A White House Holiday

Glen Ridge resident Coleen Christian Burke helps decorate the White House.

It took four years and around 300 letters, but last year, Glen Ridge resident Coleen Christian Burke was finally invited to help decorate the nation’s most famous home. “My road to the White House was even longer than President Obama’s,” jokes Christian Burke, who got there first. A former television producer, she now runs a seasonal decorating business called Sugar Plums.

Led by the White House florist, Christian Burke and 40 other volunteers assembled boughs of greenery, swathes of puffy white cotton (for snow), topiaries, tree skirts, and 400 bows to decorate nearly 30 trees, mantels, and entryways in then-First Lady Laura Bush’s chosen theme: a red-white-and-blue Christmas.
“At one point I had to climb 22-foot scaffolding to hang garlands,” says Christian Burke. ”I told myself, Hey, it’s the White House; I’m going up.”

During the decorating, the First Lady came by to offer input. President Bush stopped in to acknowledge the team’s good work and wish them well.

“I felt a remarkable sense of responsibility—even though it was just decorating—to know that people would come from all over to see what we had done,” says Christian Burke. “It was so rewarding to be a part of White House history.”

Christian Burke is writing a book about holiday decorating traditions at the White House since the Kennedy Administration. Have a White House Christmas will be completed after she returns this year to decorate for the Obamas. The book will include rarely seen historical photos and tips to help readers replicate the designs.

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