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One of the best traditions around Christmas time is viewing all the light displays around towns and homes. The decorations and bright, colorful lights always have a way of making the holiday feel extra special.

KOMU 8's Evie Allen and Chief Photographer Dominick Lee take us to one house, the governor's mansion, which is affectionately known as "The People's House."

While a construction like this might make sense for a holiday special story on television, it seems out of place and editoralized in a written story. I found a more newsworthy angle and omitted language like this throughout the story.
The governor's mansion holds a tree lighting ceremony every year, opening the house up to the public.

The music, the smiles, and the festive decor all reflect the warmth and joy at the governor's mansion at Christmas time. Every year, the mansion opens up to the public for a tree lighting ceremony and a candlelight tour of the first floor.

"This is our tradition. The three of us work together," one visitor said.

"We come here every single year. It's really pretty," another visitor said.

I reviewed the reporter’s notes and discovered they did not get the names of these sources, which is not acceptable for a written story and is not in line with the newsroom’s guidelines for unnamed or anonymous sources. I removed all quotes attributed to unknown sources to maintain editorial integrity.
"There are tons of people who don't get to come to the governor's mansion. We want to be able to share that with
everyone," Executive Director of the Missouri Governor's Mansion, Shari Childs, said.

Before the big night, in early December, Childs teams up with Silver Dollar City to adorn "the people's house" with
yuletide embellishments.

"They bring their magic-makers, so we have three ladies that come and stay a week with us and put all of the thoughts
and visions together to bring the whole theme to life," Childs said.

This year's theme is "Saint Nicholas and the Season of Giving.

"Giving is much better than receiving, and that's who Missourians are. That's who they are in their heart," Governor
Mike Kehoe said.

I addressed AP style errors related to titles throughout the story.
Childs said when first walking in the mansion, there's an overwhelming feeling that almost takes your breath away.

This story included many unnecessary transitions that I removed. A restructure of the story helped the quotes find a more natural place in the narrative.
"There's magic in this house that you can't recreate, unless it's in this house, so I think that, when you walk in, that's what you want to feel, is the magic of the home," Childs said.

"People are going to come in here and say Wow," Kehoe added.

On the ceremony night, the doors open with Governor Kehoe and First Lady Claudia Kehoe greeting all the guests.

"We're really excited to be here. We have a four-year-old grandson named Rory, and he loves walking outside the
governor's mansion, so he's excited to get to come inside," one visitor said.

There are also nearly 50 docents who help share the history of the house.

"Every time you take a walk around a different docent, you kind of get a different tour," Kehoe said.

The house is 154 years old and was built in 1871. Inside, you will find a freestanding winding stairway with a hand-carved black walnut banister, marble fireplaces, elaborate 17-foot ceilings, and Renaissance revival furnishings.

"We want to be good stewards of that furniture and the home, so that it can be seen for another 154 years," Childs said.

There is one particular highlight the governor enjoys at the mansion.

"I think the tradition of putting ladies' portraits around the mansion, the first ladies. I think that's really cool," Kehoe said.

So, if you find yourself looking for holiday displays, you can always go home for Christmas.

On the night of the ceremony this year, the governor had special guests from Raymond's Society and representatives from Toys for Tots to encourage this year's theme of giving. It reflects the charitable initiative of "Mansion on a Mission" by the governor and the first lady.

In the first winter holiday season of his administration, Gov. Mike Kehoe is hoping to make the Missouri Governor's Mansion feel like "the people's house."

The Governor's Mansion holds a tree lighting ceremony every year, opening the house up to the public. Candlelight tours of the first floor follow the tree lighting.

"There are tons of people who don't get to come to the governor's mansion," Missouri Governor's Mansion Executive Director Shari Childs said. "We want to be able to share that with everyone."

The tree lighting and first day of candlelight tours was on Dec. 5 this year, with a second day of tours on Dec. 8. Before the big night, Childs teamed up with Silver Dollar City to adorn "the people's house" with yuletide embellishments.

"They bring their magic-makers, so we have three ladies that come and stay a week with us and put all of the thoughts and visions together to bring the whole theme to life," Childs said.

This year's theme was "Saint Nicholas and the Season of Giving."

"Giving is much better than receiving, and that's who Missourians are," Kehoe said. "That's who they are in their heart."

On the ceremony night, the doors opened with Kehoe and first lady Claudia Kehoe greeting guests.

"There's magic in this house that you can't recreate unless it's in this house, so I think that, when you walk in, that's what you want to feel, is the magic of the home," Childs said.

"People are going to come in here and say, 'Wow," Kehoe added.

There were nearly 50 guides who helped share the history of the house.

The mansion is 154 years old and was built in 1871. Inside, you will find a freestanding winding stairway with a hand-carved black walnut banister, marble fireplaces, elaborate 17-foot ceilings, and Renaissance revival furnishings.

"We want to be good stewards of that furniture and the home so that it can be seen for another 154 years," Childs said.