White House Christmas Decor, Tree Lightings, TV Specials and Concerts Kick Off 2025 Holiday Season Across America

Across the United States, the first day of December is doubling as an unofficial kickoff to the 2025 Christmas season, with new decorations, concerts, parades and even TV specials rolling out today.

In Washington, D.C., First Lady Melania Trump unveiled this year’s White House Christmas decorations under the theme “Home Is Where the Heart Is,” transforming the executive mansion with traditional trees, lights and nostalgic family imagery designed to emphasize togetherness after a politically turbulent year.

Local communities are also lighting up. In Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach Atlantic University is hosting an evening Christmas tree lighting with hot chocolate, faux “Florida snow,” and a live reading of the Nativity story, inviting students, alumni, and neighbors to gather on campus tonight as the giant tree is switched on.

On the West Coast, LEGOLAND California in Carlsbad is flipping the switch on its three-story LEGO Christmas tree — roughly 35 feet tall and built from more than 366,000 LEGO and DUPLO bricks — during its 23rd annual tree lighting ceremony. Actress Danielle Fishel is serving as honorary lighter, with the park following the moment up with fireworks to mark the resort’s official start to the holidays.

Television is getting in on the festivities too. Cartoon Network is premiering a new Christmas-themed episode of “Batwheels” titled “The Great Christmas Caper,” in which the animated Bat-vehicles help save Santa’s damaged sleigh and fend off the Legion of Zoom to keep presents moving to Gotham’s kids. For families, it’s one of several fresh holiday offerings arriving on linear TV and streaming as December begins.

Live entertainment is leaning hard into holiday vibes as well. In Nashville, Little Big Town opens a four-night “The Christmas Shows” residency at the Ryman Auditorium tonight, promising a blend of seasonal standards and the country group’s own hits that effectively turns the Mother Church into a holiday concert hall.

Even smaller cities are finding ways to add a bit of magic. In Jamestown, Kentucky, “Christmas on the Square” has been announced as the final event in Russell County’s yearlong bicentennial celebration, bringing parades, music and community festivities to the town’s historic core later this week as residents shift from anniversary pride to holiday spirit.

From the White House to local squares, today’s headlines show Americans leaning into familiar Christmas rituals — lights, music, stories and shared spaces — using them as a seasonal reset at the start of December.