As is custom, in between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, The White House unveils its holiday decorations. Room upon historical room is festooned with garlands, ribbons, and ornaments—a festive tradition stewarded by the First Lady for all to enjoy. But for those administrations spanning Johnson to George Bush Senior, there was another holiday event on the calendar: The annual Diplomatic Children’s Party. From 1964 to the early 1990s, diplomat parents who hailed from all over and found themselves in D.C. on assignment were able to bring their tiny tots to the White House for some holiday cheer come Christmastime.
Though it was Lady Bird Johnson who first presided over the event, as Matthew R. Costello, senior historian at the White House Historical Association, explains, the party can be traced back to Mrs. Kennedy, who was one of the first to welcome the young international group to the White House. “Mrs. Kennedy started working with The Hospitality and Information Service for Diplomats organization and at some of her early White House events, she invited the children of diplomats to musical concerts—performances by children and for children.”
Though it goes without saying, Mrs. Kennedy had a profound impact on the makings and keepings of White House tradition. In 1961, she would establish The White House Historical Association, an organization dedicated to conserving and documenting the White House present, knowing it would soon be a treasured past. In the archives of the WHHA are recordings of all the fine and decorative arts that inhabit the White House and a trove of photographs taken within the hallowed Pennsylvania Avenue property.
Almost 60 years later, the WHHA recently restored a selection of images from the once-annual Diplomatic Children’s Holiday Party. The fruits of their labor can be seen here for the very first time.
Peruse the images for a look at holidays past. Most times, the First Lady (and sometimes, the President) was on hand to shake hands and wish good tidings. But if work kept them away, there was something else on the program to delight the little ones. In 1969, First Lady Pat Nixon brought in dancers from the Washington School of Ballet to perform Tchaikovsky s "The Nutcracker" in the East Room. In 1977, esteemed actress Helen Hayes turned up to greet guests at First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s event—for which the FLOTUS convinced her daughter, Amy, to dress up as a clown. And in 1985, at the pique of their popularity, life-sized Cabbage Patch dolls roamed the party.
Viewing the images is to draw a through line between White Houses administrations of yore—holidays were bipartisan and there was no agenda but good cheer. A young boy with his cheeks puffed, blows into the borrowed bugle belonging to an army musical. Another boy walks a corridor in the White House, dedicated to his mission of inflating his red balloon. A girl with a ribbon tied in her hair stands in awe (or terror) of a clown. The celebrations weren t political, or at least, the children enjoying the festivities were blissfully unaware of them.
Of the photos, Costello admits his surprise at what they reveal. “We always assumed that there had been these types of Christmas parties but that wasn’t the case. This was a relatively recently created tradition and it survived for more than 25 years before then it vanished.”
This week, the White House unveiled its holiday decor. In the Vermeil Room, a space that appears permanently awash in the glow of candlelight thanks in part to its golden wall coverings, is a tree—one of 62 that now deck the White House halls—that honors the Kennedys. Hanging on its branches are sailboat figurines and miniature portraits of Mr. President Kennedy. A version of the ornament is available for purchase—from the White House to your house. (Among the many White House traditions is the release of an annual tree ornament.)
Taken by photographers from National Geographic, the over 650 unseen images from the Diplomatic Children’s Parties were in the safekeeping of the WHHA, preserved on 35mm film glass slides. A multiple year-long digitization endeavor allowed the organization’s researchers to behold them in a whole new way. “A lot of these children were wearing traditional garbs from their native home countries,” says Costello. “I just thought it was really cool to see that in the White House. You see these children and they re kids, right? It s a party. But in a way, they re sort of like little ambassadors of their country. If I had more spare time, I d love to try to figure out the names of these people. Where are they now? What are they doing?”
Now that the photos live online, perhaps this is a task not so farfetched. As Costello explains, the WHHA would love to hear from those partygoers. “We want people to share their experiences with us so that we can present this particular historic event in the best and most accurate portrayal.” As we all know from Ebenezer, Christmases past inform the present and future.
