Recruiter’s spouse honored to help decorate White House for Christmas

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Chance Babin
  • Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs

Washington D.C. – As the First Family celebrates their fourth Christmas in the White House, the spouse of an Air Force recruiter had the honor of being chosen to help decorate the home of the president. This year’s theme, “America the Beautiful,” is a tribute to the majesty of our great nation.

Brittany Hollander, the spouse of Tech. Sgt. Kevin Hollander, an enlisted accessions recruiter with the 311th Recruiting Squadron, DuBois, Pennsylvania, was blown away with her experience at the White House and equally surprised when she was chosen to take part in it.

“She literally screamed for joy,” Hollander said. “She was so happy that she was selected to decorate.”

A friend of hers told her about the opportunity and she reluctantly signed up for the chance thinking there was no way she would get selected.

“I decided to go on the website to see what the process looked like. It was a fairly simple application, so I filled it out,” Brittany said. “It lets you write a quick paragraph about why you should be selected, so I think I wrote something like I would be absolutely honored to decorate the White House. Though I don’t have much decorating experience besides my own home and some volunteer opportunities at the bases we’ve been to, I would work very hard and would learn quickly. I absolutely love Christmas and my country and it would be an honor to work for the first family and give hope to the American people during this hard year.”

When she applied, the Hollander family was in the process of moving from Wyoming to Pennsylvania. When she received the news she had been chosen, the Hollanders were literally unloading the moving truck at their new home.

“My husband and the movers were unloading our household goods when I found out. They all celebrated with me,” she said. “It was such an incredible feeling to be selected. Later I found out that thousands of people apply and they only choose 100-150 people. I couldn’t believe the odds and was so thankful to be selected on my first time applying. Excitement was truly an understatement. I had never seen the White House, so this opportunity was just huge.”

As a military spouse and stay-at-home mom, the opportunity to have her own temporary duty assignment was special. The Hollander’s have a 6-year old daughter and 2-year old twins.

“Being a military spouse is incredibly rewarding. There are so many wonderful parts of our life in the military, like meeting people all over the world from all different backgrounds, traveling, adventures and being a part of a wonderful community,” Brittany said. “But like all great things, there are challenges and obstacles, of course. I’d say we had many more date nights when we just had my daughter, but now jumping from a family of three to a family of five, date nights are few and far between. Asking someone to watch all three kids is a scary thought.”

Her husband was not only proud of her, but happy that she got a break from her normal daily grind at home with their kids.

“Her TDY was definitely way overdue but well deserved. I am extremely proud of her and her accomplishments,” Hollander said. “I was speechless when she got chosen but so excited. I was a little jealous because I would have loved to share that experience with her. Let’s be honest, how often does a stay-at-home mom get away for a few days without kids? It’s always the military member that gets to go out of town for a TDY or training so when she was able to stay in the Marriot without any kids, I knew she was thrilled to have that time for herself. Everyone needs their own time to get a break. This was well needed and overdue.”

Brittany’s first day working on the White House decoration project was November 23, where she worked at an offsite location recycling old ribbon and adding it to ornaments from years past. The next morning her team was picked up at its hotel and brought to the White House.

“I can’t describe to you the feelings I felt,” Brittany said. “It was incredible and believe me when I say I just stared in admiration. Everything about the White House is incredible, from the trim to the ceiling. We were assigned to the famous Blue Room and were able to decorate the famous tree that the first lady had welcomed to the White House by horse and carriage. It was so tall, and it took an entire team to string lights on every branch.”

Throughout her days working there Brittany worked hard but was in awe of her surroundings.

“The last day I got to string lights on many trees in the halls and even the library. This was my final day decorating and it was so much fun,” Brittany said. “I even happened to turn around in the library to see books from the 1800’s and George Washington’s sword. You sure don’t see something like that every day. The food that the chefs prepared for us every day was delicious and it was so neat being able to walk around and take in all of the incredible art work.”

