We may not have hit Halloween yet, but Melania Trump is already thinking about Christmas. America's former first lady has just released her latest line of holiday ornaments, which might come as a surprise to anyone who remembers her bizarre blood-red Christmas trees or the infamous leaked recording that led her to be "outed as a Grinch", as some news outlets put it. Click or scroll on and let's take a look at the decadent decorations already dividing opinion and uncover the secrets of the Trump family's holiday traditions...

On 14 September, while most of us were still chasing the final rays of summer, Melania took to social media to announce the launch of her 2024 holiday baubles. Entitled 'A Red, White and Blue Christmas Collection', the range includes five "proudly" US-made, limited-edition ornaments, each etched with her signature and accompanied by "corresponding digital collectibles", according to retailer USA Memorabilia.  

The ornaments, which are made from brass and enamel, range from $35 (£29) to $45 (£37) each. However, as with all things Trump, the pricey decorations have divided opinion. Many of Melania's fans took to X to declare the ornaments "beautiful" and to praise the former FLOTUS, while others took a more cynical view. "Has anyone else noticed that we never see or hear from Melania, which I’m perfectly fine with, until she wants to sell “collectables [sic]” from her for-profit NFT business, USA Memorabilia?" one X user asked. Another wrote that "she used to hate Christmas, until she learned how to make a few bucks off of it."

Last year, Melania's Christmas collection included six brass ornaments selling for $45 (£37) each. A portion of the proceeds was promised to the 'Fostering the Future' initiative that provides scholarships to children in foster care. “This holiday will be a season filled with hope and inspiration,” she said back in 2022. However, this year there is no mention of a charity that might benefit from the profits of Melania's Christmas creations. Her latest festive bauble launch isn't the first time her holiday décor has divided the nation. Let's take a look back at her controversial White House Christmas decorations and find out just how her reputation as a Grinch came about...

In 2018, Melanie decorated the White House with a patriotic 'American Treasures' theme in mind. It included 40 red topiary trees, which drew comparisons on social media with the dystopian TV show The Handmaid's Tale, with many dubbing them "blood trees". But the former first lady was quick to defend her display, telling reporters: “We are in the 21st century and everybody has a different taste. I think they look fantastic. In real life, they look even more beautiful.”

But it was not just Melania's choice of trees that caused controversy. That same year people reacted when she was pictured wearing red gloves and a coat indoors, while apparently decorating one of the many White House Christmas trees – it was reported that 14,000 red ornaments were hung from 29 trees. Many commented on social media that it was odd to wear both items indoors, while Marie Claire suggested it made her "unrelatable".  Meanwhile, comments by the then-first lady recorded by an aide during festive planning in the summer of 2018 revealed more sinister undertones... 

In 2020, Melania was "outed as a Grinch" when she was caught on tape saying: "Who gives a f*** about Christmas... I’m working... my a** off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f*** about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?" The tapes were leaked by her former friend and senior adviser in the East Wing, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff who wrote a book about their relationship called 'Melania and Me'. Unfortunately for Melania, she may well have to decorate the White House again, if Donald Trump's 2024 presidential bid is successful...

Read on to discover how the Trump family celebrates the holidays in their many lavish homes...

If anyone knows how to throw a lavish party, it’s the Trumps. Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year, beleaguered former president Donald Trump and his family have celebrated the holidays in some very extravagant ways. While Mar-a-Lago in Florida remains their favourite destination for a family get-together, the Trumps also made their festive mark at the White House too, as well as dressing their array of luxury homes to the nines. Click or scroll on to discover the secrets of the Trump family's holiday celebrations… 

With Thanksgiving around the corner, let’s see how Donald Trump and his family gave thanks in decades past. Back in 1988, when the former president was still married to his first wife Ivana Trump, the clan celebrated Thanksgiving in their Connecticut home. Ivana is pictured here with her daughter Ivanka, presiding over the turkey in a very 80s-looking kitchen. When the couple divorced in 1992, the house was awarded to Ivana, who sold it to financier Robert Stein in 1998 for a reported $15 million (£12.2m). Ivana sadly passed away unexpectedly in July 2022.

Since then, the businessman has traditionally spent Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, although that changed when Trump was elected to office in 2016 and took on a host of presidential holiday duties. He is seen here in 2017 with Melania and their son Barron for the customary pardoning of the turkey ceremony at the White House in Washington, DC. 

Ivanka Trump, the former president’s eldest daughter, took her own children along to watch the pardoning ceremony in 2018. She admitted on Instagram that her children would be insisting on a vegetarian Thanksgiving that year, after watching their grandpa President Donald Trump pardon two turkeys named Peas and Carrots. The tradition of sparing a turkey every year began under the Ronald Reagan administration.

