A wet Christmas for the Obamas

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There’s no white Christmas for the first family in Kailua, Hawaii, unless you count the typical tropical rain.

But the president and first lady didn’t use the wet weather as an excuse to sleep in on their first day of vacation. They headed to the Marine Corps Base Hawaii before 7 a.m., passing through dark streets and quiet houses in a motorcade to work out at a gym on base.

There’s no word on whether the Obamas saw Santa Claus en route, but they did pass dozens of reporters and Secret Service agents -- including four unlucky agents sitting on a boat in a canal near the Obamas’ vacation house, in the rain.

Barack and Michelle Obama aren’t exchanging gifts this year, the White House says, but Santa will visit Sasha and Malia. The girls have revealed that they got their father a sports-related gift.

The first family also will exchange gifts with Barack Obama’s sister, Maya Soetero-Ng, her husband, Konrad Ng, and their children.

The Obama family’s annual talent show will happen later in the Hawaii trip -- perhaps on a day with a little more sun. At 10 a.m., the sun still hadn’t pushed through the clouds.

But at a balmy 73 degrees, the Obamas’ vacation town of choice is 34 degrees warmer than the White House -- not to mention the blizzard-battered Midwest and Plains.

-- Alana Semuels