National Christmas Tree Lighting: Barack Obama & Family Get Festive With Neil Patrick Harris

How I Met Your Mother star hosts 90th annual lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C.

By Natalie Finn Dec 07, 2012 6:39 AMTags
Neil Patrick Harris, Rico Rodruguez, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Malia Obama, Sasha ObamaOlivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images

Eat your heart out, Rockefeller Center—the National Christmas Tree is aglow!

President Barack Obama cheered along with the rest of the crowd as Grammy nominee Michelle Obama and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, flipped the switch tonight at the 90th annual tree lighting, the official start of the holiday season in Washington, D.C.

Neil Patrick Harris hosted the ceremony, which also featured Modern Family tyke Rico Rodriguez, the FrayJason Mraz, Colbie CaillatJames Taylor and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds singing holiday tunes for an audience of about 17,000 that braved the chill to enjoy the festivities.

But even though this was a yuletide-themed outing, even the entertainment couldn't help but give the president some political advice.

"Get out there and bridge the gap," the Fray frontman Isaac Slade encouraged the commander-in-chief after joking whether he didn't know if Obama had been naughty or nice this year.

"Our tree has been having a hard time recently. This is our third one in as many years," Obama said, gesturing to the 28-foot-tall blue spruce now planted in the Ellipse, a 52-acre park between the White House and the National Mall. "It just goes to show, nobody's job is safe."

The Obamas, Harris, Rodriguez and the rest of their guests closed out the ceremony with a round of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" before heading home.