WASHINGTON — When the nonprofit organization planning America’s 250th birthday celebrations decided it wanted an ornament to commemorate that milestone in history, its leadership knew just where to turn for guidance.
America250.org worked with the White House Historical Association, which, since 1981, has sold a popular Christmas tree ornament honoring a president or a key White House anniversary. More than 1 million of those ornaments are now sold every year.
The two groups worked together to produce a keepsake to mark the anniversary - officially known as the semiquincentennial - and America250.org unveiled it on Monday.
The limited-edition, hand-crafted ornament features the Declaration of Independence, the document the Second Continental Congress used to announce it was breaking away from Britain on July 4, 1776. President Donald Trump has a copy hanging in the Oval Office.
One side of the keepsake features the document printed on linen and the other side shows American flags waving atop the White House and the America250 logo with the years 1776-2026 on a red ribbon. The ornament is trimmed in 24-karat gold.
Organizers say they view the celebration of America’s founding as an opportunity to help unite a politically divided country. “It’s a moment for us to reflect on the last 250 years and, even more importantly, where we’re going for the next 250th,” said Jennifer Condon, executive vice president of America250.org.
Condon said she hopes the ornament will play a small part in that endeavor as “a symbol of, truly, this unity that we’re trying to strive for.”
It is rare for the White House association to release an ornament outside of its annual holiday series. Stewart McLaurin, the White House association’s president, said his nonprofit organization had helped create a collector’s piece “that embodies the spirit and history of our nation.”
It is made by the veteran-owned Rhode Island company that produces the White House association’s ornaments, and will be sold exclusively starting Monday at America250.org for $26.95, and in January on the White House association’s website.
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