However, the kids may have been a little disappointed when they arrived at Mar-a-Lago, where the Thanksgiving menu included turkey with all the trimmings, beef tenderloin, lamb and braised short ribs. Ivanka and the rest of her family have been celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday at Mar-a-Lago since they were children. It’s a tradition Ivanka is clearly keen to continue with her own kids, seen here in the extravagantly tiled entrance hall. 

While staff spend hours decorating Mar-a-Lago for the holiday season, its lavish interiors are already pretty festive in themselves. The blend of Spanish-Moorish styling and twinkling star lanterns help create a magical atmosphere that makes the Palm Beach estate an ideal location for any celebration. According to the property’s Instagram, 36,000 tiles line the walls and floors of the 62,500-square-foot property.

It's likely that the Trump children spent their fair share of time at Trump Tower over the holidays, the family's long-time base in New York City. Growing up, Donald Jr, Ivanka, Eric and in later years Tiffany would have no doubt seen their father's glitzy triplex penthouse decked out for the holiday period.

Ivanka Trump clearly has fond memories of her formative Christmases in the Big Apple. “Nothing says the holidays in New York like a spin around Wollman Rink,” Ivanka posted on Instagram just before Christmas in 2013, alongside a vintage photo of herself with her mum, Ivana. Prior to meeting her husband-to-be Donald Trump on a modelling trip to New York in 1976, Ivana Trump was in the Czech junior national ski team, so it's no surprise that she was a natural on the ice.

Of all Trump's properties, Mar-a-Lago, his magnificent estate in the ultra-exclusive Florida enclave of Palm Beach, has seen the most festive gatherings over the decades. Such is his fondness for the property, Donald even made it his primary residence after leaving the White House in January 2021. It's known as Trump's political HQ and where he declared his second run for the presidency in 2024. In June 2023, Mar-a-Lago also became the centre of a legal storm, when Donald Trump was indicted on allegations of mishandling classified documents at the estate. Nevertheless, it still remains a beloved family home, where the clan congregates to celebrate Christmas together.

Trump bought Mar-a-Lago for the bargain price of $8 million (£6.5m) in 1985 and the family has spent the majority of their Christmas Days there ever since. Donald, Ivana, Ivanka and Eric are pictured here at a gathering at the estate back in 1998. Trump is usually joined by all his children and grandchildren over the festive season.

The family sometimes spent part of the Christmas holidays in Aspen. On one memorable occasion in 1989, Ivana Trump was famously approached by actress and model Marla Maples, who informed her she was in love with her husband. Their marital split hit the headlines but Ivanka still has fond memories of her childhood on the slopes with her glamourous late mum, sharing this image with her followers on Instagram.

Trump went on to marry Marla Maples in 1993, who gave birth to their daughter Tiffany earlier that year. Christmas was clearly always a big deal on the Mar-a-Lago estate – Marla is pictured here at the property in 1995 standing alongside a van decorated as a Christmas train. Donald and Marla divorced in 1999 but Tiffany Trump, a Georgetown law graduate, remains close to her father and is a regular at the festive gatherings at Mar-a-Lago. She even tied the knot with her husband Michael Boulos at the Florida estate in November 2022.

The former president met Slovenian-born model Melania Knauss at a party in New York in 1998, just before his divorce from Marla Maples was finalised. They are seen here at Mar-a-Lago back in 2002 when they were still dating, posing in front of a towering Christmas tree decked out in gold ornaments. The couple celebrated their marriage in 2005 at the Florida estate, so the property is steeped in fond memories for the pair.

After the couple’s son Barron William Trump was born in March 2006, the family continued to celebrate the festive season at the Florida estate. While it's unlikely Trump ever dressed up as Santa, Melania would reportedly remind her son to put milk and cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve. The family is seen here on Christmas Day in 2008 with Melania’s parents, Amalija, far left, and Viktor, far right. 

Trump shared this family holiday portrait shot at the estate in 2015, which includes his son Barron in a matching suit and red tie, along with Melania, and his oldest son, Donald Jr, his then-wife Vanessa and their five children. The real estate mogul revealed that he likes to hunker down at Mar-a-Lago during the Christmas period, leaving only to attend midnight mass and a few rounds of golf.

Surprisingly, the former first lady revealed in one interview that the couple tends to opt for "healthy food" when they sit down and tuck into their Christmas dinner. "You feel very good after. Not too much eating", she added. We wonder how famous fast food fiend Donald feels about that...

First Lady Melania took centre stage for her husband’s first Christmas in office in 2017 by taking on the task of organising the White House's festive decorations. She began her reign with a striking scheme for her 'Time-Honoured Traditions' theme, to pay respect to 200 years of White House Christmas décor. Among the displays was this 'White Christmas' avenue of frosted trees, while President D Roosevelt’s 1866 edition of A Christmas Carol was showcased in the library.

On the State Floor of the White House, the Grand Foyer and Cross Hall evoke the first themed White House Christmas in 1961 when Jackie Kennedy chose the Nutcracker Suite as her inspiration. When Melania officially unveiled the decorations with performances from the iconic ballet, X users commented that she looked "awkward" and lacked any "joy".

