by Sandra Merville Hart<\/p>\n
President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams didn\u2019t have the warmest of homes at the White House in 1800.<\/p>\n
Their Pennsylvania Avenue home, built near a swamp, was drafty and cold. Large fires crackled in thirteen fireplaces to warm their home.<\/p>\n
In 1800, as Christmas approached the President and First Lady decided to host a children\u2019s Christmas party. Their four-year-old granddaughter, Susanna Boylston Adams, lived with them and they wanted to honor her.<\/p>\n
Greenery was hung to decorate the East Room. Government officials and their children were invited to the party.<\/p>\n
A small orchestra played while guests munched on cakes and drank punch.<\/p>\n
They sang Christmas carols and played games. The party was a great success with one exception.<\/p>\n
One of the children accidently broke a gift of Susanna\u2019s\u2014a doll dish. Susanna grabbed her friend\u2019s doll and bit of its nose in retaliation, which wasn\u2019t very nice.\u00a0The President stepped in before the situation got too out of hand.<\/p>\n
Christmas parties soon became a tradition at the White House. Occasionally these were children\u2019s parties in those historic early presidencies. Other parties were elegant affairs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
About Sandra Merville Hart<\/u><\/p>\n
Award-winning author Sandra Merville Hart loves to uncover fascinating historical facts for her novels and stories. She was an editor and writer for DevoKids for several years and is now Executive Editor. She\u2019s excited to be part of this fun, educational, and inspirational ministry for children.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source<\/p>\n
\u201cBackground: Winter Holidays at the White House,\u201d White House Historical Association, 2019\/11\/03<\/p>\n
ttps:\/\/www.whitehousehistory.org\/press-room\/press-releases\/background-winter-holidays-at-the-white-house<\/p>\n
Christmas in America in the 1700\u2019s and 1800\u2019s, <\/em>World Book, Inc., 2007.<\/p>\n \u201cChristmas Traditions at the White House Fact Sheet,\u201d White House Historical Association, 2019\/11\/03<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.whitehousehistory.org\/christmas-traditions-at-the-white-house.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Sandra Merville Hart President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams didn\u2019t have the warmest of homes at the White House in 1800. Their Pennsylvania Avenue home, built near a swamp, was drafty and cold. Large fires crackled in thirteen fireplaces to warm their home. In 1800, as Christmas approached the President and First […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":11113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[302,14],"tags":[1702,1857,1858,244],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n