It was the tea party the Obamas just couldn’t resist. 
 
 A White House “Alice in Wonderland” costume ball — put on by Johnny Depp and Hollywood director Tim Burton — proved to be a Mad-as-a-Hatter idea that was never made public for fear of a political backlash during hard economic times, according to a new tell-all. 
 
 “The Obamas,” by New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor, tells of the first Halloween party the first couple feted at the White House in 2009. It was so over the top that “Star Wars” creator George Lucas sent the original Chewbacca to mingle with invited guests. 
 
 The book reveals how any official announcement of the glittering affair — coming at a time when Tea Party activists and voters furious over the lagging economy, 10-percent unemployment rate, bank bailouts and Obama’s health-care plan were staging protests — quickly vanished down the rabbit hole. 
 
 “White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans — or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care — that the event was not discussed publicly and Burton’s and Depp’s contributions went unacknowledged,” the book says. 
 
 However, the White House made certain that more humble Halloween festivities earlier that day — for thousands of Washington-area schoolkids — were well reported by the press corps. 
 
 Then the Obamas went inside, where an invitation-only affair for children of military personnel and White House administrators unfolded in the East Room. 
 
 Unbeknownst to reporters, the State Dining Room had also been transformed into a secretive White House Wonderland. 
 
 Tim Burton decorated it “in his signature creepy-comic style. His film version was about to be released, and he had turned the room into the Mad Hatter’s tea party, with a long table set with antique-looking linens, enormous stuffed animals in chairs, and tiered serving plates with treats like bone-shaped meringue cookies,” reports the book, which The Post purchased at a Manhattan bookstore. 
 
 “Fruit punch was served in blood vials at the bar. Burton’s own Mad Hatter, the actor Johnny Depp, presided over the scene in full costume, standing up on a table to welcome everyone in character.” 
 
 The Obamas’ daughters, Malia and Sasha, then 11 and 8 respectively, “sat at the table, surrounded by a gaggle of their friends, and then proceeded to the next delight, a magic show in the East Room.” 
 
 Kantor’s book details more personal aspects of the Obama White House, serving up glimpses of the first couple’s marriage, parenting, sometimes tense handling of staff issues and even the president’s sly sense of humor when it comes to race. 
 
 One morning during his Senate campaign, Obama didn’t show up to a meeting with donors. “After a frantic search, a white staffer named Peter Coffey called Obama’s barbershop to find that, yes, he was there.” 
 
 The president confronted Coffey about the call later that day. 
 
 “ ‘The relationship between a black man and his barber is sacred,’ Obama bellowed . . . ‘For failing to understand this truth, your punishment is to watch the movie “Barbershop.” And for further punishment, you will then watch the sequel, “Barbershop 2.” ’ ” 
 
 Often White House staffers found themselves in the middle of husband-and-wife quarrels. 
 
 “The advisors could feel hopelessly caught between husband and wife,” Kantor writes. “The Obama marriage was awkward for everyone: for the aides, for the president . . . and for the first lady.” ||||| A White House official told POLITICO Sunday that a Halloween party thrown for military families in 2009 was no secret and that there was no conspiracy to cover-up the role of two well-known Hollywood figures. 
 
 In her new book "The Obamas," Jodi Kantor reports that the White House communications staff was concerned about the optics of the Obamas hosting a star-studded 'Alice in Wonderland'-themed Halloween party in a time of economic misery. As a result, Kantor reports, they did not highlight the role that director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp played at the event. Burton helped decorate the White House for the party, while Depp attended in costume as the Mad Hatter. 
 
 Several news outlets, including Fox News, the New York Post and others characterized the party as "secret." 
 
 "This was an event for local school children from the Washington DC area and for hundreds of military families. If we wanted this event to be a secret, we probably wouldn't have invited the press corps to cover it, release photos of it to Flickr, or post a video from it on the White House website," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement. "Even Johnny Depp’s fans knew about it and posted on their website. Just goes to show you can't believe everything you read in books these days." 
 
 The official White House social media releases and the reporter pool dispatches from the party do not mention either Burton or Depp, but the Depp fan site JohnnyDeppNews.com reported that the actor was in attendance with Burton. And the Nashville Tennessean also reported that both Depp and Burton were at the White House for the party. Then-White House press secretary Robert Gibbs addressed the event in his briefing, but did not go into any detail. 
 
 UPDATE 2/2/2012: Author Jodi Kantor emails: "The reporting in my book on the 2009 Halloween celebrations is accurate. Here is the key distinction, which I explained on page 132: the trick or treating that took place outside was well-documented, with photographs that were released, pool reports, and so on. But the party inside the White House, which Tim Burton and Johnny Depp contributed to, was kept quiet. The White House never acknowledged their contributions, did not allow the pool reporter inside, etc. The Washington Post checked this independently as well. " ||||| There was a government handout under way at the White House on Saturday evening — a sweet one. 
 
 President Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, celebrated Halloween by handing out candy and other goodies to more than 2,000 trick-or-treaters from selected Washington, Virginia and Maryland elementary schools. The children filled the North Lawn of the White House — bathed in orange light for the occasion — as a giant black spider and a long web dangled from the North Portico. 
 
 It was the first Halloween at the White House for the Obama family, and they opened up the gates to kids, ages 6 to 14, who were allowed to roam around in their costumes. It was a curious scene, with goblins, monsters and characters of all kinds mingling around real-life Secret Service agents. 
 
 Mr. Obama did not dress up, wearing just a sweater and slacks — perhaps his costume was president of the United States. Mrs. Obama played the role of Cat Woman. The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, dressed as Darth Vader, and the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Susan E. Rice, went as the Disney character Goofy. 
 
 For about 30 minutes, the president, the first lady and the first grandmother, Marian Robinson, smiled broadly as they handed out treats on the front steps of the North Portico. 
 
 Later, a few hundred military families, chosen by each service, roamed the first floor of the White House as an old-fashioned turntable played albums. Costumes and characters abounded. 
 
 “They’re adorable,” Mr. Obama said, “as is, by the way, my wife — a very nice-looking Cat Woman.” 
 
 So what kind of loot did the president prepare? 
 
 A white-and-blue box of M&Ms — imprinted with Mr. Obama’s autograph — and a sweet butter cookie made by the White House pastry chef. And in keeping with the theme of healthy eating inside the White House that Mrs. Obama has promoted, the children were also given a dried fruit mix of cherries, apricots, pears, apples and papayas.
– At the nadir of the economic crisis, the Obama White House held a lavish Alice in Wonderland-themed Halloween costume party, organized by Johnny Depp and Tim Burton and full of Star Wars character. But with unemployment at 10%, the Tea Party at its apex, and the economic downturn still rocking the country, officials feared the 2009 party would look terribly decadent, so kept it a secret, reports the New York Post. “White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans—or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care—that the event was not discussed publicly, and Burton’s and Depp’s contributions went unacknowledged,” alleges Jodi Kantor in her new book, The Obamas. But was it really a secret? The White House fired back yesterday, saying the party was no secret: Photos were released via the White House's Flickr account and websites and newspapers at the time mentioned Johnny Depp's attendance, reports Politico. "Just goes to show you can't believe everything you read in books these days," said a White House spokesman. You can see plenty of pics (including Chewbacca, but no mention of Depp or Burton) in the New York Times' original coverage of the event.