Sen. Mark Warner kicks off the holidays with Virginia students

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Capitol Hill turned into the North Pole as Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) transformed his Washington office into a winter wonderland with the help of kindergarten students from Bel Air Elementary School in Woodbridge, Virginia.

It’s a tradition Virginia’s Senior Senator has celebrated almost every year since taking office in 2009, bringing in students from around the Commonwealth. As part of the visit, the students have milk and cookies, sing songs, and help Warner trim his holiday tree.

“The Grinch has been at Capitol Hill for most of the year in terms of some of the craziness, you know, to get into the holiday spirit, to get into the Christmas spirit, to see these young kids come in,” Warner said.

Warner gets his trees from Mt. Rogers Tree Farm in Grayson County, firmly believing that Virginia has the very best holiday trees. This year, however, Warner things Mt. Rogers outdid itself, boasting “this year may be the biggest and best of any year since I’ve been here.”

Congress still has a lot of work to do before the end of the year, but Warner says it’s important to take time to celebrate the season.

“You always got to stay optimistic in this job. Sometimes the last few days have been particularly tough as we try to figure out how we’re going help Ukraine or not, to see these kids come in to see the kind of joy and wonder they bring.”

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