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Jill Biden Joined by Youngest Grandson as She Receives the White House Christmas Tree: 'It's Magnificent'

First Lady Jill Biden waves during the arrival of the White House Christmas Tree at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 22, 2021. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
First Lady Jill Biden waves during the arrival of the White House Christmas Tree at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 22, 2021. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Jill Biden

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden received the White House Christmas tree Monday afternoon, continuing a long-held holiday tradition and making new memories as well — as she was joined by her youngest grandson, Beau, who watched nearby as the 18-foot Fraser fir was trotted to the door by a pair of Clydesdale horses.

Wearing a cranberry-colored coat, white dress and boots, Biden 70, welcomed the tree before removing one of its sprigs and handing it to Beau and inviting a military family to pet the horses.

The president's son Hunter — who was also on hand and held Beau as the tree was presented — welcomed his child with wife Melissa Cohen last year, later sharing that they had named the baby boy after his big brother, who died from brain cancer in 2015.

Also at the tree ceremony on Monday, Biden — a National Guard parent herself due to the late Beau's former service — greeted a D.C. Army National Guard family to honor the force's role in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first lady posed with the family in front of the tree, standing six feet away from the masked guests in accordance with COVID safety protocols.

Asked what she thought of the tree, Biden told the reporters: "It's beautiful — it's magnificent, actually."

RELATED: The Bidens Will Return to Nantucket for a Thanksgiving Tradition with Wonderful and Painful Memories

First Lady Jill Biden speaks during the arrival of the White House Christmas Tree at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 22, 2021. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
First Lady Jill Biden speaks during the arrival of the White House Christmas Tree at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 22, 2021. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Jill Biden

Though the first event to kick off the Biden White House holiday season, the annual Christmas Tree presentation has been ongoing for 56 years and sees the winner of the National Christmas Tree Contest earning the honor of revealing the beauty to the first lady.

According to the White House, this year's tree was grown in North Carolina by Rusty and Beau Estes, three-time winners of the National Christmas Tree Association's 2021 grand championship.

This marks the 13th tree from North Carolina growers to serve as the official White House Christmas tree. It will be placed in the Blue Room (where the chandelier will be temporarily moved to make way) and decorated to suit an as-yet-unrevealed theme for the holiday season.

First Lady Jill Biden arrives during the arrival of the White House Christmas Tree at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 22, 2021. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
First Lady Jill Biden arrives during the arrival of the White House Christmas Tree at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 22, 2021. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Dr. Jill Biden

Before leaving Monday's presentation, Biden wished onlookers a happy Thanksgiving and thanked them for coming.

Later this week, the president and first lady will return to Nantucket to celebrate Thanksgiving — a family tradition that they skipped in 2020 because of the pandemic.

The Bidens have been visiting the Massachusetts island for the holiday since 1975, including as vice president and second lady and while Joe Biden was a senator from Delaware.

The White House says the Bidens will travel to Nantucket on Tuesday night after celebrating Thanksgiving with service members in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Monday and then attending a "service project" in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday with Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. (The president will also make a speech about the economy and addressing inflation, which has become an increasingly pressing issue for his administration.)

Last year, amid the pandemic, the Bidens spent Thanksgiving at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with daughter Ashley Biden and her husband, Dr. Howard Krein.

The 2021 Christmas tree ceremony comes one year after Melania Trump — in the final weeks of her final year in the White House and with her husband largely out of view while he mulled his election loss — welcomed the arrival of an 18-foot Christmas tree as a military band played carols outside the residence.

That Fraser fir was later decorated as one of the final duties of the first lady before she and President Donald Trump left office on Jan. 20.