First, second ladies team up to make Christmas care packages for troops

First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Usha Vance kicked off the Christmas season Dec. 1 by greeting military families at Joint Base Andrews and packing holiday care bundles for deployed U.S. service members.

“We speak regularly of the bravery of our service members, and we should,” Trump said before joining volunteers at the packing tables. “But we must also illuminate the bravery of those who walk beside them. The spouses, who carry the weight of family life on top of their own dreams.”

She encouraged military families to “take care of yourselves” as the Christmas season begins.

Trump and Vance partnered with the American Red Cross and worked with military spouses to fill hundreds of boxes with snacks, personal-care items, handwritten cards, and small gifts. The bundles will be shipped to troops overseas. 

Several spouses of Cabinet officials — including Jennifer Hegseth, Kathryn Burgum, Liz Wright, Lisa Collins, and Marlo Greer — joined in assembling the boxes. 

During the festivity, the women also wrote Christmas cards to service members. 

“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thank you for your service, our nation is proud of you! Warm wishes, Melania Trump,” one of the notes read, according to a photo shared by Daily Wire reporter Mary Margaret Olohan. 

“The care packages that we’re assembling today are part proud and enduring tradition,” Vance explained.

The New York Post reported that the Red Cross has distributed care packages to service members since World War I.

“It’s an honor to contribute to that legacy of service today,” Vance added. “As we enter the holiday season, may we be reminded of our shared responsibility for our communities, our neighbors, and our nation.”

Earlier in the day, the first lady’s office unveiled this year’s White House Christmas decorations, themed “Home is Where the Heart Is,” and Trump thanked the volunteers who decorated the mansion ahead of public tours beginning Dec. 2.