How Presidents And First Ladies Do Their Holiday Shopping

How Presidents And First Ladies Do Their Holiday Shopping

With just a few days left until Christmas and little to no shopping outings by the Obamas, people might wonder how presidential families get the holiday shopping done.

The Obamas seem to have very different strategies. With President Obama citing “preparation” and adding “That’s how I shop. Michelle, she can go wandering around forever. I like knowing what I’m coming in here for”

If Michelle Obama truly does wander around she’s either mastered a stealth shopping technique or she might have taken some tips from other first ladies.

Nancy Reagan had her staff do her holiday shopping and bring it to the White House for a final selection. Hillary Clinton and Eleanor Roosevelt did their holiday shopping during the entire year, especially while travelling the world. In a pre-Kennedy assassination first ladies could walk and window shop with little to no security.

Grace Coolidge, Bess Truman and even Jackie Kennedy could shop unrecognized with very little extra security.

By the time Richard Nixon was president, he and wife Pat Nixon would be overwhelmed by press and reports on their shopping trip to Sears.

This all changed with the internet and the possibility of doing your shopping online. The first president to do his holiday shopping online was Bill Clinton back in 1999.

Posted by Melanie Mendoza on Friday December 21 2012, 4:55 AM EDT. Ref: Washington Post. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Shopping. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0