The last holiday season of the Obama administration has officially started. The first family's final White House Christmas tree, a 19-foot Balsam-Veitch fir from Wisconsin, arrived yesterday.
This year, first lady Michelle Obama received the first Christmas tree with her two young nephews, Austin and Aaron Robinson, rather than teenage daughters Sasha and Malia.
This is the second holiday-related event Sasha and Malia decided to sit out this year: they recently skipped President Obama's annual pardoning of the turkey.
"Christmas begins. The holidays start," Mrs. Obama exclaimed after "accepting" the tree, according to the Associated Press. "We're ready. Our last one. We're excited about it."
The tree will be set up in the White House Blue Room and likely decorated to honor the U.S. military. On Tuesday, Mrs. Obama will welcome military families to get the first look at the adorned evergreen.
Dave and Mary Vander Velden, owners of the Oconto, WI, farm where it the tree was grown were on hand to personally make the festive delivery. The couple won this year's contest to provide the White House Christmas tree — a tradition since 1966.
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