Michelle Obama

Christmas with the Obamas

By Michelle Obama

UPDATED 12/29/2008 at 01:00 AM EST • Originally published 12/29/2008 at 01:00 AM EST

"Our greatest family holiday tradition has been visiting Hawaii, the place where Barack grew up. We have created many great memories there with our daughters, Malia and Sasha. The girls believe in Santa and write him letters because, as Malia tells it, 'there's no way our mom would buy us all this stuff.' The girls receive many gifts from our extended family—including my mother—so Barack and I don't usually buy them presents. But this year is a little different for us. We will still make the trip to Hawaii, but we look forward to making new memories that a move to the White House will bring. We are thankful to have made many great friends over the course of the campaign who have engaged in the process and we look forward to meeting our new community in Washington, D.C."