Quirky White House Traditions You Never Knew About

The first official White House turkey was presented to President Truman in 1947, but there wasn't an actual turkey pardon until 1963, when President Kennedy spontaneously pardoned the Thanksgiving turkey he was given. Subsequent presidents sometimes ate the turkey and sometimes pardoned it, and it wasn't until the Reagan administration that a formal "pardon" was issued to the turkey.

While the spared turkeys are feted and sent on trips or to petting zoos, they usually only live a few years, due to being bred for size.

In a fit of desperation to improve public opinion of his flagging presidency, Andrew Jackson threw open the doors of the White House and gave the people cheese. A lot of cheese. He'd been gifted a 1,400 pound wheel of cheddar, and had only managed to eat or give away a tiny bit. With the stench overpowering the staff, Jackson decided to let the citizens of Washington have it. They devoured it within hours.

Years later, the act was referenced in an episode of The West Wing as an inspiration for the fictional Bartlet administration to allow people to ask questions of the White House staff. President Obama took it one step further, and held an online Big Block of Cheese Day in 2014, and again in 2015.

As a committed conservationist, President Theodore Roosevelt didn’t believe in cutting down trees for Christmas decorations. His White House had no tree in most of the years of his presidency, with him either forbidding them or simply not ordering one.

Instead of a tree, Teddy threw a carnival for children, featuring dinner, dancing, souvenirs, and Santa-shaped ice cream. However, Roosevelt’s son Archie defied the Christmas tree ban in 1902, and smuggled a small tree into a closet.

In 1835, Andrew Jackson threw an elaborate Christmas party for his children and grandchildren. Besides games, dancing, and a grand dinner, Jackson's party had an indoor “snowball fight” with specially fashioned cotton balls. The fight, sadly, has never been repeated.

A highlight of White House holiday decorations has become the gingerbread replica of the Presidential family home. A tradition since the 1960s, today, visitors will find this delicious architectural feat, which can weigh up to 300 pounds and take months to create, displayed in the State Dining Room. In later years, the House has included treats like white chocolate and marzipan.

As far back as Thomas Jefferson, the White House has been the home of presidential pets great and small. But they haven't all been dogs or cats. Lincoln's sons kept goats, pigs, and a turkey on the grounds, while nature lover Teddy Roosevelt had a menagerie of animals, as did Calvin Coolidge. Herbert Hoover's sons had two pet alligators (that lived at the National Zoo), and Taft had a cow on the grounds for the purpose of producing fresh milk. Martin Van Buren was gifted a pair of tiger cubs, but was forced by Congress to give them to a zoo.