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White House gets scaled-down Christmas display amid ballroom work

Melania Trump's Christmas theme is 'Home is where the heart is'
Melania Trump's Christmas theme is 'Home is where the heart is'

US First Lady Melania Trump unveiled this year's White House Christmas decorations - in a reduced space after President Donald Trump demolished part of the historic building for a new ballroom.

Her theme for the season was "Home is Where the Heart Is," despite the fact that she spends relatively little time in Washington, preferring New York and Florida.

Decorations featured a giant Lego portrait of her 79-year-old husband, a huge gingerbread White House, thousands of decorative butterflies, and more than 50 Christmas trees in the first holiday season of the president's second term.

"Home is not merely a physical space; rather, it is the warmth and comfort I carry within, regardless of my surroundings," Ms Trump said in a statement released by the White House.

A Lego portrait of US President Donald Trump
A Lego portrait of Donald Trump forms part of the decorations

But the actual physical space available at the White House for the Christmas decorations is smaller this year.

In previous years many of the most dramatic displays have traditionally been in the East Wing, where the first lady's offices were based and guests to the White House entered for seasonal events.

The East Wing has now been reduced to rubble to make way for Mr Trump's $300 million ballroom, with workers knocking down some of the final bricks yesterday.

So this year's Christmas decorations are all in the main mansion of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The centrepiece this year is the 5.5m tree in the White House Blue Room, a concolor fir from the state of Michigan which features gold stars to commemorate the families of fallen US service members.

Gingerbread White House
The White House made of gingerbread

The decorations also include accents in red, white and blue to mark next year's 250th anniversary of American independence, and baubles for Ms Trump's "Be Best" education initiative.

President Trump himself meanwhile showed that he was in no hurry to celebrate his last Christmas in the White House anytime soon. His second term is due to end in 2029.

An ornament reading "Be Best" hangs on a tree
Ornaments with the words 'Be Best' are on many of the trees

"We have a little more than three years left, and three years for Trump is an eternity," he told guests at a Christmas party, in a video shared by a White House official.