Quiet Christmas Day for Obamas in Hawaii

HONOLULU — President Obama and his wife began their Christmas Day with a trip to the gym at 6:40 a.m. at a nearby Marine base, starting a holiday in his childhood home and a respite from the gridlock of Washington.

The respite didn't last: His day was interrupted by a briefing on a failed terrorist attack on a Northwest Airlines flight as it was landing in Detroit. He discussed it with security officials, and stricter security measures, which were not described, were imposed on airline travel.

Later in the day, he visited military members and their families at a Marine Corps base near his vacation home in Hawaii.

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama made an unannounced stop at Marine Corps Base Hawaii as military personnel ate their holiday meal.

He walked through the dining hall and thanked men and women in uniform for their service.

The vacation, the president's second since taking office, came just a day after the Senate passed its version of his top domestic priority, a health-care overhaul bill.

White House officials said the first family ate roast beef, potatoes and traditional side dishes at a rented, $9 million estate in Kailua on the island of Oahu. The president and his wife didn't exchange gifts with each other, although they did with their daughters, aides said. The family did not attend church.

Also on hand was Obama's sister, Maya Soetero-Ng and her husband, Konrad Ng, and their children.

Michelle Obama told patients and staff at Washington Hospital Center this week that the children, Sasha and Malia, had gotten their father something related to sports, but refused to say more for fear of spoiling the surprise.

White House officials said there would be no public events while the first family took a break from Washington and the political challenges that await the president's return in the new year.

Officials said work would continue on Obama's agenda and he would receive necessary briefings.

Even so, the work space for the traveling White House media included a camera-ready podium with U.S. flags for backdrops should Obama need to address reporters.

The president doesn't really get vacation amid two wars and continuing economic problems.

Even his departure was delayed because his top advisers wanted him in Washington to witness — or baby-sit, depending on the official — the U.S. Senate pass its piece of a government overhaul of health-care coverage.

This year, security in the Kailua neighborhood is tighter. Parking was blocked off, and the Coast Guard set up a security zone offshore.

In addition to Obama's immediate family and at least two sets of friends from Chicago, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and National Security Council Chief of Staff Denis McDonough are expected to join him on the trip.

Material from The Washington Post is included in this report.