--- title: Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's Christmas Address: Watch description: The President and First Lady wish the country a Merry Christmas in their last Christmas address from the White House. Watch the video canonical: https://time.com/4617678/president-obama-michelle-christmas-address/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-24T15:21:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:57:17.796Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch the Obamas' Last Christmas Address From the White House og:description: "We wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2017" og:url: https://time.com/4617678/president-obama-michelle-christmas-address/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e05ebda8c7cdbdb/6988b3e9524fc07255dfa942/obama-last-christmas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: obama-last-christmas og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch the Obamas' Last Christmas Address From the White House twitter:description: "We wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2017" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e05ebda8c7cdbdb/6988b3e9524fc07255dfa942/obama-last-christmas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch President Obama and Michelle Obama's Last Christmas Address From the White House > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a72fdcca-4751-4757-ad40-bb5229253038&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch President Obama and Michelle Obama’s Last Christmas Address From the White House [Watch (HLS stream): Watch President Obama and Michelle Obama’s Last Christmas Address From the White House](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NMAP3FCM.m3u8) (4:04)  _Published 2016-12-24. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama delivered their final Christmastime weekly address on Saturday, wishing families across the U.S. a joyous holiday._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 24, 2016 3:21 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Dec 24, 2016 3:21 PM UTC [President Barack Obama](http://time.com/4606711/president-obama-democrats-coach/) and [First Lady Michelle Obama](http://time.com/4607672/michelle-obama-presidential-election-painful/) delivered their final [Christmastime ](http://time.com/4617412/barack-obama-singing-dubbed-mariah-carey/)weekly address on Saturday, wishing families across the U.S. a joyous holiday. The Obamas are continuing their annual tradition of spending Christmas in Hawaii, where they will remain until after New Year’s. In their weekly address, the President and First Lady look back at their first joint holiday address, which appeared to tickle the commander-in-chief. The Obamas also thanked U.S. troops for their service and urged people to find ways to support them during the holidays. Read the entire address below: --- > “” --- ## Transcript [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Merry Christmas everybody. One of the best parts of the holiday season is spending time with the special people in your life. And for me that means getting some help from my best friend For our annual Christmas, weekly address. Now, given how our first Christmas weekly address went, I realized that Barack needed all the help he could get. [ LAUGH ] This is our first Christmas in the White House. [ LAUGH ] What? Stop. [ INAUDIBLE ] You know , >> [ LAUGH ] What? You've got to stop it. All right? You got to get it together. You're gonna have to pull it together, POTUS. [ LAUGH ] Celebrating the holidays in the White House over these past eight years has been a true privilege. We've been able to welcome over half a million guests, Our outstanding pastry chefs have baked 200, 000 holiday cookies. That's a lot of cookies. And Barack has treated the American people to countless bad jokes. They're great jokes. Not so funny. Although a few got a frosty reception. The last one. [ LAUGH ] This year's White House holiday theme is The gift of the holidays. And our decorations reflects some of our greatest gifts as a nation from our incredible military families, to the life changing impact of a great education. And the greatest that Michelle and I have received over the last 8 years has been the honor of serving as your President and First Lady. Together we fought our way back from the worst recession in 80 years and got unemployment to a nine year low. We secured health insurance for another 20 million Americans and new protections for folks who already had insurance. We made America more respected around the world. Took on the mantle of leadership and the fight to protect this planet for our kids and much, much more. By so many measures our country is stronger and more prosperous than it was when we first got here. And I'm hopeful we'll build on the progress we made together in the years to come. Tomorrow as the final time as the First Family we will join our fellow christians around the world to rejoice in the birth of our saviour. And as we re- tell his story from that holy night, we'll also remember his eternal message. One of boundless love, compassion, and hope. The idea that we are our brother's keeper and our sister's keeper. That we should treat others as we would want to be treated. That we care for the sick Feed the hungry, welcome the stranger no matter where they come from or how they practise their faith. Those are values that help guide not just my family's christian faith but that of Jewish Americans and Muslim Americans, Non- believers and Americans of all backgrounds. And no one better embodies that spirit of service. Than the men and women who wear our country's uniform and their families. As always, many of our troops are far from home this time of the year, and their families are serving and sacrificing right along with them. Their courage and dedication allow the rest of us to enjoy this season. That's why we tried to serve them as well as they've served this country. Go to joiningforces. gov to see how you can honor and support the service members, veterans, and military families in your community. Not just during the holidays, but all year round. So as we look forward to the new year, let's resolve to recommit ourselves to the values we share. And on behalf of all the Obama's, Michelle, Malia, Sasha, Bo, and that troublemaker, Sunny. [ LAUGH ] Merry Christmas, everybody. And we wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2017. Thanks and God bless. 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