By Canadian Press

‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ is theme of Pence holiday

Dec 19, 2018 | 5:00 AM

WASHINGTON — Christmas at Vice-President Mike Pence’s official residence literally jumps out of the pages of “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Every room on the main floor of the Naval Observatory represents a verse from the poem by Clement Clarke Moore, officially titled “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Pence has a family tradition of reading the holiday classic to his three children every Christmas Eve even though they’re adults now and the gang includes a daughter-in-law.

Stockings hung by the chimney with care? Nine red ones hang from the fireplace mantle in the dining room: Six for the Pences and three for pets Hazel, Harley and Marlon.

Instead of visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, kids can stop by a special candy station to fill up on them.

The library was transformed into a den for Santa’s reindeer, with all nine names on the wall above a 125-pound gingerbread replica of the observatory. The library has reindeer decorations on the mantle and a tree decorated with reindeer ornaments, a reindeer topper and presents wrapped in reindeer-print paper underneath it.

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Wrapped gifts suspended from the foyer mimic presents tumbling down the staircase and straight into Santa’s nearby sack.

“New fallen snow” covers the branches of a tree in the sunroom.

The main attraction shines in the living room: an 11 1/2-foot (3.35-meter) North Carolina fir decorated with ornaments symbolizing the “bundle of toys” Santa “had flung on his back.” A life-size Santa replica stands next to the tree, reviewing his naughty or nice list.

Guests arrive to an oversized copy of the poem opened beside a high-backed red velvet chair.

Pence’s wife, Karen, recently gave The Associated Press an exclusive tour of their holiday decorations.

Her family is spending Christmas in Washington.

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Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

Darlene Superville, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ is theme of Pence holiday

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