As an on-air craft expert for Home Shopping Network, Beth Kingston knows a thing or two about DIY-ing her way through any homemade project. So it made sense that Kingston, a proud Army spouse for more than two decades, was approached by Pinterest in 2023 to help document the homemade aspect of decorating the White House and share it online.
“I was honored to work in the Red Room in 2023 – it was the Military Child Room that year – and created some content for Dr. Biden’s social media accounts afterward,” Kingston told We Are The Mighty.
Each year, the President and First Lady gather hundreds of volunteers to pull off the White House’s holiday decor in a one-week timeframe. Kingston told WATM that she enjoyed every minute of her volunteer time in 2023 and thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience – until about a month ago when the White House called her again.
“They asked if I would be interested in partnering with my friend Charlotte Smith – “At Charlotte’s House” on socials – to be a Team Captain and design and decorate the Diplomatic Reception Room,” Kingston recalled. “It is open to the public for the first time this year so it was an absolute honor to be asked.”
It was an easy yes for Kingston.
“Charlotte and I have been friends for years and both have different areas of expertise,” Kingston said. “She has an incredible eye for design and detail and I am the ‘OK, now let’s figure out how to make 200 of these things out of craft supplies’ kinda gal, so the White House thought we would make a great team.”
Kingston added that the pair had also worked together (decorating the White House in previous years) as volunteers so “they knew we would make the experience a special one for the men and women who joined us for the week.”
“It sounds corny, but I one-hundred percent credit my years as a milspouse with my ability to organize volunteers, recognize their strengths, and get herculean tasks done in a short amount of time,” Kingston said.
In addition to designing and decorating the Diplomatic Reception Room – which is home to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous fireside chats – Kingston and Smith were also in charge of The Palm Room.
“The Dip Room, for short, is open to the public for the first time this year and is the room through which the Bidens generally enter and leave the White House and is the room where dignitaries are welcomed – so no pressure,” Kingston said with a laugh. “The Palm Room is not open to the public, so isn’t photographed as much, but is used by the staff daily. It was a real treat to be able to create a quiet place that we knew would be enjoyed by everyone who works at the White House throughout the season.”
Kingston and Smith were given a “mood board” by the White House with a general color palette, and the pair had to submit a photo of their handmade project ideas to be approved.
“Other than that we were given free rein,” Kingston said. “What most people don’t realize is that many of the White House decorations are either re-used from past years or handmade on-site by volunteers. Charlotte and I wanted to create a design that showed how beautiful and elegant handmade elements can be.”
Kingston and Smith took everyday craft items – think cardstock, wood beads and styrofoam balls – and turned them into elevated decor that would be perfect for the White House.
“We wanted a room that was created for the people, by the people and we succeeded thanks to our incredible team of volunteers,” Kingston said. “Each team had a name and ours was Team Clementine, based on Dr. Biden’s tradition of putting a clementine in the toe of each stocking on Christmas Eve. That story inspired the orange garland in the Dip Room as it is a tradition so many other families share.”
Starting the week of Thanksgiving, it was time to get to work.
“We had three women who were with us all week,” Kingston said, adding that they started with two days at the warehouse then a day at the White House before Thanksgiving, followed by 13 additional volunteers who joined them on Friday through Sunday. “It was such an amazing group of men and women from across the country, with different backgrounds and remarkable stories and just an incredible willingness to work long hours doing sometimes tedious tasks – we glued over 12,000 paper strips together and hand cut 2,400 olive leaves just to name a few – all for the love of being together and the honor of decorating the White House for the holidays.”
Kingston said their group of volunteers included two mother/daughter pairs, a pair of best friends of 52 years, influencers, artists, educators, and medical professionals.
“People made friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. We could not be prouder or more grateful,” Kingston said. “There were a lot of tears when we had to say goodbye after the reception on Monday.”
Despite having a solid game plan and team, Kingston calls decorating the 2024 White House as a Team Captain “the most challenging professional experience of my life.”
“Charlotte and I only had about two weeks to create our vision, order the supplies, and prepare the projects for the volunteers,” she says. “I had two Cricut machines running eight hours a day for five days cutting orange piths for our garland all while preparing to be apart from our families and businesses for 10 days, including Thanksgiving.”
For Team Captains, the White House days began at 6 AM and ended at 9 PM and Kingston said despite being
“go go go” all day, every single minute was worth it.
“Seeing our vision come to life, watching our volunteers make magic with their own two hands, and feeling their excitement and pride – knowing that thousands of people will enjoy what we created and that the Bidens will be welcomed home every night to a room that we imagined – it has been an absolute honor,” Kingston said.