President-elect Barack Obama spent part of his Christmas visiting Marine Corps Base Hawaii. According to the press pool report, Obama worked a section of the room with about 25 tables where troops and their families were eating Christmas dinner.

The diners represented seven military units – Marine and Navy – and some of them were joined by their families.

According to the report:

One of the first things in the president-elect's view as he entered the hall was a life-size fake Santa wearing brick red, velvet robe. Obama worked the left side of the room after he walked in. "Hey guys," he said shaking hands to men who appeared to be in their early 20s at most.

"Good to see you man," Obama said. "Thanks for your service."

The service men and women rose to their feet when Obama approached their tables and extended his hand. The president-elect took his time and did not appear rushed. He stopped to talk for as long as a minute with some tables, sometimes nodding and placing his hands on his hips. He posed for photos with them.

Reporters could not hear the conversations Obama was having at the tables, only bits and pieces. The president-elect put his hand on one man's shoulder. He laughed a couple of times.

Some of the diners were elderly and appeared to be retired military. One elderly woman had two orange leis hanging from her wrist and stood up briefly when it seemed the president-elect was coming toward her table. She sat back down when he went to another table.

Obama greeted a table of four young men. One of them had a newspaper clipping for him to sign. The president-elect must have asked where they're from because he said, "So this is the East coast table," as he shook one of their hands and put his hand on his shoulder.

The service men and women seemed to enjoy having the president-elect there. Some appeared to be sending text messages from their cell phones when it was clear he was about to enter the room.

"Congratulations," one of the service members said as Obama greeted his table.

"I appreciate all you service guys," Obama said to others.

The only background noise in the hall was ESPN's NFL highlights playing on about ten flat screen TVs hanging throughout the long, rectangular room.

The tables in the cafeteria-style room that Obama greeted first had white or red tablecloths, green napkins and placemats that said "Happy Holidays." A buffet with white Christmas lights hanging from the top sat in the middle of the hall.