Inside the White House Christmas card tradition – from Coolidge to Trump

Few White House traditions are quite as time-honored or cherished as the annual Christmas celebrations it hosts – which stretch back more than a century and transcend partisan politics, imbuing the president’s official residence with a feeling of continuity and warmth. 

But the sense of togetherness and cheer need not stop at the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Like most families, U.S. presidents and first ladies have long used annual Christmas cards to share their holiday greeting to friends both near and far – communicating well-wishes, gratitude and, at times, subtle political statements. 

Here’s a look at how the tradition of the White House Christmas card began, and how it has evolved throughout the years.

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Historians aren’t quite sure when presidents began sending out Christmas cards, though many acknowledge that the practice probably began in an unofficial capacity in the late 1800s, with the recipients likely limited to a smaller group.

In fact, it was not until 1927 that President Calvin Coolidge wrote what would become the first “official” Christmas card to the American people. Coolidge, in response to multiple requests for a holiday greeting, penned a short, simple message, “Season’s Greetings,” by hand in the distinctive, elegant form of cursive he was known for.

The missive was published by every major newspaper in the country, kicking off what would become a larger, more elaborate tradition that continues to this day.  

In the years that followed, the Christmas greetings took the form of individual cards, and the list of recipients grew longer and more expansive. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon each sought to make it a more formal tradition, with Eisenhower adding Cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, and U.S. ambassadors overseas to the list of recipients.

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Under Nixon, the cards were mass printed for the first time, and sent to a much broader audience – some 40,000 people – an undertaking that would have been unimaginable in Coolidge’s time, when the hand-printed “Season’s Greetings” message was drafted by hand with painstaking care and detail. 

Today, the Republican and Democratic national parties are responsible for printing the Christmas cards; as a result, the lists include (but are not limited to) party donors and campaign supporters, among others.

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While neither party has released an official count of the cards it has sent out on behalf of recent presidents, the RNC is estimated to have printed some 1.5 million White House Christmas cards during George W. Bush’s presidency – a number that grew under Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Trump in his first term and this year.

Other technological advances allow even those without deep pockets to share in the Christmas joy.

The White House social media accounts have embraced the rise of social media in recent years to share the official Christmas photos, expanding the reach and message of the commander in chief, and often the rest of his family.

The White House accounts on Tuesday shared the official 2025 Christmas portrait of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. 

This year’s printed White House Christmas card expands on Melania Trump’s 2025 White House Christmas theme, “Home Is Where the Heart Is,” which she said was inspired by the “joys, challenges, and frequent motion derived from motherhood and business.”

“This Christmas, let’s celebrate the love we hold within ourselves, and share it with the world around us,” she said in a statement announcing the theme. “After all, wherever we are, we can create a home filled with grace, radiance, and endless possibilities.”