The National Park Service oversees the installation of the National Christmas Tree and the lighting ceremony. (NPS photo

Many people might not know this but one of the duties of the National Park Service, in addition to taking care of ALL 419 of our wonderful national parks, is to oversee the National Christmas Tree.

The massive tree is located in the Ellipse at President's Park near the White House South Lawn.

The park is outside the White House fence and in an open area accessible by the public. It's free for the public to visit the tree.

This year, the tree is a 30-foot Colorado Spruce from Palmyra, PA. In addition, there are 56 smaller trees surrounding the big tree. They are adorned with some very unique one-of-a-kind ornaments.  These are not store-bought ornaments. They were created by students across the country.