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The White House probably its first indoor Christmas tree in 1889, when Benjamin Harrison was President. I say probably because this is disputed. Some sources claim that President Franklin Pierce had the first indoor Christmas tree at the White House during his administration (in either 1853 or 1856) and according to the book We Were Marching on Christmas Day by Kevin Rawlings, Pierce passed out gifts around the tree to Sunday School students from the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington.
But others claim the first tree was during President Benjamin Harrison's administration. For example the White House Historical Association claims (at this link) that Benjamin Harrison had the first indoor Christmas tree and that artistic First Lady Caroline Harrison helped decorate the tree. The Harrison's tree was installed in the second floor oval parlor today's Yellow Oval Room. Then there is also an 1880 reference to President John Tyler hosting a children's party at which there was a Christmas tree with gifts. This will always be a subject of debate as to who had the first tree.
Following the Harrison administration indoor trees were not always used at the White House. First Lady Lou Henry Hoover revived the tradition of having the First Lady decorate the White House tree with what she termed the first "official" White House Christmas tree in 1929. Then in 1961 First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of selecting a theme for the White House Christmas tree. That year she chose a Nutcracker motif.
According to records kept of such things, there was no indoor White House Christmas tree installed at all in 1902, 1904, 1907, and 1922. The lack of a tree in 1902 was because President Theodore Roosevelt apparently did not ordered one in time.
The official White House Christmas tree has been sometimes seen as controversial. For example in 1899 the President William McKinley received letters urging the president to forgo participation in the "Christmas tree habit". There was apparently some sort of early environmental movement which considered the cutting down of Christmas trees to be "arboreal infanticide", according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. Others were opposed to a tree in the White House because Christmas trees "un-American" since they were historically a German tradition. We know that there was at least one tree in the White House that year, in the kitchen department, for the maids.
The 1995 Blue Room Christmas Tree sought ornaments made by architecture students from across the United States. Contest winner Rene Spineto stirred up some controversy when she designed an ornament that depicted two stockings, one marked "Bill" and the other marked "Newt" (in reference to President Bill Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich). The stocking marked "Bill" was filled with candy and presents, but the one marked "Newt" was filled with coal. The Clinton administration hung the ornament on the tree, seeing more humor that controversy in the design
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In his 1998, former-FBI agent Gary Aldrich wrote a book called Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House. In the book, he claimed that the 1994 White House Christmas Tree was decorated with condoms and drug paraphernalia. Clinton's former Deputy Chief of Staff George Stephanopoulos called the book a "work of fiction".
This year the official White House Christmas tree stands 18 feet tall. It's theme seeks to honor the service of troops, veterans, and military families. This year the theme of the White House Christmas tree is “America the Brave.” The tree comes to the White House from Crystal Springs Tree Farm in Leighton, Pennsylvania, and is trimmed with ornaments decorated by military children living on U.S. military bases all over the world. Many of the ornaments hanging on the tree are cards with thank you messages written by children to the troops.