I know there are a few different flavors of national holiday celebrations in Washington, but it surprised me a bit earlier this week to learn that the White House does themed Christmases. Nothing over the top, of course – we’re not talking Scooby Doo or anything. Mostly it seems that the theme has to do with the way the White House Executive Staff decorates the national mansion, and particularly the White House Christmas tree.

This year’s theme is “Holiday in the National Parks.” I did a little poking around the official White House website to investigate further, and in between Christmas music and event programs, I happened across a phenomenon the First Family has dubbed “Barneycam.”

The seven-minute video, with appearances by President George Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, their daughters, Alan Jackson and Tony Blair, is told (sort of) from the perspective of Barney – the, uh, First Dog. I’m not quite sure of the purpose (maybe it’s meant to make the presidential family seem a bit more accessible, since – after all – what red-blooded American family doesn’t have a video filmed from the thought bubbles of their pet?), but it’s a little cute.

And what national park-themed event would be complete without Mount Rushmore? George, Tom, Teddy and Abe have a cameo in one of Barney’s daydreams in the video, but the mountain also is included in the White House’s 2007 Holiday Program. According to the online version, a terra cotta sculpture of Rushmore sits beneath the portrait of Barbara Bush in the Vermeil Room in the Ground Floor Corridor of the White House. That’s pretty appropriate, since her husband presided over the dedication of Mount Rushmore in 1991.