|  The Green Room is  
used throughout the year for small teas and receptions. It also  
houses exemplary art, such as the renowned portrait of Benjamin Franklin  
by David 
 Martin, which hangs above the fireplace. On both sides of the handsome  
Duncan Phyfe 
 settee stand two topiaries filled with fresh roses. But it is the  
mantelpiece of  
the Green Room that is the center of attention, adorned with a creation  
by Colette  
Peters, a well-known confectionary artist in New York City. This  
exquisite display  
is an edible Ice Palace made of royal icing and surrounded by a lush Ice  
Garden.  
 The 
 official White House tree stands in the Blue Room. This year an eighteen-foot  
balsam 
 fir was presented to the President and Mrs. Clinton by Silent Night  
Evergreens in  
Endeavor, Wisconsin. The tree was given to the White House by Jim and  
Diane Chapman  
and their children Daniel, David, Julia, Laura and Rachel. The Chapmans  
won the honor  
after being named the 1998 National Grand Champion Growers by The  
National Christmas  
Tree Association.  
The Blue Room Tree is decorated with interpretations celebrating Winter  
Wonderland  
from artists across the nation. Snowmen from all fifty states were made  
by  
individuals recommended by the Governor of each state. The warmth of the  
room is  
captured with knitted mittens and hats from members of The Knitting Guild  
of America,  
and the thrill of winter sports is depicted in colorful wooden ornaments  
made by artists 
 from the Society of Decorative Painters. The green velvet handmade tree  
skirt was  
designed by individuals from each of the fifty states, territories and  
the District 
 of Columbia in celebration of the Clinton family's first holiday season  
at the White  
House. 
  
   The dramatic Red Room  
features Colette Peters's second confectionary masterpiece, a 
 Polar Bear Christmas at the North Pole complete with an igloo, penguins,  
snowflakes,  
icicles and a snow tree with ice cube presents. The traditional cranberry  
tree sits  
atop the most important piece of American Empire furniture in the White  
House  
collection,  
the marble top center table made in New York around 1810 by Charles-Honore 
 Lannuier. |