National Christmas Tree

I’m happy I got to see the National Christmas Tree. It really wasn’t a big deal though. Why? Because they were taking it down. So this was the last day. I watched as the big lifts pulled net lights and gold ribbon down from the tall fir. You could not walk around it, that was closed off. But you could admire the height.
But I got to see it. I was happy.

One thought that came to mind: They should charge for this. Call me Ebenezer Scrooge. People flock from all over to marvel in awe at a beautiful tree that is adorned with lights. Lots and lots of lights. The crowds can be so heavy that it feels like you are at an amusement park, not in line to see strings of lights resting ever so gently on branches of a perfectly shaped pine tree. I wonder if people come to see the tree when it is an undressed pine tree. I know i want to return to see it without all the strings of lights and train set around the base of the tree.
The lights turn off exactly at 10:00, so plan your excursion carefully.

I feel badly reviewing such an upbeat and neutral activity as viewing a large Christmas tree. So, I’m assigning this one a 5 star rating and listing a few pointers instead. I mean who can fault a big tree?
I’m assuming you’ll be visiting during the holidays, so my pointers are geared for such:
* Check viewing hours before you go. It’s awful to get there & not have enough time to get through the lines. This year, the tree was available 10:00am — 10:00pm. It’s on a timer; there’s NO lead way. I suggest arriving (at minimum) an hour before closing.
* You must have tickets to see the actual annual lighting of the tree. Tickets are given out through a lottery process completed in November each year.
* There are individual state trees arranged around the larger National Tree. Lines wind everywhere to view the varying trees. Pack loads of patience if you visit during evening hours.
* Parking can be difficult. It may be quickest to park further away and walk the remainder.
* Due to large crowds, especially during evening hours, consider putting little ones in a stroller. The opportunity for injury/​being stepped on and/​or feeling overwhelmed by the crowd is likely.
* Pets are allowed to join you. Again, due to crowds, I encourage you to consider carriers for the little ones. Being stepped on isn’t fun for our pets either.

I’ve been going to see the national Christmas tree on and off since the early nineties, and I thought this year was the best. My son absolutely hated it, so I split the difference and gave it three stars. We went at dusk on a Saturday and it was quite crowded. A week night is probably better if you can swing it. I didn’t see the menorah or the yule log this year. Not sure if they weren’t there or I just missed them. Parking looked tight, so metro is probably best.

This is my first time at the national tree in Washington DC. Being from New York I’m obviously spoiled with Rockefeller Center and the big Christmas tree every single year. I don’t know what I was expecting by seeing the national tree. I guess I had thought in my mind that it was going to be better than Rockefeller Center. Haha
To be completely honest I was not impressed by the tree. I came here during night time for the lighting. you couldn’t even see the tree because they have lights that wrapped around the entire tree. Thankfully I could see a couple branches sticking out from under the lights. from far away it looks like they just took a big flagpole and strung lights up to the top of the flagpole.
The one thing I did like about the national tree was the bottom of the tree was decorated really nice lady and they did have a train that went around the entire tree. Also they had a little statue for every single state and a little description of what the state stands for.. I thought that that was really nice. The area that you could walk around the tree was extremely crowded shoulder to shoulder the entire time.
Overall the national tree is something that I personally was not that impressed with. Again I am from New York and I do go by Rockefeller Center every year. I do recommend coming to see the street at once in your life. Now I can officially say that I’ve seen the national tree.

Lovely! Sure, it may not be as ornate a tree as other trees around the DC area (I still love the Capitol Christmas Tree above all others), but it’s unique and a beautiful symbol located right at the ellipse near the White House. My fiancé and some friends and I went to the tree lighting ceremony for the first time this year and loved the ceremony, the accompanying musicians and the music they played, and the holiday spirit it generally evoked. You can also go right up to the tree (from 15^th Street, near Farragut /​Metro Center). My fiancé and I watched The Nutcracker at the Warner Theater and walked over to see the National Christmas tree from close up afterwards. Beautiful! Very beautiful. And I would love to visit again!

miss the yule log. the seat was not that much better and now we are missing my favorite part. The lights are digital and cold. There just isn’t a Christmas feeling anymore. I don’t even think I will go next year.

