Obama family lands in Hawaii for the holidays (PHOTOS)

GlobalPost

Even presidents need vacations. Or, in this case, especially presidents.

Obama and his family arrived in Hawaii early Saturday morning, after his last-ditch attempts to resolve the looming fiscal cliff before Christmas were rejected by Republican House Speaker John Boehner. 

“Merry Christmas – because we didn’t get this done, I’ll see you next week,” Obama said at a press conference, during which he told reporters he was still hopeful that a solution could be reached before the Bush era tax cuts expire, the Washington Post reported

"As we leave town for a few days to be with our families, it will give us some perspective," Obama said, joking that lawmakers should "drink some egg nog, [and] have some Christmas cookies" and saying he hoped the break would give everyone a chance to "cool off," according to the Hill

Boehner also headed home to Ohio on Friday for the holidays, Fox News reported

The Obamas traveled in Air Force One, which landed in Honolulu minutes after midnight local time on Saturday, the Associated Press reported

The first family is renting a resort in the beach town of Kailua, on the east side of Oahu, as they have done every year since Obama took office. The vacation home is 12 miles from downtown Honolulu and is nearby a Marine base, according to the AP. 

Obama's holiday looks like it will be a short one: officials said the president, who was born in Hawaii, is expected to return to Washington on Wednesday. 

More from GlobalPost: Britain releases secret colonial files that profile Barack Obama Sr.

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