Timeline of T.R.'s Christmases
Theodore Roosevelt loved Christmas and kept it the way he had as a boy whenever he could. Follow him from a hotel in Rome to the White House and, in 1918, home from the hospital for one last Christmas at Sagamore Hill. Read the full story at Christmas with Theodore Roosevelt.
The Early Years
December 25, 1869
CHRISTMAS IN ROME
Eleven-year-old Theodore spent Christmas in a hotel in Rome on his family's yearlong tour of Europe. His diary says he was awake at four. The children opened their stockings on their parents' bed, just as they did at home, and later the family went to St. Peter's and saw the Pope.
December 25, 1872
A SHOTGUN ON THE NILE
The Roosevelts spent Christmas on a houseboat on the Nile at Beni Suef, Egypt. The 14-year-old naturalist received "a beautiful breechloading double barrelled shot gun," his diary records, and went out with it that afternoon.
December 25, 1876
HOME FROM HARVARD WITH FRIENDS
On a Christmas break from Harvard, T.R. brought college friends home to New York. His sister Corinne later remembered the party as "a delightful Christmas experience."
December 25, 1877
THE LAST CHRISTMAS WITH HIS FATHER
Called home from Harvard on December 21 because his father was gravely ill, T.R. wrote on Christmas Day: "Father seems much brighter." Theodore Roosevelt Sr. died on February 9, 1878.
December 25, 1884
FROM THE BADLANDS TO NEW YORK
T.R. stayed at his Chimney Butte Ranch for the Little Missouri stockmen's meeting in Medora on December 19, then planned to start east the next day and reach New York the evening of December 23. His infant daughter Alice was in his sister Anna's care. It was his first Christmas since the deaths of his wife and mother.
December 25, 1886
A HONEYMOON CHRISTMAS
T.R. married Edith Kermit Carow in London on December 2, 1886. They spent the winter traveling in Europe. A letter dated December 1886 finds them in Italy.
December 25, 1890
CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON
As a U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, T.R. spent Christmas at the family's house on Jefferson Place in Washington. Alice and Ted "fairly gallopped" into their parents' room for their stockings. "The children enjoyed it with the same wild rapture we ourselves felt twenty-five years ago," he wrote to his sister Anna.
December 25, 1895
TOY SOLDIERS AT SAGAMORE HILL
Now New York City Police Commissioner, T.R. bought the children's presents at Schwarz's toy store, including a battle of Greeks and Persians, with elephants, for Ted. "I am going to stay out here over Xmas now," he wrote from Sagamore Hill.
December 25, 1896
THE COVE SCHOOL TREE
On the afternoon before Christmas, twelve Roosevelts and guests rode to the Cove School Christmas tree "in the farm wagon on runners." Ted "spoke a piece." By 1913, T.R. wrote, the family had given the little Oyster Bay school its Christmas tree "for nearly thirty years."
December 25, 1898
GOVERNOR-ELECT AT HOME
Back from Cuba and newly elected Governor of New York, T.R. spent Christmas at Sagamore Hill. Newspapers reported that the Governor-elect played Santa Claus at the Cove Sunday School, wearing a hunting costume and a flannel shirt.
December 25, 1899
CHRISTMAS IN ALBANY
In Albany, "all six, including Quentin, came into bed and opened their stockings," Governor Roosevelt wrote. In the afternoon he took a hard tramp with friends.
1900 and After
SANTA CLAUS AT THE COVE SCHOOL
Newly elected Vice President, Governor Roosevelt played Santa Claus at the Cove School in Oyster Bay, according to newspaper reports. He handed out presents and told the children to "act square with each other."
THE FIRST WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS
Three months after becoming President, T.R. celebrated his first Christmas at the White House. Newspapers reported that 87 White House staff received turkeys from the President and that there would be no Christmas tree.
ARCHIE'S SECRET TREE
Eight-year-old Archie surprised his parents with "a little Christmas tree of his own" that he had rigged up with the help of one of the carpenters in a big closet. Everyone got a present from it, including the dog, the kitten and Archie's pony, Algonquin.
A RAINY WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS
After stockings and presents, rain kept the President indoors, so he played single stick with Ted and Roly Fortescue. Archie again had a small tree of his own. The day ended with a Virginia Reel in the East Room.
ARCHIE'S TREE, "AS USUAL"
Newspapers reported a quiet family Christmas at the White House. The President skipped church, presents were exchanged within the family, and "Archie, as usual, had a Christmas tree."
A THREE-HOUR CHRISTMAS RIDE
"We kept Christmas in the usual style," T.R. wrote to his sister Anna. After stockings and the library tables of presents, he rode for three hours with family and friends. Afterwards there was "a Christmas tree of Archie's," and then an hour and a half of tennis.
THE LAST WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS
T.R.'s final Christmas as President was a family affair. He and Archie rode in Rock Creek Park, and the Roosevelts sent money from Washington for presents for the Cove School children.
ON THE MARCH IN UGANDA
On his African expedition, T.R. "passed on the march" on Christmas Day, between Kampala and Lake Albert. Christmas, he wrote, meant little "unless there are small folks to hang up their stockings."
QUENTIN, TALLER THAN HIS FATHER
"Quentin turned up last night," T.R. wrote to Archie two days before Christmas. "He is half an inch taller than I am." The family missed Archie: "We miss you dreadfully now that Christmas has come."
UP THE PARAGUAY RIVER
On the expedition that would take him down the River of Doubt, T.R. reached Corumbá, Brazil, on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day the party steamed up the upper Paraguay aboard the river boat Nyoac.
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS OF THE WAR
With war in Europe, Ethel and her husband, Dr. Richard Derby, landed from France on December 23 and went to Sagamore Hill. Kermit was far away in Buenos Aires, working for the National City Bank.
A WARTIME CHRISTMAS
All four Roosevelt sons were in uniform, and Quentin was in France. On Christmas Eve, T.R. wrote to Quentin, a pilot in France.
HOME FOR ONE LAST CHRISTMAS
After six weeks in Roosevelt Hospital, T.R. went home to Sagamore Hill on Christmas morning. "I got out home Christmas morning," he wrote, "so that Edith and I, Ethel and Alice and Archie and Gracie, had Christmas dinner together." He died there on January 6, 1919.
From the Archives
Letters, cartoons and photographs about T.R.’s Christmases from the Theodore Roosevelt Center.