Melania Trump Will Make White House Christmas Decor ‘Beautiful’ After Previously Saying ‘Who Gives a F—‘ (Exclusive)

Melania Trump is gearing up for another four years as first lady and all the duties that come with the title, including decorating the White House for Christmas.

The ex-model wife of President-elect Donald Trump, 54, previously made headlines surrounding the holidays for her bold choice of Christmas decor — and because of leaked audio recordings where she griped about the responsibility of decorating 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. 

“I’m working … my a– off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f— about the Christmas stuff and decorations?” she was heard saying in a recording from 2018 that has recently resurfaced on social media. “But I need to do it, right?”

Years have passed since her White House holiday controversy, and a mix of Melania’s friends, political sources and Mar-a-Lago Club members tell PEOPLE that when she reprises her role as first lady, Americans can expect that she will step up and carry on with White House traditions as expected, regardless of her personal feelings.

But as usual, her son Barron’s needs will take precedence.

“Melania will do what she is asked as first lady but under her own terms, and that includes decorating the White House for the Christmas holidays,” a social source in Palm Beach tells PEOPLE. “She will set her own schedule, make her own rules, and use her own taste. She will do what she wants with Barron’s needs coming first above everything.”

“Will her attitude this term be any different than before?” the source adds. “I doubt it.”

Businesswoman Robin Bernstein, who is a friend of Melania’s, agrees that 18-year-old Barron’s needs will determine the amount of time she devotes to decorating for the holidays.

“Melania has exquisite taste and will make the White House beautiful and magical,” says Berstein, the former ambassador to the Dominican Republic under President Trump. “But she has Barron to look after, and that time will factor into how long she spends on various parts of the project.”

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Bernstein adds, “You can take one look at Melania and see how meticulous she is in appearance. She agrees that Christmas is a magical time of the year, and she definitely gets into it, and will continue to get into it. She has magical style herself and that will translate to the White House decoratIng. I think she will spend the time she needs to make it look perfect.”

Another social source thinks that Melania will prefer spending time at Mar-a-Lago or Trump Tower — where Barron is living while he attends New York University — than at the White House while she is first lady. But duty will beckon during certain times of the year.

“Seasonal fun in the sun is more her style, but like any other first lady she will have duties and [decorating] is one that is palatable to her,” the social source tells PEOPLE.

“This term, without her [late mother Amalija Knavs], she will seek to make her own traditions, and we may all be surprised. She has Barron with her and since he is closer to Washington than if she were hiding out in Palm Beach, she may likely spend more time and devote more honest interest in decorating for Christmas in the White House.”

The source adds: “This doesn’t mean she is gung-ho, it just means she will do what she has to do. And that is nothing new.”

A political source agrees with Bernstein that Melania is clever and creative and can put together something great for the White House holiday season.

“She is talented and can do a beautiful holiday scene in the White House even if she tackles it as just another duty,” the political source tells PEOPLE. “She will have more time this next year. She has an older son, she has to make her own life without her mother, and she could be a lot closer to the White House this term because Baron is in New York during those weeks leading up to the holiday season.”

Still, that source predicts that while Melania has taste, she may rely on her staff to “implement” the ideas, saying: “Don’t forget Melania is her own person, and she will give it the time she thinks it needs. No more or less.”

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As for whether or not Melania will be spending the actual holiday season at the White House — when the first lady traditionally hosts a series of receptions and parties — that remains to be seen. However, according to a social source, it is “not likely” that she will treat the White House as her main home.

“She will have her private living apartment there, and she has her home in New York, and her home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach,” a source previously told PEOPLE. “She will spend time in all of these places.”