White House Easter Egg Roll-How to Get Tickets and What to Expect
The White House Easter Egg Roll is a tradition dating back to 1878. It is a very fun event and it might surprise you to know that anyone can get tickets to spend Easter at the White House! Our family lived in Washington D.C. for two years and we were fortunate enough to attend several events and tours of the People’s House. The Easter Egg Roll was our FAVORITE! I’m going to give you all the insider information on how to get into the White House for Easter and what the event is like.
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How to Get Tickets to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House?
Tickets to the Easter Egg Roll are distributed through a lottery system. Anyone can apply, no matter where you live. The lottery typically opens for a period of a few days about 2 months prior to the event. This year the lottery is open from February 26-March 4. During that time window, you should go online to the White House website to be directed to the proper page to enter. You enter in the number of family members (including babies) and rank your time-slot preferences. There are usually 5 different 2-hour time-slots. Only one application per household is allowed. Email notifications are sent out a little more than a month prior to the event to let you know if you were selected or not.
Get ready for Easter at the White House:
If you don’t live near DC I would still enter! If you win tickets, you would have enough time to make travel arrangements to get here. Washington DC makes a great family destination, you could turn your trip for the Easter Egg Roll into a little vacation.
Related Post:
Guide to ALL the White House Tours and Events
When Is the White House Easter Egg Roll?
The Easter Egg Roll typically takes place the Monday after Easter. This year the event will take place on Monday, April 1. The first time-slot begins around 7:45 AM and the last one ends around 6:30 PM.
How to get to the White House?
Drive
Washington D.C. is not the easiest city for parking, especially if there is a big event such as this one. If you drive your best bets are to reserve a spot via Spot hero, or try the garage at the Ronald Reagan Building. Depending on the time of day, there could be a lot of congestion in the city. We found mid-morning on the day of the event to be fairly empty, but by the early afternoon the streets were crowded with traffic.
Metro
You can easily metro to the White House by getting off at Federal Triangle or Metro Center and walking the rest of the way.
Uber
Uber is another option. Get a ride, get dropped off nearby and eliminate the hassle of parking and having to walk from a garage.
What to Wear to the White House Easter Egg Roll?
Make sure you are watching the weather for the day. Spring can be very fickle and you want to be comfortable so make sure you dress for the weather. One year we went it was very chilly and the next year it was hot. It also depends on what time of day you go. The morning sessions will be cooler than the midday ones.
I would recommend dressing up a little but still dress comfortably. You will see a range of clothing but for the most part people are dressed in collared shirts, blouses, slacks, and dresses. I would not wear heels. The entire event is outside on the grassy lawn. Heels tend to poke down into the grass, making it a challenge to walk around. Wedges would be a better choice. Wear something comfortable because there is quite a bit of standing in line and walking. You want to have fun and not be thinking about your feet hurting.
When it was cold, my son wore slacks, a long-sleeve button-down shirt, a coat, and rain boots because we had some wet weather the day before. My daughter wore a dress with a long sleeve shirt underneath, warm tights, a jacket, and rain boots.
When it was warm my son wore shorts, a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and Native shoes. My daughter wore a sundress and sparkly ballet flats.
I wore nice pants both years. I found it easier with getting down to little kid level and for taking pictures.
What to Bring to the Easter Egg Roll
Stroller or No stroller?
We opted to bring a stroller both times and were happy we did. Not only does it give a tired toddler/baby a place to rest or nap, but it gives you a place to store stuff like diaper bags, coats, little items you collect at the Egg Roll, etc. We find it easier to have a little storage space rather than having to carry it all. But be warned, it’s not exactly stroller friendly environment. You’re on grass, in crowds and there are some hills to navigate.
Easter Basket
You do not need to bring an Easter basket. You can if you want photos with it, but for the actual Easter egg hunt, the volunteers hand out baskets for the kids to use and they just give them back after the hunt.
Snacks
With all the waiting in line and the limited food options inside, you will want to bring snacks. The only food inside the event are hard boiled eggs on a stick, and sugar cookies from the decorating station. We brought snacks in and made a lunch reservation at a nearby restaurant for after the event.
Camera
If there’s ever a time to bring a real camera and not just a phone, this is it! For such a special event you will want quality photos. Who knows when or if you will ever get to go back to the White House! There are volunteers there to help take family photos at some of the props and with the Easter Bunnies (there are more than one wandering around).
What Time to Arrive to the Easter Egg Roll
If you win tickets to the Easter Egg Roll, you will be given a designated time slot. Plan to arrive to the White House Lawn early if you want to maximize your allotted time. We arrived about an hour and a half before the beginning of our time. I recognize that is very early, but there is a lot of people there and it takes time for everyone to go through ticket and security screening. I did not want to be at the back of the group and lose time on the lawn, so we chose to get there very early. And we weren’t even the first ones there! There were still quite a bit of people ahead of us.
Anyone can attend the White House Easter Egg Roll! How to get in, what to wear, what to bring, and how to have the best day at the White House! #washingtondc #thewhitehouse #whitehouseeastereggroll #springindc
You enter the first staging area for the line at either 15th and Constitution Avenue or 17th and Constitution. They tend to line the different groups (labeled A, B, C, D, E) in different areas. The first line started moving about 45 minutes before our time slot opened up.
You go through a security check, which takes a little longer with a stroller and a diaper bag, then you will be asked to get into a new line where you will wait until your group is let in. After you get through security there are usually beverages offered like bottled water and juice boxes. Be careful about how much your little ones drink in line so you don’t have any potty emergencies. There are porta-potties and bigger trailer bathrooms set up on the lawn.
Activities at the White House Easter Egg Roll
The activities vary slightly from year to year. Expect to wait in line to do each activity. The lines seem to move quickly for the most part. If there is an event that is very important for you to do, I recommend going there right away. The lines tend to be longest in the middle of the timeslot. The crowds are thinner right at the beginning and at the very end of your time window. In general you can expect to find these things:
-The Easter Egg Roll. The namesake event shouldn’t be missed! Kids line up with a hard boiled egg and a wooden spoon. Once the whistle blows, they race trying to roll their egg down to the end of their lane the fastest.
-Easter Egg Hunt. Volunteers toss eggs into a pen full of straw. Kids race to collect as many eggs as they can. If you find a special egg, you might get a prize. Otherwise, return the eggs and baskets at the end and collect a candy prize on the way out.
-Cookie decorating. Kids can decorate a sugar cookie with different colored frosting and sprinkles.
-Egg Dying. Choose an egg and a color of dye to make your own Easter Egg. Get a baggy to take it home!
-Coloring. The coloring table could be billed as a place to make cards for troops or have special Washington D.C. coloring pages.
-Story-time. If you’re hoping to see a famous face from the administration, this is where you want to be. Often prominent people from the President’s team will be here reading Easter stories.
-Character Photos. Get your photo taken with one of the Easter Bunnies or characters from cartoons and shows. Don’t miss the presidential podium set up to take a picture of your little one as president. You never know, they could be the real president someday!
-Music. You’ll find military bands performing in a couple of places throughout the lawn. Dancing is encouraged!
Easter Egg Roll Goody Bags
As you exit the White House, kids under 13 will be given a gift. One year they were given a whole bag of goodies. The next year it was 2 packs of Peeps, a box of Presidential Jelly Belly jellybeans and a commemorative egg. You can also buy additional eggs in the colors of your choosing at a stand before you exit. Eggs were $8.50 apiece.
SAVE this post so you can refer back to it when you need the information and SHARE it with anyone you know who is heading to the White House for Easter! Have you been to the Easter Egg Roll? Tell me about it in the comments!
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