Christmas with The Christies

Last week we had the opportunity to share a holiday moment at Drumthwacket; the official residence of the governor of New Jersey. The Drumthwacket Foundation, who is responsible for preserving, restoring, and curating the house and grounds, invited all of the garden clubs in New Jersey to decorate the mansion for the holidays, and then Chris and Mary Pat invited some of their closest friends over for dinner.

Mary Pat Christie and I met a couple years ago at a charity cocktail reception, and quickly bonded over a witty conversation on how we both successfully combined our roles as ‘trophy-wives and parents’ with a business career that is deeply rooted in community service. With conflicting schedules, we rarely get time to see each other, and when CC (what we call Chris and Chris) get in a room together, all they can do is banter back-and-forth about opposing political views. Actually, the views are pretty much the same, determining which party line they belong to is where the jovial conversation comes into play. Anyway, the times we do get together, it normally at their private residence in Mendham, and not Drumthwacket in Princeton. Mary Pat and I both agree that they don’t frequent the Governor’s mansion enough, but they have strong ties in their community and the kiddos are happy at their school. So this trip to Princeton was a treat.

The last time I was in Drumthwacket was when Jim was the governor. While I enjoyed my time there, Dina (Jim’s Ex), didn’t like how close Jim and I were getting as friends so we quickly parted ways. We see Jim every once in a while as Kensi has been taking dance lessons with Jacqueline, his youngest daughter.

Back to the original topic. Kensi enjoyed our Songs of the Season outing in Princeton. Chris (the Gov, not her daddy) kept giving her chocolates and candy canes. We would keep declining on her behalf; he would keep wielding his power by letting us know he ruled the state and there were troopers outside the door and could detain us at the drop of a hat. We asked Chris (Gov) to dress up like Santa for Kensington. He declined, but allowed her to sit behind is desk for a quick pic.