Just a little underwhelming. A bunch of trees with baubles on them marked with state names. Outdoor train sets at which people throw pennies to make wishes if their penny makes its target on a moving train carriage. The National Christmas tree is decorated sure, but what a sterile and ridiculously boring destination to have to walk to with nothing but tawdry tshirt sellers and lame industrially produced hot dogs to eat in the vicinity. Could there be anything done to improve the festivity here by adding anything of cultural value? Performances? Hot brandy for sale in the evenings? Benches and gathering spots lit by gas lamps? No. Welcome to your national non-​festive christmas tree. I’d rather go to a european christmas market or a holiday market anywhere than this!

This is a wonderful place to come to look at all the beautiful trees from all the states. And the little trains and things in front of the bigger tree.
I think they organized the walkway in a way that it’s not that crowded and gets out of control. Parking can be hectic but manageable.

First time seeing the National Christmas Tree. When I got there it was more than just trees. The Ellipse looked like a giant fair. Trains were fun, very entertaining. Good time spent with the grinds and family.

kinda sad how i grew up in the greater dc area and visited dc many a time, but never saw the national christmas tree! on my most recent visit back home, my immediate family and i went to see the famed christmas tree. it’s located in the ellipse, right in front of the white house, so you could actually get some nice photos with the tree and mr. obama’s home. surrounding the large tree are smaller trees, each one representing the 50 states and several u.s. territories. i was excited when i saw the california tree, especially since the designer was listed as being in palo alto! i recommend going at night so that you can see the large tree lit up in red and green. oh, and did i mention this is FREE???

This is the national Christmas tree but it left little to the imagination. The Christmas tree near city center is definitely nicer and more grand. This Christmas tree is cute at night with the lights but otherwise not impressive.
The trains were kick a$$ though I have to say and a lot of fun to watch.
Maybe they had to cut funding to the tree this year or something because it just looked subpar as the United States National Christmas tree.

I miss the spruce that fell a few years back, but the replacement is coming along just fine. Nice array of LED lights this year, too.
Each year, the display changes a little bit, but the trains running around it are about the same. Very good work on the train setup, too! The villages and tracks are always well thought out and planned.
The state trees were all covered in LED lights this year, but no ornaments. I was about to be very upset, until I saw the ornaments on separate tree displays further back, where the Yule log used to be. Actually, this seems to work out better, since you can actually see the ornaments a little better than before when they were on the trees.
And the lights were coded by girls from around the country! I don’t use the term as my own, btw, this is from their own banners:
. Great initiative, though, and I’m stoked to see such progressive steps taken on behalf of the national tree organization.
A must-​see every holiday season. Very glad I made it down this year, and that it wasn’t too cold either!

The National Christmas Tree was a little less grand than I expected. It is just a cone. A cone of red and green lights that stands maybe 20 – 25 ft tall. There are other Christmas trees more impressive around DC than the National one. Also, the design of fences around the tree is very similar to that of a cattle ranch. You get herded into this circle that forms a human vortex of claustrophobia and camera flashes surrounding the almighty National Christmas Tree. You have to see it at least once just for the experience, and there are great holiday photo opportunities (and the Willard Hotel that is beautifully decorated is just a stones throw away!). We went on Christmas at around 7pm and it was still plenty crowded, but we found parking just a block away.
I gave it three stars because it isn’t horrible (unless you hate excessive amounts of people taking selfies, people holding small pooches, small screaming people also known as children, people in general, Christmas, Christmas trees, trees, colored lights, or holiday cheer), but it also isn’t that spectacular. I would suggest skipping the National Christmas Tree and going to Zoo Lights at the Smithsonian’s Zoo!

First time seeing the national tree. I really enjoyed the scene especially being from San Antonio where instead of having a huge tree, they just light the entire downtown area with a ton of Christmas bringing an extravagant glow, but at least I had the opportunity to say «I have seen the National Tree»

Seeing the National Christmas Tree is something I look forward to every year.
This year they have programmable lights project for the state trees (
) that I think is really cool.
Yes, of course, it gets crowded, so plan accordingly and enjoy!

