Dream Job
CRANBERRY TWP — Social studies teacher Kellie Makar is going to have some great new stories to tell her North Catholic High School students when she returns from maternity leave in January.
Makar spent three days after Thanksgiving fulfilling her long-held dream of helping to decorate the White House for Christmas.
Makar, who would end each fall term by telling her 12th-grade honors government classes about White House Christmas trivia, will be able to tell future classes what it was like to decorate the White House's Red Room for the holidays.
Makar said the White House annually asks for volunteers, and she applied multiple times over the years.
“In the past, I have written letters to the first lady, I've written letters to the social secretary. But this year, the White House made it really easy and actually provided an online application for volunteers to decorate,” Makar said.
She applied in September and got an email and a phone call from the Office of the First Lady in October that she had been accepted.
Volunteers from 34 states and the District of Columbia helped decorate the White House for the holidays, including 18 people from military families. Makar believes her personal and professional experiences got her the assignment.
“I have experience in event planning and decorating,” she said. “I have planned the prom at North Catholic for four years. I put that down.”
Her honors government class' lesson before vacation was on White House Christmas trivia.“Mrs. Nixon started the tradition of having gingerbread houses and the cranberry tree in the Red Room. The White House staff still makes the gingerbread house,” she said.She said it was Jacqueline Kennedy who introduced the first themed Christmas decorations based on “The Nutcracker” to the White House.One of her former students, Finnegan O'Shea, 18, now a student at The University of Pittsburgh, said, “She told us she had applied many, many times. When she told us she got the text, we were very excited.”O'Shea said, “She deserves it. She's passionate about what she teaches and believes in.”She and her husband, Joe, departed Thanksgiving night for Washington, D.C.<iframe width="100%" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GaAPBoqV7YA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>Volunteers stayed at a nearby hotel and were bused at 6 a.m. every day to the White House for a decorating session lasting until 4 p.m.Once there, she was assigned to work in the Red Room. Her fellow decorators were Carole Biggio, an artist, and Nicole White, an event planner.Their job was to follow the decoration blueprint laid out by Melania Trump's lead designer, Nick Watts. There was no room for improvisation.“The Red Room was themed to Mrs. Trump's 'Be Best' campaign against bullying and drug use,” Makar said.In keeping with the Red Room theme of family game night, tree decorations were made out of game pieces such as Scrabble tiles, chess and dominoes.
“During the three days, I got to work on ornaments and stringing lights in the Red Room. I also got to fluff bows and make sure everything was perfect for the first lady,” she said.She said she spent a lot of time snipping and trying to hide wires.Makar noted the Christmas tree in the East Room, designated the official indoor Christmas tree, came this year from Mahantogo Valley Farms in Pittman, Pa.She said the first family was not present during the three days of decorating, but Melania Trump attended the Dec. 2 farewell brunch at the White House to thank the volunteer decorators. The thank-you event is the beginning of the holiday entertaining season at the White House, Makar noted.She said she was surprised about how homelike the White House felt.She said, “It's a very intimate, cozy house.”“It's much smaller than I thought,” said Makar. “It's the people's house, not something monumental. Out the window, I could see Barron's soccer ball and net. You're reminded this is a family, a normal family. At the end of the day, they are preparing for Christmas just like everybody else.”Her White House volunteer venture might not be a one-time-only occurrence.“You can reapply. There are many repeat decorators,” Makar said. “You have a better chance of being called back if you are professional and up to the first lady's expectations.”
