A Camp David Christmas
Traditionally, Camp David has been the perfect location for celebrating an old-fashioned Presidential Christmas. Tucked away in Maryland's Catoctin mountains,
the retreat is usually covered in a fresh blanket of snow just in time for the holidays. While President Obama is quite fond of Camp David, his annual tradition has been to return to
Hawaii to celebrate a tropical Christmas there with his family and close friends.
In the holiday spirit of openness and transparency, President Obama is pleased to offer the American People the opportunity this year to experience a traditional Camp David Christmas.
Invited guests will arrive at noon on Christmas Eve and stay for three nights in one of the ten cabins available during this holiday period. Each cabin comes equipped with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a small living room with a fireplace. Meals will be eaten in the Laurel Lodge. Guests have the use of the bowling alley, video arcade, library, movie theater, indoor basketball court and weight room.
A traditional Christmas Eve dinner will be served inside the Laurel Lodge. After dinner, gather around the breathtaking 18-foot-6-inch balsam fir Christmas tree and exchange presents with your loved ones. Enjoy some steaming hot chocolate next to the large stone fireplace. Don't forget to hang your stockings! Take a horse drawn sleigh ride around the retreat to view the Christmas lights on the cabins. The evening ends with a visit to the Evergreen Chapel, which will host a midnight Christmas Eve candlelight service featuring holiday music.
The guest cabins are located throughout the grounds of the retreat
One of the available guest cabins is called Witch Hazel
The paths around Camp David are perfect for cross-country skiing
Sleds are available for your use
President Bush and daughter Doro used to go sledding outside Aspen Lodge
President Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger
The ice skating pond should be fully frozen by Christmas
The swimming pool is super-heated during the winter season
The Clintons enjoyed cross-country skiing
President Ford liked to ride a snowmobile around Camp David
The White House anticipates a high level of interest in this exciting opportunity and wants to give everyone a fair chance of being selected.
Unlike the annual Easter Egg Roll, where we offer an online lottery for tickets, the Christmas at Camp David opportunity is more selective due to the limited number of guests we can
accommodate.
For the first time ever, the Domestic Surveillance Directorate will grant the White House access to their National Citizen Database and will cross-reference and extrapolate a list of the best
citizen candidates to invite for this holiday experience. There is no need to contact us if you are interested in participating. We already know. If you are not interested in participating, we already know that too.
We know because they know. And now you know too. Have a nice holiday.