This photograph of President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the White House Easter Egg Roll was taken by Tony Powell on April 18, 2022. The 2022 Easter Egg Roll was hosted by President and Dr. Biden, with the first couple welcoming guests from the South Portico. It marked the first Easter Egg Roll held in person on the the South Grounds of the White House since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Activities at the annual celebration included the traditional Easter egg roll and egg hunt, special guest readers in the reading nook, costumed characters, food, and arts and crafts, among others activities.

This photograph of President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was taken by Tony Powell at the White House Easter Egg Roll on April 18, 2022. Joining the first couple on stage at the reading nook is late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, who read his book, "Nana Loves You More." The 2022 Easter Egg Roll was hosted by President and Dr. Biden and was the first held in person on the the South Grounds of the White House since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Activities at the annual celebration included the traditional Easter egg roll and egg hunt, special guest readers in the reading nook, costumed characters, food, and arts and crafts, among others activities.

This photograph of First Lady Pat Nixon was taken on December 11, 1972. Mrs. Nixon is seen standing in the Cross Hall among holiday decorations, including a poinsettia tree, floral designs draped around the chandelier, and red cloth covered columns. The Cross Hall, which is located on the State Floor of the White House, runs the length of the Executive Mansion and offers views of the East, Red, Green, and Blue Rooms.

In this photograph, First Lady Pat Nixon gives a tour of holiday decorations to the White House Press Corps in the State Dining Room. On display nearby is a German A-frame gingerbread house, designed by assistant executive chef Hans Raffert. Raffert created his first A-frame gingerbread house for First Lady Pat Nixon in 1969, where they soon evolved into a beloved holiday tradition.

This photograph of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier with the White House gingerbread house was taken in December 1999. Chef Mesnier and his team created gingerbread versions of the White House, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and Mount Vernon. The scene also included the Potomac river winding through the display. The theme chosen for 1999 was "Saving America's Treasures," highlighting Mrs. Clinton's program to help preserve important landmarks and historic artifacts.

In this photograph, President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter dance in the East Room during the Congressional Christmas Ball on December 11, 1979. For decades, first families have hosted annual balls for members of Congress during the holiday season.

This photograph was taken on December 9, 1991 during a press preview hosted by First Lady Barbara Bush of the White House holiday decorations. That year, Mrs. Bush's holiday theme drew inspiration from the a needlepoint creche created by the Saintly Stitchers, a needlepoint group of the St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas. For her holiday decorations, over 1,300 needlepoint ornaments were created for the holiday decorations with patterns designed by White House Chief Floral Designer Nancy Clarke. Here, Mrs. Bush points towards ornaments based on the classic storybook characters "Raggedy Ann" and "Raggedy Andy," which she personally stitched for the Blue Room Christmas Tree.

In this photograph, President George H. W. Bush participates in a ceremonial wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day 1991. Since 1921, presidents have paid their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, often in observance of military commemorations including Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

This photograph shows a close-up of the gingerbread house created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier and the White House pastry team for the 1995 holiday season. The gingerbread house was modeled after First Lady Hillary Rodham's Clinton's childhood home in Park Ridge, Illinois, and included scenes that paid homage to the poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." This was the first time Mesier employed the technique of removing portions of the wall to insert interior scenes in the White House Gingerbread House.

This photograph shows a bûche de Noël or Yule log cake made by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. The traditional and festive holiday cake was a favorite at White House Christmas parties. The cake pictured here consists of a rolled sponge roulade cake covered in dark buttercream and decorated with meringue mushrooms and marzipan details to resemble a tree log adorned with holiday figures including a snowman and Santa Claus.

In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier prepares a bûche de Noël or Yule log cake in the White House Kitchen. The traditional holiday cake was a favorite at White House Christmas parties. Here, Chef Mesnier applies a layer of coffee buttercream to give the dessert its distinctive tree bark appearance. Mesnier joined the White House Kitchen in 1979 and retired in 2004.

This photograph shows several bûche de Noël or Yule log cakes prepared by Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier and the White House pastry team during a private event for friends and family during the George H. W. Bush administration. The desserts were made from a chocolate soufflé roulade and topped with marzipan decorations suggestive of a winter woodland scene. Mesnier's bûche de noël cakes were a favorite dessert at many White House Christmas parties. Mesnier joined the White House Kitchen in 1979 and retired in 2004.

In this photograph, taken on December 7, 1992, First Lady Barbara Bush poses with White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier and assistant pastry chef Franette McCulloch in front of the White House Gingerbread House in the State Dining Room. This was the first year Mesnier oversaw the creation of the gingerbread house. Mesnier diverted from the style of his predecessor, Hans Raffert, whose traditional A-frame gingerbread houses had been a staple of White House holiday celebrations since 1969. Instead, Mesnier and his pastry team constructed a winter village scene for the gingerbread display, complete with sledding marzipan elves.

