Lexus. Kind of a fish, barrel, gun thing. I don't think it's hate as much as it is just sitting there, begging for ridicule.

          • One can ridicule the decorations... however I prefer this than socialist crap. Also if they hadn't done anything it would have been worst. I just dont think that stating that he is living big and large because the WH is decorated grandly is not necessarily the truth. Decorations many of grand scale has been done in the past and I think rightly so. That is my White House and it is all ours (citizens) and it should look grand. My understanding here is that people are angry that it is grand to begin with, I dont have a problem with that...

            NOW if we are going to talk about the details of decorations especially as we are talking about the theme, then yes like you say it does invite ridicule, but I prefer acceptable holiday decorations over no decorations and especially over decorations of socialist nature.

  • This vile/worthless POS has no business even BEING in the White House...........well, perhaps as an hourly employee......."Barry, more coffee in room 12, pronto!"

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