Decking the Halls 'Magical,' 'Special' in this Well-known House

Christmas time at the White House is magical. This year guests enter through the East Wing doors, which are trimmed with enough festive garland to please a king.

First dogs Bo and Sunny always make an appearance in the decorations. This year they're standing guard by the east colonnade – or at least giant look-a-likes made up of more than 25,000 pom-poms.

Walk down the east colonnade and you'll see a vision of patriotism. Seventy-five-hundred red, white and blue ribbons hang from the ceiling adored with crystal ornaments. Visitors who look up as they walk down the hallway may feel like they're being transformed into a magical land.

In the library, this year, the Obama's are celebrating the gift of education. Complementing the book lined walls are trees – hand made out of pencils and crayons. In front of the fireplace, a giant box made from rulers holds festive Christmas balls.

Step out into the hallway and you enter a winter wonderland. Snowball arches, created from more than 6,000 sparkling silver, gold and white ornaments, beckon visitors to continue their tour.

Upstairs in the East Room, the centerpiece of the decorations is the historic White House nativity scene. Made of terra cotta and intricately carved wood, this treasure was crafted in Italy in the 18th century. It's been displayed in the East Room at Christmas for more than 45 years.

In the state dining room, the traditional gingerbread house steals the show. This hunk of culinary genius features 150 pounds of gingerbread, 20 pounds of icing and 20 pounds of sculpted sugar pieces. Look around and it's easy to see how kids could have some fun. Fifty-six additional gingerbread houses made of more than 200,000 Legos adorn trees. There's one house for every state and U.S. territory and each one has its own personality.

Decking the halls of the White House is special, but it takes a lot of work. This year 92 volunteers from around the country traveled to Washington to make the magic happen.

Of course, all of capitol city gets decked out to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Just down the hill from the White House in the Ellipse, President Obama lit the national Christmas tree for the last time.

Travel to Capitol Hill at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue and you'll find the capitol Christmas tree. Speaker Paul Ryan switched  the lights pn after reminding Americans about the reason for the season. 

"Christ's birth, like this tree, is a reminder that God is always with us. We may neglect him, we may reject Him but He never forsakes us. He always welcomes us back into His warm embrace, He lights our way, He makes straight our path," Speaker Ryan told the crowd.

It's the promise of Christmas.