President Donald Trump (C) delivers remarks from the Truman Balcony with first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump (L) during the 139th Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

After such a late start in planning that some wondered if it would even happen, the Trump family is managing to pull off their first White House Easter Egg Roll.

The event kicked off at 7:30 a.m. as kids wearing “Make America Great Again” hats with bunny ears, pastel colored dresses, flowered bonnets, and other festive attire scoured the South Lawn for colored eggs.

President Donald Trump greeted his guests from the Truman Balcony this morning, telling them that after signing cards for troops, he’d come join them for a roll. “And I don’t know if we’re going to be successful, but I know a lot of people down there are going to be successful,” Trump said. “I’ve seen those kids, and they’re highly, highly competitive. That I can tell you.”

He also assured the children that “we will be stronger and bigger and better as a nation than ever before” and thanked his wife, Melania Trump, for organizing the event.

With more low key entertainment and a guest list of 21,000 children and parents (compared to 35,000 last year), this year’s celebration is significantly scaled back. “We’re really focused on quality of the experience over quantity of attendees,” the first lady’s communication’s director, Stephanie Grisham, told CNN.

“As we renew this tradition, thank you for joining us… we wish you great fun,” Melania Trump said, welcoming her attendees. She also appeared on hand to subtly remind her husband of proper protocol during the National Anthem.

The first lady read “Party Animals” on the lawn’s reading nook. And while White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer ditched his bunny suit, he still read “How to Catch The Easter Bunny” alongside a kid from the audience.

Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Barron Trump, and even first daughter Tiffany Trump also made appearances today to greet guests.

Meanwhile, President Trump signed hats… then tossed them into the crowd and avoided questions about North Korea, among other interactions with his guests.

Planning for the 139th annual celebration got off to an extremely late start for such a complex event, sources told CNN, the New York Times, and Politico. Preparations really only kicked into gear after Wells Wood Turning tweeted in February that the White House should contact them, as their deadline was approaching to manufacture the traditional wooden eggs.

White House staffers eventually reached out, and the manufacturer created 18,000 custom eggs.

According to Politico, the White House also didn’t touch base with its big music act, the Martin Family Circus (last year, Beyonce made a surprise visit and Idina Menzel performed), until about a month ago and actually nailed down their performance in recent days. A lot of preparations continued over the weekend as volunteers stuffed goodie bags, among other things.

Grisham said that the first lady really wanted to “get back to the tradition” with things like military bands “and focusing on the family itself.”

Other familiar faces spotted on the lawn included the Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents, who hosted their own hunt for the first time this year, and Elmo, who even managed to get some lobbying in.

Filed Under: easter egg roll, trump easter egg roll, white house easter egg roll,