Is it really up to FLOTUS to decorate for holidays?

What priorities did Melania have? Just curious. Because she sure didn't get very far with Be Best.

Is this a thing? Is she balking? ...dragging her feet? Or just conjecture based on those audio tapes? 

Her choice, really. If she’s not a fan, she could have bucked tradition from the beginning in an intentional way. I’d respect that. From surface appearances, though, it doesn’t appear to me that she puts intention behind much of anything, so hard to know what holds her interest.

If she’s willing to just keep it up for appearances (pun!), she could just delegate staff. It doesn’t seem that she has so many public appearances or pet projects that her staff would be otherwise overburdened, but who knows. 

Among my many disappointments about never having a President Clinton 45 is that I was gleefully looking forward to watching how Clinton 42 shaped the first First Gentlemen role. I think he would have approached it with relish.

Throw in the fact that he would have done it while simultaneously wearing high heels and dancing backwards being called “Mr. President” - and, you know, being his goofus self - and it would have been a fascinating culture-bending phenomenon to watch. 

No idea know why I’m posting three times in this thread, but I was just thinking about the associations my brain makes about different First Ladies - usually a combo of their pet projects (e.g. beautification, drug war, health insurance, kids’ nutrition and fitness) and - okay, I wincingly admit it - their appearance. (Don’t blame me; blame my brain.)

My brain and Melania: “Be best,” never putting her sleeves in her darn coats, and a tacky message jacket. So, mostly outerwear. LOL. (And “Be best” is more famous for the grammar than the follow-through, so my brain rather listlessly aims that in the pet projects direction.)

She really is a singularly odd First Lady. I welcome more singularly odd First Spouses in the future, but maybe just with a little more there there.

Maybe he would have.

I’d kinda like to see what things a first man chooses to do and what differences there are

I feel fairly certain that most First Ladies in recent years have relied on their staff and a team of decorators to actually do the planning, and then have signed off on the final concept. What’s being asked of Melania is minimal.

I was about to say this.

The First Lady meets with decorators who have developed plans for the various rooms and halls. It is similar to planning the decorating for a big expensive wedding - meeting with planners/reception-site decorators. I’m sure she has input and they develop sets of plans with her wishes in mind, but she isn’t graphing things out herself. 

I know when Obama was in office, at least twice OSTP (office of science and technology policy) built the animatronic versions of Bo and Sunny for the White House decorations. Michelle did not design, nor build them. 

I think that it would be appropriate to scale back decorations this year, as - due to COVID - I don’t imagine that they are running the usual dawn-to-dusk tours of the White House decked out in holiday finery. There is no need to elaborately decorate multiple rooms and hallways. 

I agree that it would be fine, especially since we have all already heard on tape that she doesn’t like decorating for Christmas, if Melania just focused on prepping for the upcoming move. 

I’d like to think that a man who a)already held the office of potus and b) was supportive enough of his wife going for the same office would participate in it. I mean his wife supported him and he’s obviously ok with her political career.

Maybe, but I guarantee that it would have been approached tongue-in-cheek and reported on in a way that still manages to take shots at women. But I'm cynical like that.

First Ladies are asked to select a theme for Christmas in January or February. The actual decorating is done by the White House staff. I assume she can have as much say or as little in the details as she likes. Every modern First Lady has addressed this in her autobiography except Mrs. Obama. Not that she didn't do it, she just recounted her White House years' accomplishments she thought were more long lasting.

It will be interesting to see how this is handled when we have our first First Gentleman or whatever he is called. We had one bachelor president - Buchanan - and I think he had a niece that filled in on the First Lady duties.

maybe because they enjoy it? Maybe it allows them to feel Christmas a little better when they aren't in their home?
In my house, I do most of the Christmas decorating. At least I pick it out.

I like it. I don't think everything needs to be some fight.

I wanted to add that I do not vote for the first person. I do believe that person can have an agenda or initiatives, but really doesn't need to have a hand in any policy making so I'm not sure what all is more important than connecting with the people and participating in traditions that give us a cultural literacy.

This I agree with. I understand the tradition, it just seems so demeaning to delegate it to the first lady regardless of who is president. Jill Biden is a doctor who teaches college classes. Let her do that if she wants.