While decorating the White House, Brittany had the opportunity to meet many incredible Americans. A cancer doctor, nurses, teachers, gold star mothers, military spouses and military members, college students, secret service, retirees, business owners, decorators, stay-at-home moms, homeschool moms, people in politics, grandparents, electricians and so much more.

“If you asked me what my favorite part of decorating the White House was, I’d say it was the people,” Brittany said. “I’ve been blessed to be a part of a large military community and to meet a lot of people through my husband’s career in the Air Force. That’s why this experience was that much sweeter. I’ve learned the value of community and quickly getting to know others and their stories. Even with the beautiful White House, the lovely first lady, the history and all the beauty, my favorite part was meeting so many wonderful people.”

Brittany saw this opportunity to work with so many diverse people as a chance to brighten 2020 and to show how a group of strangers can come together in a united fashion.

“People of all walks of life, faith, views and cultures came together in the people’s house to make it extraordinary,” she said. “It’s a Christmas experience that I’ll never forget. We all were able to come together as one to bring hope to the American people. I definitely would say I left with a bigger heart and a larger community of people. I made many Facebook friends from all over the country and I can’t wait to cross paths with these wonderful people again.”

While she did not get to meet the president, she was able to get a glimpse of him just before Thanksgiving.

“It was really neat to see the president pardon the turkey for Thanksgiving. We all tried to discreetly peek out the windows of the White House to see the president and his family.” Brittany said. “They actually put the turkeys up in the famous hotel across the street from where we stayed and they had their own room.”

Brittany returned home for Thanksgiving, but her time at the White House was not done. She was invited back for a reception. As a stay-at-home mom, this was her Cinderella moment, as she was able to attend a formal function hosted by the first lady.

“It’s not every day you receive an invitation from the first lady to a holiday reception at the White House,” she said. “Knowing that past princesses and queens had been hosted there before made it that much more exciting. Any opportunity I get to dress up and feel beautiful is one I’ll never pass up. Sometimes as a mom you can feel like such a Cinderella. So this truly was a moment for just me to feel special and get wined and dined.”

The first lady attended the event and spoke to the group who volunteered to decorate the White House.

“Thank you to all of the staff and volunteers who worked to make sure the People’s House was ready for the holiday season,” said Melania Trump, the first lady. “Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.”

When Brittany got back from her second trip to the nation’s capital, she was still basking in the glory of her two trips.

“Excited is an understatement for when she came back home,” Hollander said. “I loved hearing all the stories of decorating and the new friends that she made. Brittany is still on cloud nine.”

While Hollander enjoyed her stories, it was their oldest daughter who was most enamored with the stories.

“My daughter Sophia was so excited because she has the same interests like decorating and dressing up and Brittany did both,” Hollander said. “Sophia loves Christmas and loves to decorate the Christmas tree which she enjoyed watching her mom decorate for Christmas. Sophia really loved the White House gingerbread house which looked exactly like the White House.”

“My daughter was so excited to hear I was going to the White House,” Brittany said. “During our PCS, I was homeschooling and we had many lessons on the capital, the White House, the president and his wife, and many different things. She really wanted to come, and if I could’ve brought her with me I totally would have. She really loves fashion and the first lady so it was awesome sharing videos, and pictures of her with my daughter. I even brought her a cookie from the White House and she was so excited!”

While Brittany enjoyed the lavish visit to the White House, she also got to see another side of Washington D.C.

“It was an honor and a humbling experience to see such wealth and history, yet when I walked to my hotel every night I also got to experience people who were not as fortunate, “ she said. “I left feeling humbled because though I’ll never experience a life like the ones that are living in the White House,” Brittany said. “We are very fortunate that we don’t have to worry about when our next meal will be. We have an opportunity to change lives, even if it’s just a meal for someone and I never want them to take for granted all they have. I’m very thankful to live in the country and proud to be an American in the land of opportunity.”