Gracie Mansion Reveals Holiday Decorations

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The mayor's Upper East Side residence has been decked out for the holidays ahead of its annual open house. Gracie Mansion revealed its holiday decor Thursday in anticipation of an open house to be attended by thousands this weekend.

The team at design firm Rafanelli Events — which decorated the White House during President Barack Obama's final years in office — was brought in as a consultant for this year's holiday decorations, the mayor's office announced Thursday.

This year's holiday décor at Gracie Mansion will reflect Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray's policy initiatives and priorities from the duo's first term in office.

"The holiday season is a time for families and communities to come together and celebrate in peace, love and unity. We wanted the décor at Gracie Mansion to capture the excitement of the holidays, while also telling the stories of some of our proudest achievements on behalf of all New Yorkers," McCray said in a statement.

City initiatives that are being showcased in the decorations include the first lady's mental health plan ThriveNYC as well as the mayor's Pre-K for All and AP for ALL policies.

One decoration highlight includes the ThriveNYC tree in Gracie Mansion's ballroom, which features hand-linked paper dolls and ornaments decorated by children from The Children’s Aid East Harlem Center and Frederick Douglass Center. Another includes a Christmas tree replica made up of 500 children’s books donated by Scholastic to highlight the Gracie Book Club initiative.

The annual Gracie Mansion holiday open house will be held Saturday, Dec. 16. A limited amount of tickets are free, but must be reserved online. This year marks the 75th anniversary of Gracie Mansion the primary residence of New York City's mayor.

Check out some photos of the mansion's holiday décor below:

Photos courtesy of the mayor's office