Getting Congratulatory Cards from the President

Did you know that you can get a congratulatory card from the current President and First Lady? I didn't and wish I knew in time to get one for my first son. To those unaware as I used to be, there are select events that the White House will send a congratulations card for.

They include:

- birth or adoption of child (can be sent up to a year after)
- birthdays (veterans, 70+ or civilians, 80+)
- wedding (send after the event)
- retirement (minimum 30 years on job)
- eagle scout award
- girl scout gold award
- bar/bat mitzvah or equivalent religious occasion

You must be a U.S. Citizen in order to get a response.

Additionally, you must include certain details. Those include:

- name and address
- title to address to (Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr., etc)
- age or years of marriage
- your name and phone number (daytime hours)
- specific mailing instructions, if any
- exact date of occasion, if applicable
- for weddings be sure to include married names of couple and new address, if applicable

The White House has announced that there is a backlog of requests so you should expect a wait. I mailed mine out only recently so I cannot give an estimate at this time. I know that some women who had babies born in May mailed theirs out and had around a 2-3 month wait period for a reply, but it did come!

This is not limited to President Obama's term. It's traditional for whatever current President is in office to do. For example, my oldest son would have received his card from President Bush.
 
Mail your information to:

President Barack Obama
White House
Greetings Office Rm 39
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington DC 20500

My son was very excited about this. We've only recently began talking about the concept of a President. The election seemed a perfect time to begin discussing how we pick our leaders and what their jobs actually are. He has no bias about the politicians yet (oh, treasure it!) and really enjoyed the idea of sending mail to such an important man.

Cole even signed the letter.

I'll update this post with a picture of our congratulations card when we receive it!

Update on 11-28-2012:

We mailed off the letter in October and received our reply the day after Thanksgiving. So about a month turn-around for time. I'm thrilled to have it and Cole was ecstatic.