'All Things Bright And Beautiful'

"All Things Bright and Beautiful" is the theme at the White House this year, which is a bit different from past holiday decorations.

"It's much simpler and everything is fresh and real," first lady Laura Bush tells CBS News correspondent Bill Plante. "I think it's really pretty and, especially, I think this sort of decoration shows us how elegant the White House is."

Mrs. Bush is an avid gardener and spends every summer vacationing in one of the United State's National Parks, so she wanted to bring nature's beauty to the White House.

"What I really wanted to use were all fresh things. So we have real roses on the tree," Mrs. Bush says. "We're using a lot of fruit. We have the beautiful color of pears on center pieces for the East Room."

Leading Plante to the East Room, she says: "This is the table that will be set up during receptions here in the east room. There will be one here and one in the dining room."

At the press preview at 10 a.m., the press gets to taste the menu for the holiday buffets. This year, the White House executive chef is Cris Comerford, the first woman ever to hold the job.

As for the White House Christmas cards, Mrs. Bush says it was done by Jamie Wyeth, son of American artist Andrew Wyeth.

Pointing at the card, she notes the design is of the "beautiful south part of the White House. We have Barney, Miss Beazley and Kitty down there in the snow. Of course, we had to put them in the card."

"If you come to visit the White House during Christmas you get the Christmas brochure, all the guests that come, including all the tours," she says. "We expect about 45,000 people on White House tours over the Christmas holidays. And every year we've asked a children's book illustrator to illustrate the decorations at the White House. And this year the illustrator is Donna Green. I think she did a really beautiful job of showing how pretty the White House is when it's decorated for Christmas."

It has been quite a year for the White House. The president continues to be criticized because of the situation in Iraq, but Ms. Bush says there are positive things to keep in mind.

"No one likes to see anyone they love criticized," she says. "But, on the other hand, when you look at what really has happened, it's only been three years. Iraq has come a very, very long way. They've ratified a constitution. This month, they will elect their leaders for the next four years. More and more Iraqi troops have been trained. As more Iraqi troops are trained, more of our troops will be able to stand down. It's really a, quite an amazing transformation in the heart of the Middle East, and all of the other things that happened, as well with Syria leaving Lebanon.

"I know we're impatient and I know it's very, very difficult to watch those images from Iraq, and to be so fearful for our American troops that are there all the time, which I know all Americans are — not just the families of the deployed, but all Americans have a very difficult time watching our troops over there and worrying about our troops over there.

"At the holiday season it's always the hardest when you think of the families who have an empty place at the table, either because they lost their loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan, or because their loved one is deployed. It's the most difficult time, a holiday season. So it's especially a time for Americans to reach out to our military families."

For more information on how the White House celebrates the holidays, and on how you may be able to check out the decorations for yourself, visit the White House Web site.