We've seen how Melania's controversial red trees divided the nation in 2018, but elsewhere in the presidential mansion, more subtle festive decorations were found that year. Carrying the first lady's 'Be Best' initiative, the Red Room was decorated to “celebrate children through the décor”. Ornaments on the tree included a soccer ball, a calculator, a chef’s jacket and chess pieces, to reference ways in which children can excel through arts, education, sports and technology. The mantelpiece, meanwhile, was decorated with a garland and white ornaments bearing the 'Be Best' logo.

Central to the former president and first lady’s Christmas traditions is midnight mass. Melania is a practising Catholic and the duo would usually attend the service at Bethesda-by-the-Sea in West Palm Beach, where they were married in 2005. Due to the partial government shutdown in 2018, however, the couple attended the Christmas Eve midnight mass at the National Cathedral in Washington, seen here.

The decorations took on a more homespun feel in the first lady’s 2019 offering, with the theme 'Spirit of America', a nod to old American customs and traditions. The East Colonnade was decorated with a timeline of American design and architecture from the country’s early days, from saltbox houses through to modern skyscrapers, all flanked with white star decorations.

The East Room continued the theme with patriotic red, white and blue ornaments adorning the two trees that flanked the manger, while other highlights included decorations bearing Melania's 'Be Best' logo. 'The Spirit of America' theme was devised by the first lady to honour individuals who have shaped America. “I am inspired by the hard-working people and families that I meet,” she said. 

Melania’s decorative input may well have been a welcome distraction from matters of state in 2019. In this photograph, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was one of 30,000 visitors to view some of the first lady’s displays, including a gingerbread replica of the US Capitol. Later in the day, the House was scheduled to vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump. 

On her fourth and final Christmas at the White House in 2020, the first lady kept up tradition by greeting the tree as it arrived by horse-drawn carriage to the North Portico of the White House, where it was subsequently erected in the Blue Room on the State Floor. She looked remarkably cheerful, considering her husband had just lost the presidential election to Joe Biden. Perhaps she was relieved?

With twinkling tree lights in the background, the former president and first lady delivered their final Christmas message from the White House in 2020, recounting the nativity story and praising health workers and scientists who had created the COVID vaccine, calling it a “Christmas miracle”. 

A year later in December 2021, Trump was still embracing the festive spirit after leaving office, reportedly charging $10,000 (£8.1k) a ticket for a Christmas party in Naples, Florida, which included a speech from the former president, plus a photo with him. Trump’s former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted details for the event, which she described as “An Evening of Merrymaking with Donald Trump”. The Trumps are pictured here in 2018, answering calls in support of the NORAD Tracks Santa programme.

While Trump is known for his love of Christmas, he doesn’t quite have a monopoly over the festive season, despite the message conveyed by this man in a Santa suit at a 2016 rally. However, during a Newsmax interview, the former president once bizarrely declared that he had helped to reinstate the custom of people wishing one another a Merry Christmas, which he claimed had ceased in usage in favour of non-religious greetings like Happy Holidays. 

Since Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism in 2009 just prior to marrying her husband Jared Kushner, she has observed the Sabbath and all the Jewish holidays including Hanukkah (or Chanukah, the more traditional spelling). In this image shared on Instagram, she can be seen with her family lighting the hanukkiah, a special candelabra with nine branches.

She shared this enchanting image of her daughter Arabella in 2019 to wish her followers a Happy Hanukkah, also known as the 'Festival of Lights', due to the ceremonial lighting of the candles. One of the most joyful festivals in the Jewish calendar, Hanukkah lasts eight nights and commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the 160s BC. To commemorate the festival, the Kushner-Trump household will likely celebrate with a feast of special foods like sufganiyot, similar to doughnuts, and latkes, which are fried potato pancakes.

Donald Trump’s annual New Year’s Eve bash at Mar-a-Lago is legendary and has been a Trump tradition for decades. The businessman and Melania are seen here in 1999, welcoming in the New Year with his banker sister Elizabeth, far left, and their mother Mary Trump, who passed away the following year. The event is one of the highlights of the private club’s social calendar. 

The former president and first lady were, according to reports, unable to attend the event in 2020 due to an ongoing battle with Congress. But the rest of the clan gathered at the lavish estate with its 20,000-square-foot Louis XlV-style ballroom, including Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Tiffany and Ivanka, who is seen here with her husband at the previous year's celebrations.

Gathered here to support Trump patriarch Donald in his presidential bid in 2016, the family doesn't generally need an excuse to get together and enjoy themselves. From the lavish New Year’s Eve gala to the sumptuous feasts enjoyed at Mar-a-Lago the night before Christmas, we wonder what the Trump family's holiday celebrations will look like this year in the wake of the four history-making indictments brought against Donald Trump this year  – and whether the clan will be back in the White House for Christmas 2025?

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