Story highlights It was a characteristic end to an often tumultuous year

The President regularly found himself exactly where he wanted to be: at the center of attention

West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) All was not calm and bright on President Donald Trump's Twitter feed this Christmas.

Trump, marking his first Christmas as President from his private club here, balanced the traditional presidential holiday tasks -- teleconferencing with the troops, speaking with young kids looking for Santa Claus and attending a late-night church service -- with the fire-breathing tweets that helped turn him from boisterous businessman to an unconventional commander in chief.

It was a characteristic end to an often tumultuous year, where the President regularly found himself exactly where he wanted to be: at the center of attention.

Trump celebrated the holiday with his family around him at Mar-a-Lago, the private estate that Trump has warmed to calling the "Winter White House." Joined by most of his children and grandchildren, along with first lady Melania Trump and her parents, the Trump brood sat at the center of the club's dining room on Sunday night, kept at arm's length with rope-and-stanchion around their tables.

Feasting on turkey, beef tenderloin and creamy kale, Trump was said to be in good spirits and surrounded by the friends and informal advisers that make up the group of men and women who help steer the President from outside the White House.

Read More