White House Christmas 2015 Bonus Gallery: Behind the Scenes
Get VIP access with host Genevieve Gorder as HGTV shoots its annual White House Christmas special. Genevieve meets White House staffers and holiday volunteers, helps with decorating, and gets a first-hand look at the creation of the iconic Gingerbread White House.
Behind the Scenes
An up-close look at the completed Gingerbread White House, an annual holiday tradition in the State Dining Room. This year, for the first time, the HGTV team gets to help decorate and transport this world-famous confectionary masterwork.
Behind the Scenes
Genevieve Gorder, host of White House Christmas 2015, talks with a Christmas volunteer at the East Entrance where 8-foot wooden penguins greet visitors and two penguin chicks are perched on Santa's sleigh.
Behind the Scenes
The HGTV crew films as Genevieve talks with artist and designer Sarah Anne Dinardo. Sarah is the creative talent behind some unique sculptures selected as mantel decor in the East Room of the White House.
The Gingerbread White House
Genevieve helps White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison move the West Wing portion of the gingerbread house before transporting it from the Map Room upstairs to the State Dining Room.
The Gingerbread White House
Genevieve is entrusted with a propane torch as she helps Susie repair the candy nose on a delicate sugar snowman that will be added to the display.
The Gingerbread White House
Susie Morrison and pastry chef Carlo Figarella position one of the fragile sugar snowmen.
The Gingerbread White House
Genevieve holds one of the tiny replicas of White House dogs Bo and Sunny that will be featured prominently in the finished gingerbread house.
The Gingerbread White House
Genevieve assists as the East Wing of the house is carefully placed into position.
The Gingerbread White House
More than 500 pounds of gingerbread was used in the construction of this year's edible White House. In previous years, the house has been covered in cookies, white chocolate and sugar but until this year, in the Obama White House, there's never been one constructed entirely of gingerbread.
The Gingerbread White House
The gingerbread sections are mortared with chocolate paste and the walls are stained dark brown with molasses.
The Gingerbread White House
Sculpted sugar nutcrackers flank either side of the front doorway.
The Gingerbread White House
Sunny and Bo stand watch at the entrance.
The Gingerbread White House
Chocolate and gum paste is used as glue to help fashion the tiny wreaths and other decorative objects like these tiny snowmen.
A Job Well Done
Genevieve poses with Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison, chef Carlo Figarella and the HGTV film crew after the final touches are complete and the gingerbread house is successfully transported to the State Dining Room.
The State Dining Room
Elsewhere in the State Dining Room, the setting is transformed into a festive toyland with classic toys, nutcrackers and gumball trees.
The State Dining Room
The State Dining Room
The State Dining Room
The State Dining Room
A parade of nutcracker ornaments is carefully arranged on shelves that have been built to encircle the Christmas trees.
The State Dining Room
The State Dining Room
Candy Wonderland
Nearly 1300 candy canes and 1600 peppermints are used in the floral shop in the creation of candy topiaries like this one that will be enclosed inside an oversized gumball machine and surrounded by 10,000 white gumballs.
Behind the Menu
Genevieve visits with White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford and the kitchen staff to find out what's on the menu for holiday celebrations.
Behind the Menu
Genevieve with a member of the team charged with the monumental task of feeding White House residents and guests during the holiday season. Case in point: over the coures of the holidays the kitchen and pastry teams create more than 25,000 inidividual cookies.
Tennis Balls?
The East Garden Room and Bookseller's area features a variety of trees, wreaths and other decorations made with dayglow-yellow tennis balls. Why tennis balls? Because this year the room's theme is dedicated to White House pets Bo and Sunny, and tennis balls are their favorite toys.
East Garden Room
55,000 feet of yarn is knitted into 7,000 yarn pom-poms to creat the larger-than-live replicas of Sunny and Bo.
East Garden Room
East Garden Room
East Garden Room
Genevieve poses with White House volunteer decorators Betty (L) and Lucinda, (R) in the Booksellers area of the White House.
East Garden Room
And a final pic with two very famous White House pets.
White House Celebs
Sunny and Bo exercise proper White House decorum in the Lower Cross Hall.
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