Reese Witherspoon is to kick off the festive season at the White House by hosting the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

The Legally Blonde star will take charge of the yearly event which will be held on Thursday (03Dec15) at President Barack Obama's official residence in Washington, D.C.

The star-studded ceremony will also include performances from acts including Fall Out Boy, Aloe Blacc, Tori Kelly and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

A statement tweeted by officials at the National Park Foundation, who help organise the ceremony, reads, "#NCTL2015 breaking news: @RWitherspoon will be joining us at @PresParkNPS to host @TheNationalTree Lighting on 12/3!"

Reese recently announced she wants to resurrect her Legally Blonde character Elle Woods by starring in a third film, and hinted the bubbly law graduate she played in two movies could be making a move into politics.

"I think we're ready to see Elle and see what she's up to lately," the actress told TV show Fashionably Late With Rachel Zoe, "A lot of writers over the years have come up with different ideas for it.

"I actually think it's kind of great right now because we're talking about women in politics and how important that is to get more women. And I think it'd be kind of a cool thing to have her be a Supreme Court justice or someone who runs for office."

The last installment in the franchise, which Reese produced but did not feature in, was Legally Blondes - a straight to TV spin-off starring British twin actresses Milly and Becky Rosso as Elle's cousins.