'I felt like a kid again': Indianapolis woman decorates the White House for Christmas

Two weeks ago, Kelly Marcelo traveled from her home in downtown Indianapolis to Washington where the 28-year-old's footsteps brought her outside the White House. She wasn't in the nation's capital to play the role of tourist, however. Marcelo was there to help decorate First Lady Jill Biden's personal office.

"I can't believe this is real," Marcelo said, awed by the building's architecture. "It didn't feel real. That was the first thought in my head."

While the Bidens were away in Nantucket for Thanksgiving, Marcelo joined hundreds of other volunteers to literally deck the halls of the White House in boughs of holly. Each year, between 200-300 people are welcomed into the home of the president and first lady as holiday decorators, an application process that starts in August.

Marcelo's path to Washington was slightly different, she explained. It began with an email from Pinterest in October that she dismissed at first as spam.

"I thought the White House was decorated by a team of professionals," Marcelo said. "I didn't know what this email was about, then I read it again and I felt so privileged for the opportunity."

Pinterest, an image sharing website that allows its users to upload, save and pass along photos of just about anything from clothing to recipes to home décor, selected 12 of its content creators for a special trip to Washington.

Marcelo was among the lucky few chosen to apply her creative talents, which she shares among her thousands of followers on Pinterest while working as an interior decorator in Indianapolis.

As a Latina who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 1999 when she was 4 years old, Marcelo never thought she'd step foot inside the White House. The idea was laughable, she said. Now it's something she can look back on with pride.

"Coming from Indiana, with the financial barriers that exist within our community, I didn't think it was possible I could afford the opportunity to exist in those spaces," she said. "This experience meant a lot for me, because I had this moment where the White House truly felt like it was the 'people's house."'

How did the White House decorate for Christmas?

Marcelo said the volunteers were divided into different teams. Her group of roughly 20 volunteers worked diligently amid boxes of crafting supplies in the White House's Diplomatic Reception room.

As they fashioned Styrofoam balls into sugar plum ornaments to hang in the First Lady's office, Marcelo said she often gazed at the portrait of America's first president hanging just above their heads.

"Can you believe we're putting glitter on stuff, and the face of George Washington is just right there, watching us?" Marcelo remarked to her new friends.

Over the next four days, from Nov. 24-27, volunteers helped transform the White House into a "winter wonderland." When the last ornament was in place, Jill Biden unveiled the finished Christmas decorations under the theme: Magic, Wonder, and Joy.

"The 2023 White House Holiday Display is designed to capture the pure, unfiltered delight and imagination of childhood," a statement on WhiteHouse.gov reads.

The description lived up to its name, Marcelo said.

Volunteers suspended oversized candy and twinkling lights from the ceiling in the East Wing. They built a sweet shop with holiday cakes and cookies in the China room and draped the official White House Christmas Tree, an 18 and-a-half-foot Fraser Fir from North Carolina, in the Blue Room under festive lights and ornaments.

Life-sized nutcrackers and dancing ballerinas flanked more Christmas trees in the State Dining Room, along with a gingerbread model of the White House celebrating the 200th anniversary publishing of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."

Marcelo personally worked on projects for the Christmas trees in Jill Biden’s personal office, as well as the Gold Star Tree — the first Christmas tree displayed when entering the White House dedicated to honoring fallen military service members.

"Seeing all the finished decorations was thrilling," Marcelo said, remembering the tour she and the other volunteers took at the end of their trip.

"At some point as a grown-up, it's hard to feel the magic of Christmas. It starts to become repetitive. It starts to become a chore," she said. "But in that moment, during our final walkthrough, I felt like a kid again, like the magic of Christmas had returned."

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Where can I see the White House Christmas decorations?

HGTV will air a special Christmas episode of The Property Brothers, in which Jill Biden will lead hosts Jonathan Scott and Drew Scott through the White House. The episode premieres Sunday, Dec. 10, at 6 p.m.

Marcelo will be documenting her journey to Washington on her personal Pinterest account. You can follow her there at @kellymarcelo, and on Instagram at kellmarcel.

Her content also will be featured on Pinterest’s Holiday Hub by Dec. 11.

To download the White House's official Holiday tour book, click here.

John Tufts covers evening breaking and trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis volunteer helps with Christmas decorations at White House