First Lady--Mrs. Ford

image: Google

Today we are going to get a
glimpse of the tree that Mrs. 
Ford designed during her 
first year as the First Lady.

In 1974, the Ford's came into 
the presidency after Nixon 
resigned. In need of a media 
makeover, Mrs. Ford decided 
to go with the same traditions 
the family had at home and 
continue them in the White 
House.

Known for her thriftiness, 
Mrs. Ford chose the theme 
"Patchwork Christmas as her 
theme. This theme was used 
for several reasons, stepping 
away from the former admin-
istration, the country was in 
a horrible recession with long 
gas lines, and inflation was
"Public Enemy Number One"
according to the President.

So she chose handcrafted 
ornaments instead of the
glitz and bling from the 
past years. Pastel blue fabric 
was chosen for the tree in the 
Blue Room, garlands and bows 
were made out of it. There were
550 patchwork ornaments
made by Appalachian crafters, 
600 tiny mirrors, homemade 
spice sachets of cinnamon and 
nutmeg, tiny baskets filled with 
candy or nuts, and carved 
wooden animal toys were hung 
on the tree and a quilt was 
wrapped around the base.

Stop by tomorrow for 
next Presidential tree.


~Keep on Dreaming~