While the tree is nice and I recommend visiting it just because it’s the National Christmas Tree and you can say you have been, I personally prefer the Capitol Christmas Tree. The Capitol Christmas tree is much larger and more impressive, plus they do a better job putting the lights on the Capitol Christmas tree so it doesn’t look as if they just threw a fishnet full of lights over the tree, which is how the National Tree can look. My biggest pet peeve about the tree is they turn it off at night! Maybe they’re trying to save energy, but especially on the weekends the tree should stay illuminated later.
There are nice train sets running along the bottom of the tree and there’s a building nearby where you can visit Santa at certain times during the day. Also, during the evenings and on the weekends, various choral groups perform near the tree. I like the trees representing each state that have lights programmed by Google’s Made with Code program. It definitely adds a new element to the National Christmas Tree and I like seeing the different variety of light sequences and it makes it much brighter around the National Tree. Also, by moving the state-​specific ornaments onto wooden displays meant to resemble trees, it is a lot easier to view the ornaments.
Regarding the lighting ceremony, I’ve had the opportunity to attend twice and it is definitely fun (albeit cold), however it can be hard to see even if you’re in the front of the standing section, which means you’ve shown up and waited outside for 2+ hours. Unlike NYC, the National Tree is lit at the beginning and then all of the performers sing. This past year, a lot of people started to leave right after the tree was lit and then, especially in the seated section, people started leaving en masse while Chely Wright was performing. I was very surprised that so many people would leave in the middle especially after they had won coveted tickets in the seated section. While I had never heard of Chely Wright before and her performance wasn’t my favorite, the taping was still going on and altogether the lighting ceremony isn’t that long, I don’t know why people didn’t wait to leave, especially when they had seats! Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were great hosts, very funny!

TAKE THE METRO! We drove around for an hour trying to snag a parking spot and still had to walk a half a mile to get to the tree area.
The menorah from afar looks beautiful but once you get up close its beauty is overtaken by unsightly generators underneath. Come on– isn’t there a way to cover that ugly mess of wires and machines?
The tree was pretty but not one of the better ones I’ve seen in my day.
Wear old shoes or be prepared to scrape the mud off your boots when you get home.
Next time I will take the metro and walk the several blocks to get there than fight for a spot.
Was a decent addition to some holiday spirit but not what I expected for our nations holiday tree.

Pets are allow, and I took my cat! Photos will be up soon. As for everything else, I enjoy visiting the National Christmas Tree. Surprisingly it was not as crowded tonight as one would have anticipated. The yucky weather stirs folks away I bet. The tree is beautiful this year, and I highly encourage taking your family there to visit it. It is great for photo ops, and you gain that warm cheery feeling inside that people warn you about.
Happy holidays.

Der National Christmas Tree steht im «The Ellipse Park» in der Nähe des Weißen Hauses. Es ist ein jährliches Fernsehereignis, wenn die Weihnachtsbeleuchtung durch den Präsidenten eingeschaltet wird. Damit beginnt ein einmonatiges Fest, das «Pageant of Peace».
Schon 1923 begann die Tradition des Nationalen Weihnachtsbaumes in Washington, D.C. Und erlebte eine recht wechselhafte Geschichte. Beispielsweise wurde aufgrund von Sicherheitsvorkehrungen nach dem Reagan-​Attentat im März 1981 hat Präsident Ronald Reagan die Beleuchtung des National Christmas Tree zeitweise mit einer Fernbedienung aus dem Weißen Haus eingeschaltet. Erst im Jahre 1981 hat Präsident George H. W. Bush die Tradition wieder eingeführt.
Seit 1995 wird der National Christmas Tree mit Solar beleuchtet und seit 2007 gibt es LED-​Beleuchtung.
Wenn man den Baum im Sommer besichtigt erscheint er doch sehr unscheinbar und nackt ohne seine Weihnachtsdekoration und Beleuchtung. Beinahe hätten wir ihm keine Beachtung geschenkt und wären einfach so vorbeigelaufen.
In der winterlichen Weihnachtszeit sicherlich ein schönes Erlebnis den wichtigsten Weihnachtsbaum zu besichtigen.

Come on tax dollars, you can do so much better than this! This was our second year in a row of checking out the National Tree. Last year we went at night, and lit up it did look somewhat better, but during the day, as we experienced this Saturday, it’s not that it’s bad or anything, but it’s just okay. And when should just okay be good enough for a National Tree that folks from all over the world are going out of their way to look at???
Honestly, it looks like a bare tree caught in a giant net! Even the trains, while cool, could use some updating. And the small trees that represent the states are pretty devoid of personality. Yes they have decorations that have been designed by someone in each state, but by the time they put the plastic balls around those designs, you can barely tell any of them apart.
All-​in-​all, it just feels like someone said, «okay it’s time to put it all up again… you, Intern… go throw it up». It feels like no one has said (for perhaps years and years), what can we do to FRESHEN this up?
All of this, albeit not thrilling would still be okay… but what was really really NOT okay, was that they closed the public bathrooms at 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon at peak season! Who the heck is in charge here, a bladder-​less Grinch???