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Here’s why the White House needs 500 pounds of cookie dough.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Planning for the holiday season starts in March; by June, White House staffers are holding weekly meetings to discuss the 20 holiday season receptions they’ll host in December; and work begins in earnest after Thanksgiving. This morning The New York Times reveals that holiday celebrations will require:

  • 1,600 pounds of lamb chops
  • 45 brined turkeys
  • 1,200 pounds of sweet potatoes
  • a “500-pound gingerbread-and-chocolate White House”
  • 62 trees
  • 70,000 ornaments
  • 4,000 bells
  • 6,400 pompoms

But best of all might be the 500 pounds of cookie dough that will make 25,000 holiday-themed cookies, “including some that look like Bo and Sunny, the Obamas’ dogs.”