Jill Biden Showed Off The Most Festively Decorated Fireplace In Her Christmas IG

When it comes to spreading holiday cheer in Washington, D.C., everyone knows the first lady does a lot of the heavy lifting. After all, she’s in charge of Christmas decorations, event coordination, official holiday gatherings, and more. Sure, all the parties and presents play a huge part in making the season feel special, but the true spirit of the holiday can’t be bought — and the FLOTUS knows it. Jill Biden’s Christmas Instagram for 2021 shows what the season is really all about, and it’s truly heartwarming.

This year, Biden decided to keep her holiday greeting short and sweet. “From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!” she captioned in her Dec. 25 Instagram update. But if a photo is worth a thousand words, this one is worth so much more — her post featured a picture of the White House fireplace surrounded with Christmas tinsel, including stockings with the Biden grandkids’ names: Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, Hunt, and Baby. Additionally, on either side of the mantle are Christmas trees decorated with photos of the Biden family that the FLOTUS hand-picked from family albums, per the White House.

Biden has always recognized that the holiday season is about more than just gifts. “What makes Christmas so special is it doesn’t just come from packages, boxes, and bags,” she said in a Dec. 11 Instagram video. For her first time ever, Biden took part in a holiday tradition that all first ladies since Laura Bush have been participating in: She sorted donated toys for an annual Toys for Tots event. The gathering took place at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington National Cemetery, and included over 30 children from military families. “Some gifts [come] from inside of us, and some gifts come from the heart,” she said after reading an excerpt of Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch to the group. “I see them every day when I travel around this country, and you know what they are: kindness, sharing, generosity, and service. These are the gifts that you are all giving today.”

This isn’t the first time Biden has encouraged kindness, sharing, generosity, and service during the holidays. For their Thanksgiving address on Nov. 25, the first couple shared a heartfelt message of gratitude for holiday gatherings. “After being apart last year, we have a new appreciation for those little moments [with family],” she said. “As we gather together again, our table and our hearts are full of grace and gratitude for all those we love,” President Joe Biden added.

Biden’s message of gratitude runs so deep, she even dedicated the entire East Wing of the White House to “Gifts of Service” for America’s military families. “She and the president wanted to focus on things that unite us, things that heal us, things that bring us together,” said White House Communications Director Elizabeth Alexander in a Nov. 29 report, “and that's Gifts from the Heart.” So it seems like no matter what holiday is being celebrated, Biden is grateful for the opportunity to appreciate the true reason for the season.