Mrs. Obama: You notice your kids didn't stand up.

(laughter)

Mrs. Obama: Just so you know my kids don't

stand up either.

(laughter)

Mrs. Obama: Wow, it's good to see you guys.

You guys are looking really nice.

You going to be able to stay this clean

for your parents, you think?

(laughter)

We've got some things for you to get messy

with in a second, okay?

I know, it's very exciting.

(laughter)

You guys look good, too.

(laughter)

Welcome to the White House.

It's our favorite time of year, and we're just

very excited to have you all here.

You talk amongst yourselves.

You and Susan, you just do whatever you want.

You're good.

(laughter)

But I want to start by thanking Susan for that

very warm and sincere, authentic introduction.

It was really moving to me to hear your story,

your path to being here this year.

And I want to just thank you for spending the last

few days helping to make this house look so beautiful.

I think you guys outdid yourself this year.

Each year -- yes, yes, it gets better

and better every year.

But more importantly, I want to thank you for your

service and sacrifice as a Gold Star sister,

and I'm so glad you got to decorate

the Gold Star tree.

I'm glad you had that experience.

But most of all, I want to thank all of you

as well for being here.

We have with us troops, veterans,

wounded warriors from across our military

here today to help us kick things off.

We've got some tremendous military spouses here --

yay for our spouses --

(applause)

-- including some of the spouses of our

Combatant Commanders and Service Chiefs

who are here today.

It's good to see you.

I'll see you guys tonight.

(applause)

And of course, we have some really fabulous,

good-looking military kids here with us today.

Give yourselves a round of applause.

(applause)

I like the hair.

(laughter)

Yes, you.

(laughter)

But I have to tell you that your presence here today

is a powerful reminder for all of us what this season

is really all about.

So often, we get caught up in the holiday rush --

all the plans for the menu, the logistics traveling

to families, the shopping for people,

the making your list, checking it twice.

Sometimes we get caught up in all of that, but ultimately,

that's not what this season is about.

It's really about serving others.

It's about giving more than we receive.

And it's about showing those we love how much

they mean to us.

And that's one of the reasons why, here at the White House,

the holidays are a chance for us to show what our country

is grateful for this holiday season, and that's

all of you, the military families who serve

our nation proudly and give us all so much.

Because we know that too often, your stories of courage

and strength often get lost in the shuffle.

And there are a lot of people who don't realize

what you all go through.

They don't know that military spouses often have to pick

up and move their families again and again and again,

often at the expense of their own careers.

Many people don't know that you all are parents

and grandparents and siblings, like Susan,

who have lost those you love most in the world.

And of course, they don't know about you

kids and all that you have to go through.

They don't know that oftentimes military kids

have to start at a new school every couple

of years, which means a tough transition for some

of them, although they do it so bravely.

And they're so smart, but they have to adjust

to new classes and new friends and new teammates,

and that's not always easy, right?

But you guys get it done, but

a lot of people don't know that.

But no matter what you all are going through --

this is the thing that really keeps me going --

is that you guys always, always step up.

So many of you are the ones who are doing all

the volunteering, more so than many average Americans.

You're the ones who are cooking the meals

for your neighbors and taking over the carpool.

You guys are the ones who are organizing food drives

and sending care packages.

You guys are the ones who are volunteering everywhere --

in your congregations, school fundraisers,

stepping up whenever your families and friends need you.

And as First Lady, one of my most important missions is to

make sure that you feel this country's gratitude for

everything that you do.

And that's one of the reasons why Jill Biden and I,

we've worked so hard through our Joining Forces initiative,

because we want to make sure that you guys

are honored and supported every single day.

And that's why, once again, we are celebrating our

military families with our holiday decorations here

at the White House.

I don't know if you've noticed that, again,

in the East Room [Landing], as Susan mentioned,

we've got a tree adorned with ceramic star ornaments trimmed

in gold and signed by Gold Star family members

to honor their loved ones.