This photograph shows the 1996 Official White House Gingerbread House on display in the State Dining Room. Designed by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, the gingerbread house paid homage to first daughter Chelsea Clinton's love of ballet and participation in the Washington Ballet's production of Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. The interior of the house featured a display depicting the Christmas party from the first act of the ballet, with Chelsea in attendance.

This photograph shows the Official White House Gingerbread House on display in the State Dining Room for the 2003 holiday season. To complement First Lady Laura Welch Bush's holiday theme "A Season of Stories," the gingerbread White House was populated with characters from classic children's stories, including the Cat in the Hat, Humpty Dumpty, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Anne of Green Gables, and the Mad Hatter.

This photograph shows the Official White House Gingerbread House on display in the State Dining Room for the 2002 holiday season. To complement First Lady Laura Welch Bush's holiday theme "All Creatures Great and Small," the gingerbread White House was populated with marzipan animals representing current and former presidential pets.

This photograph shows staff members from the White House Pastry Shop posing in the East Room with a handmade chocolate eagle and a dessert buffet they prepared for the 2002 White House holiday season. The room is decorated for the season with multiple Christmas trees and an 18th century crèche, visible in the background. The 3-foot tall chocolate eagle was designed to complement First Lady Laura Welch Bush's "All Creatures Great and Small" holiday theme, but was so well received that sculpted chocolate eagles by the pastry shop became a tradition for the remainder of the George W. Bush administration. Pictured here from left to right: Jessie Betts, Noree Hathaway, Lindsay Michel, Susan "Susie" E. Morrison, Lynn McCartin, Marlene Roudebush, Roland Mesnier, Susan Limb, Patrick Musel, Donna Cellere, and Patty Stimmel.

In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier and Assistant Pastry Chef Marlene Roudebush create confectionary decorations in the Kitchen for the holiday season at the White House. As Mesnier blows sugar balls, Roudebush crafts marzipan figures. Mesnier led the White House pastry shop in creating hundreds of marzipan figures each year to populate the official White House Gingerbread House and lend a festive garnish to other holiday delicacies.

This photograph shows a close-up of the Official White House Gingerbread House on display in the State Dining Room for the 2002 holiday season. To complement First Lady Laura Welch Bush's holiday theme "All Creatures Great and Small," the gingerbread White House was populated with marzipan animals representing current and former presidential pets. Among the pets depicted here are Theodore Roosevelt's family pony Algonquin, Rutherford B. Hayes’s Jersey cow, and several sheep from Woodrow Wilson's flock.

This photograph shows a close-up of the Official White House Gingerbread House on display in the State Dining Room for the 2002 holiday season. To complement First Lady Laura Welch Bush's holiday theme "All Creatures Great and Small," the gingerbread White House was populated with marzipan animals representing current and former presidential pets. Among the pets depicted here are John Quincy Adams’s alligator, Caroline Kennedy's pony Macaroni, and Old Ike, President Woodrow Wilson’s pet ram.

This photograph shows a close-up of the Official White House Gingerbread House on display in the State Dining Room for the 2002 holiday season. To complement First Lady Laura Welch Bush's holiday theme "All Creatures Great and Small," the gingerbread White House was populated with marzipan animals representing current and former presidential pets. Among the pets depicted here are Calvin Coolidge’s white collies, Ronald Reagan’s goldfish, and Rutherford B. Hayes’s peacock.

This photograph shows the gingerbread display in the State Dining Room created by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier and the White House pastry team for the 1998 holiday season. To complement the "Winter Wonderland" theme selected by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, the pastry team created an ambitious "wonderland castle" gingerbread display. With a base measuring four by six feet, at the time it was the largest gingerbread house created by Mesnier and too large to be displayed in the traditional location on the pier side table in the State Dining Room.

In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier and his assistant, Marlene Roudebush, work on the "American Village" gingerbread house. Created to complement First Lady Barbara Bush's holiday decorations in 1992, this was the first White House gingerbread house overseen by Mesnier. The whimsical scene, which incorporated multiple gingerbread houses and sledding marzipan elves, marked a departure from the traditional A-frame gingerbread houses created for the White House holiday season by Hans Raffert since 1969. Here, Chef Mesnier sprinkles powdered snow on the creation while Roudebush assembles a marzipan Santa Claus.

This photograph shows whimsical marzipan creations created by the White House pastry team for the holiday season. The figures include snowmen dressed in brightly colored scarves and others shaped like Santa Claus. The figures were likely made by Marlene Roudebush, assistant chef to White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier. Mesnier joined the White House pastry team in 1992 and earned a reputation for her detailed marzipan creations.

In this photograph, an unidentified man draws an outline for the construction of a base stand for a gingerbread house. Similar stands were created to support the massive gingerbread houses overseen by White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier during the George H. W. Bush through the George W. Bush administrations.