As President Bush settles in for his last Christmas in office, he has been busy handing out presents to some of his top aides. And they are not the kind that require wrapping paper or a bow.

The White House announced on Wednesday the appointments of key members of the president’s inner circle, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, to high-profile boards and commissions. The Christmas Eve appointments will allow them to serve far beyond Jan. 20, the end of Mr. Bush’s term in office.

The White House said that the positions are unpaid, but appointees receive reimbursement for expenses and per diem compensation. They do not require Senate confirmation.

Ms. Rice got a spot on the John F. Kennedy Center’s board of trustees until September 2014. The position should guarantee her good seats at the performing arts venue for the next six years; she is currently an ex-officio member of the board.

Mr. Bush’s gift to Mr. Gutierrez: membership on the board of trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a research institute in Washington. Joining Mr. Gutierrez as a trustee is Barry Jackson, a former deputy to Karl Rove, who serves as assistant to the president for strategic initiatives and external affairs.



It is not uncommon for presidents to bestow these positions on friends and political allies. On Wednesday the White House defended the appointments.

“The president has chosen these individuals because of their high-level work in their respective policy areas,” said Carlton Carroll, a White House spokesman. “Each of them brings unique and valuable experience that will benefit the boards.”

Maria Cino, a longtime ally of the president who was deputy secretary of the Department of Transportation and helped run the 2008 Republican National Convention, received a four-year term on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. President Bush also extended the same courtesy to Israel Hernandez, who was once a personal aide to Mr. Bush in Texas and now serves as an assistant secretary of commerce and director general of the United States Commercial Service.

The role of the trade policy committee is to provide advice to the United States trade representative.

Other friends and high-dollar Republican donors are getting more than stocking-stuffers from the president this year; some of them have also been invited to fill spots on these boards. And the first lady, Laura Bush, appears to be taking care of her own, too. The president appointed her chief of staff, Anita B. McBride, to a three-year term on the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Sheryl Stolberg contributed reporting to this post.