The first lady has many roles: fashion icon, hostess, humanitarian.
She has lots of jobs to do, all while being watched by the public.
The first lady isn’t free to do as she pleases.
Some of these expectations are straightforward while other rules are more surprising and just downright weird.
Keep on reading to see.
Historic rooms, like the Lincoln Room, are untouchable.
First ladies also have to keep up with what needs to berefurbished in the public spacesof the White House.
Anyone else dying to seeChipandJoanna Gainesdecorate the White House?
The truth is that presents from foreign governments belong to the United States, according to theCongressional Research Service.
The National Archives and Records Administration keeps the gift, and it later goes to a Presidential Library.
If the president or first lady wants to keep the gift, they can purchase it, according toAOL.
As the publication detailed, Nancy and Ronald Reagan were giftedtwo live eaglesfrom the German chancellor in the 1980s.
The Reagans also received a horse from Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo.
Those gifts must have been alittletrickier to store.
There is an exception to this rule, though.
The first lady is allowed to accept domestic gifts, according to theRonald Reagan Presidential Library.
Nevertheless, these presents go throughsignificant security screeningsbefore reaching the president’s wife.
Nothing is simple when you’re the first lady.
She continued, “Sasha opened her window once there were calls.
‘Shut the window!’
It never opened again.”
She can’t go outside.
She’s much more constrained than I am.
I go out every day in Paris."
As if we needed a reminder that life is better in Paris.
First LadyJackie Kennedystarted the tradition of themed Christmas trees in the Blue Room at the White House.
In 1961, she decorated a tree with aNutcrackertheme, according tothe White House Historical Association.
In honor of these foreign friends, astate dinneris also held.
The first lady is the hostess of this dinner.
Luckily for the first lady, she has chefs on hand to make the food.
According to the White House Museum, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower liked to choose the menu for dinners.
Some first ladies, like Pat Nixon, were more hands-off.
In 2012, Michelle Obama also started aKids' State Dinner.
Children from every state were invited to showcase healthy recipes they created and the winning dishes were served.
We mirrored it exactly to what people experience when we host world leaders here."
First Lady Pat Nixon introduced the traditional egg roll races."
In 1981, Nancy Reagan started the tradition of giving children wooden Easter eggs.
These eggs hadsignatures from famous peoplescrawled across them.
Reagan’splansfor her Easter Egg Rolls also included balloons from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Broadway show performances.
The author notes that these meetings are often tense.
Not every interaction between first ladies has been negative, though.
Clinton then showed it to Laura Bush on her tour.
Laura Bush continued the tradition years later for Michelle Obama.
She supported charities that helped orphans.
Since then, first ladies have found causes to promote.
Usually, these causes focus on helpingthe nation’s children.
She also traveled extensively tofight for equality.
In more recent years, Michelle Obama created theLet’s Move!initiative to encourage kids to be active.
Her initiative taught children about healthy eating and exercise.
Obama also startedLet Girls Learnto fight for education for teen girls around the world.
First Lady Melania Trump named her initiative “Be Best.”
Her focus is on helping children use social media wisely and live healthily.
She also aims to help families impacted by the opioid crisis.
Actually, the president and his family have to pay for personal expenses, according toCNN.
This includes food and clothing.
Barack Obama paid for his family’s Thanksgiving dinner, reportedThe Guardian.
He didn’t have to pay for the chefs, however.
Toiletries are another added cost.
These items arepicked up by staff memberswho are paid back later.
The first lady actuallyreceives an itemized billin the middle of every month.
Nancy Reagan was caught off guard by this practice.
ABC Newsreported that Hillary Clinton admitted to struggling financially afterlivingin the White House (surprising, right?).
Clinton attributed this to legal fees, among other things.
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy saw it this way, so sheplanned a programto preserve the White House’s history.
She restored public rooms in the mansion and collected art.
She also started the White House Historical Association to publish information on White House history.
In addition, Kennedy founded the Fine Arts Committee to advise art purchases for the White House.
Years earlier, the White House was in bad shape.
In the 2000s, Michelle Obama restored the Old Family Dining Room, according toArchitectural Digest.
The first lady mustn’t drive
“I want to drive!”
She also revealed that she wants to shop at Target (of course!).
Even after Barack Obama was out of office, though, Michelle still couldn’t drive.
She toldPeoplein an interview, “No driving for me.
We still live in a bubble.”
Hillary Clinton can relate to Michelle’s woes.
First ladies make sacrifices for being in the spotlight.
There is now a whole room to house the china;Mamie Eisenhowersupervised its completion back in the 1950s.
She made sure that china from every president’s term was included.
The first lady is seen as a fashion icon, but it is a pricey role to play.
She later decided to donate some to museums, but continued to receive designer clothes as loans.
It must be hard to part with all those beautiful clothes.
