First Lady Michelle Obama Receives Final White House Christmas Tree

The Marine Band played as the horse-drawn wagon carrying the 19-foot Douglas fir pulled up to the North Portico

The White House is now officially open for the holidays. 

First lady Michelle Obama kicked off her family's final holiday season at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. by receiving a 19-foot Balsam-Veitch fir as the official White House Christmas Tree. 

It was grown at a farm in Oconto, Wisconsin, and delivered on Friday by owners Dave and Mary Vander Velden. 

The tree will be trimmed just a bit so it can fit inside the White House Blue Room, where it is traditionally displayed and decorated to honor the U.S. military. 

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The delivery also marks the start of an intense few days of work by scores of volunteers who help decorate the White House for Christmas. 

Mrs. Obama plans to unveil the decorations to military families on Tuesday.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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