The White House on Monday plunged into the holiday season with the annual pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey, the arrival of the official Christmas tree and serving up a Thanksgiving-style dinner on a military base.
Watch the event in the player above.
For the second time, President Joe Biden played his part in the 75-year tradition of issuing a coveted presidential pardon to keep a pair of turkeys off the holiday dinner table.
"The votes are in, they've been counted and verified," Biden said as he welcomed the turkeys before a crowd of hundreds on the South Lawn with the usual dad humor. "There's no ballot stuffing. There's no fowl play. The only red wave this season's gonna be if German Shepard Commander knocks over the cranberry sauce on our table."
He concluded on a serious note, encouraging Americans to get their COVID-19 vaccines ahead of the holiday season and to reflect and "be grateful for what we have."
"This is a special time in the greatest nation on Earth so let's be thankful," Biden said.
Gobblers Chocolate and Chip, each weighing nearly 50 pounds (22.68 kilograms), arrived in Washington on Saturday night from North Carolina and checked into their room at the Willard hotel near the White House to await Monday's presidential decree.
The combination of chocolate and chip also happens to be Biden's favorite flavor of ice cream.
The birds were hatched in July in Monroe, North Carolina, according to the National Turkey Federation, sponsor of the turkey tradition that dates to 1947 and President Harry Truman.
Biden named Chocolate the winner, with Chip as his backup. They were set to live the rest of their natural lives on the campus of North Carolina State University.