It’s never a good idea to talk politics during the holidays, but when you’re the one decorating the White House, it’s hard to ignore the subject.
West Chester-based Nicole Radio runs Maggie’s Market Shop, a small business that creates employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, sells handmade jewelry and hosts charitable events. This Thanksgiving, though, her regular gig took a backseat to a Radio’s new side job.
Every year in summer, thousands of individuals nationwide submit applications to volunteer to decorate the White House. Like U.S. senators, two are typically selected from every state in the nation. Some applicants have applied for years, if not decades, and have never been accepted. Radio, however, got the green light on her first try.
“You do meet other people that have applied for 19 years in a row and haven’t been accepted, so it is definitely an honor,” Radio says.
Perhaps her teaching background was a bonus, or maybe the judges liked the design work she had done at Maggie’s Market Shop’s many pop-up events. A military background is also weighted heavily in any applicant’s favor, though Radio has no history of service.
When she arrived in D.C., she was put to work immediately, though she didn’t let herself become overwhelmed by the scope.
“It’s just like when you decorate at your own house,” Radio shares. “You’re trying to use what’s meaningful to make the core connect with people that are going to be visiting.”
The White House sees approximately 100,000 visitors during the holiday season to take in the decorations. In 2024, the theme was chosen by the First Lady, Jill Biden, as it has been every year since Jackie Kennedy. Designed in detail by Rafanelli Events, the home’s artful decor is in large part thanks to the volunteers who spent months bringing Biden’s vision to life.
When Radio arrived, she was first shipped off to a warehouse where decorations from previous years, as well as many other nigh-ancient White House treasures, were stored. For two days, Radio and the team spent their hours shuttling boxes of decorations back and forth before getting started. Then the real work began.
The volunteers began hanging wreaths, stringing up over 165,000 holiday lights, nearly 10,000 feet of ribbon and more than 28,000 ornaments. The First Lady had chosen a traditional theme for this year’s decorations, so much of the square footage was adorned with red and green plaid and Christmas trees decked with baubles and ornaments. Radio’s team even had to hang 2,200 paper doves by hand.
“[Rafanelli Events] had mapped it up, and every dove had a specific point on the ceiling grid because you can’t cover the presidential seal above the end of the room when you walk in and you need to leave space between each one. [Rafanelli Events] wanted to have a certain flight pattern. It was so interesting to see all of the thought that did go behind some of the details,” Radio shares.
That’s not to say the volunteers always followed a meticulously designed plan. When you’re decorating an area as large as the East Wing of the White House, some improvisation is required.
“Rafanelli [Events] has the grand vision, but I have to say like 90% of the decorating was done on the fly,” Radio recalls. “You’re creating there with your people. So while they had the grand vision, you literally are like, ‘O.K., this works, this doesn’t work.'”
By the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the volunteer team had neatly wrapped the White House in tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of ornaments, frills and decorations. And though these volunteers spent their time in perhaps the most contentious building in the country, they only grew closer together. The extremely diverse crowd left the White House as fast friends.
“You felt like you had completed a year of school with your group. It was like you left with 100 friends, and it was just amazing that in one week you felt so connected to people,” Radio enthuses. “It was an opportunity to be with people from all walks of life all across the country who all chose to do the same thing: give up a week of their holiday to come travel and work together to do something in one small way just to show their love and appreciation for our country.”
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