Greek florist/decorator Maria Lalagos, whose roots are from Crete and the Peloponnese, was one of the 89 volunteers selected to decorate the White House for Christmas. Known to her friends as the “Christmas elf”, her participation in bringing Christmas cheer to the family of U.S. President Barack Obama was a dream come true.

The theme of the White House Christmas decorations this year are focused on “Timeless Tradition”. 62 trees and more than 70,000 ornaments were hung up around the U.S. presidential mansion.

The decoration process was co-ordinated by Rafanelli Events and placed Lalagos at the East Wing corridor where she stuck 7,000 balls on the wooden frames of four columns. Later she was responsible for the interior arch of the East Room that she dorned with garland and silver ornaments. Finally, she worked as part of a team of ten that decorated the East Peristyle with snowflakes that were handmade by children from schools around Washington.

The best was kept for last as Lalagos was given free reign of the Christmas tree.

It is expected that around 68,000 people from the US and other countries will visit the White House over the Christmas season.