It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Boy, it seems like forever since I got up early to stand in line for tickets for The National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. But the day finally arrived! Here's a picture of the tree before...

and after.

The ceremony itself was great. There were a lot of musical numbers with some great performers and even Santa made an appearance.

President Bush gave a short speech and Laura (with the help of two young girls whose fathers are serving in Iraq) flipped the switch that lit the tree.

At the base of the tree are several train displays that are a lot of fun to watch.

Around the tree are 54 smaller trees - one for each state and territory.

There's a nativity.

There's a Santa's workshop.

It was a beautiful evening. The ceremony lasted about an hour. Afterward, I hung around just a bit for the crowd to thin and get a few more pictures.

I could do this every year!