WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and his family arrived in Chicago, Illinois on Friday, after ending a 12-day vacation in Hawaii, his aides said Friday.

    The Obamas will check into the Hay-Adams Hotel close to the White House on Sunday so that the two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, can begin classes at Sidwell Friends School when the winter school break ends on Monday, according to a schedule released by Obama transition team.

    The family will move into the Blair House, the official guest house of the president, on Jan. 15, five days before Obama is inaugurated as the nation's first African-American commander-in-chief.

    On Jan. 17, following a long-held tradition, Obama and his family will take a daylong trip via railroad from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Washington D.C.

    He will then proceed to Wilmington, Delaware, where he and Vice-President-elect Joe Biden will hold another event.

    Biden and his family will join the Obamas by train to Baltimore, Maryland for another event.

    They will arrive in Washington, D.C. in the evening.

    On Jan. 20, a record crowd is expected to attend the inauguration of the 44th U.S. president at the west front of the Capitol.

    The entire length of the National Mall in Washington D.C. will be open for the first time to the public for the swearing-in.

    The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has warned of "crush-level crowds" during the event.

    Obama, the first Democrat who won more than 51 percent of the popular vote since 1964, will take the oath of office on the Bibleused by his favorite late president, Abraham Lincoln, a century and a half ago.

    Lincoln, the first Republican to sit as president, was sworn-in on March 4, 1861.

    The Bible he used, a 1,280-page book bound in burgundy velvet and published by the Oxford University Press, is part of the collections of the Library of Congress.