First Lady Melania Trump Reads Christmas Story to Hospitalized Children

First Lady Melania Trump reads a Christmas book to children as she is seated between patients Sammie Burley (L) and Declan McCahan (R) at Children's National Hospital in Washington on Dec. 6, 2019. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

WASHINGTON—Melania Trump is continuing the tradition of first ladies reading a story to children too sick to leave the hospital for the holidays.

The White House says the first lady toured a short-stay unit and a surgical unit at Children’s National hospital in Washington on Friday.

She also visited with patients in a playroom and helped make snowflakes with them.

First Lady Melania Trump holds hands with Declan McCahan as she arrives to read a Christmas book to children at Children's National Hospital in Washington, on Dec. 6, 2019. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

Mrs. Trump came down to the atrium afterward and sat with two patients in front of a towering Christmas tree to read “Oliver the Ornament Meets Belle.”

The story is a sequel to the one she read at the hospital in 2018.

The tradition of a Christmastime visit with hospitalized children by a first lady dates back decades.

First Lady Melania Trump reacts as she receives gifts from patients Sammie Burley (L) and Declan McCahan (R) after reading a Christmas book to children at Children's National Hospital in Washington, on Dec. 6, 2019. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)