That's how you kick off your experience here

at the White House -- that the first tree you see.

And then once again, we're giving folks a chance to pledge

to serve their community here at the White House in honor of our

veterans or military families, because we want to make sure

that we're not just honoring these families during the

holidays, but we're honoring you every

single day of the year.

And we get a wonderful response every year

to those commitments, those pledges.

And then this year, our official White House tree,

the big huge tree -- have you guys seen the biggest,

hugest tree?

Have you seen it?

I think this is the biggest tree we've had.

And this tree is in honor of our men

and women in uniform.

It is beautiful.

We've got a tree that was so big that we had

to take the hinges off of the front door

and take the doors off -- literally -- just

to get this tree in.

Can you imagine that?

(laughter)

It's huge.

It's the biggest tree ever.

But it's beautiful, because it has patriotic ornaments

and ribbons that read "America the Brave,"

as well as some wonderful cards created by children

across the country to thank all of you for your service

to our country.

It's beautiful.

And in addition to these really wonderful tributes

to our military families, we have some of a --

a few of the special touches to really build

upon our holiday theme this year,

which is "A Children's Winter Wonderland.

"I wish you could see their faces.

(laughter)

They're giving me a lot of personality here.

But this year, we've got some new twists.

We've got a lot of fun, new technologies;

we're playing with technology this year.

For instance, in the Booksellers, where you

saw the Bo animals -- did you see Bo and Sunny?

Did you notice that there's a beautiful

interactive snowscape projection on the East Wall?

I haven't seen it yet.

Did you see it?

And you can wave your hands around and it can --

it looks like you're playing in the snow.

You haven't seen it.

Well, I haven't seen it either, so we'll make sure

to get that covered.

(laughter)

Have you seen the animated versions of Bo and Sunny?

I haven't seen those yet either.

Sunny's eyes move with a motion sensor.

I hope it's working.

(laughter)

But it should be fun.

And then we've got a selection of the winners

of our 3D-printed ornament challenge that are

displayed throughout the house, so that's

something you all can try to find,

where those ornaments are.

And, as always, we have all of the wonderful

things that make the holiday season

at the White House so unique and special --

guess how many trees we have here

scattered all throughout the White House?

Child: Five?

Mrs. Obama: Twenty-six.

I know.

(laughter)

It's a lot of trees.

We just have one, two, three -- five here in this room.

(laughter)

So there are 26 trees all throughout

the rooms and the hallways.

We have a 420-pound gingerbread house --

you guys are going to see that if you haven't,

we're going to go over there soon --

in the State Dining Room.

And of course, just sniffing -- there's the amazing

smell of pine that just wafts through the house.

That's the best part, really.

That really tells you it's Christmas.

And we can smell it all the way upstairs,

it's really beautiful.

So I want to thank all 106 volunteers, like Susan,

who traveled from all across the country to help decorate.

We couldn't do this without them.

They come in Thanksgiving weekend,

they give up time with their families.

They come when the tree comes on Friday

and they spend the next day in the warehouse

picking out ornaments.

They come here and they're in every room,

and they're proud of what they do.

They're a little possessive at times, I understand.

(laughter)

And they also help decorate the Christmas trees

that are in our residence as well.

So we are so grateful.

We're grateful for their enthusiasm,

for their creativity.

They have -- as you will see, they have done

an outstanding job.

The house is just breathtaking.

And we're so proud and grateful.

And because of their hard work, we're now ready

to open the White House for the holiday season

to the 65,000 people who will come through this

house over the next month -- 65,000 people are

going to walk in these rooms where you

are, and they're going to get to see all these ornaments.

And these visits are going to become beautiful,

lifelong memories for everyone who gets to come by.

So again, we're grateful to the volunteers.

We are especially grateful to all of our servicemembers,

our veterans, their families.

We're truly grateful.

We hope you take time to enjoy your time here

at the White House, and see and touch and smell

everything you can, and come back for

more if you haven't seen enough.

But now, we've got a little surprise for you guys.