It really is a merry, merry Yuletide in the offices of Victory this week with news that the Holiday Shopping Card generated a whopping $1 million and change for the American Cancer Society. (Victory is the all-volunteer branch of ACS that presents the Cattle Barons Ball each spring and the Holiday Shopping Card each fall.)

No one is celebrating more than shopping card chairs Gigi Harbison and Roz Cooley.

These two uber-motivated gals started working last March on the annual project, lining up 740 merchants from the Woodlands to Sugar Land to participate in the discount shopping opportunity. Some 13,000 eager bargain-hunters plunked down $70 for the card that opens the doors to a 20-percent discount at the selected stores for 11 days of frenzied shopping.

Anyone who has ventured into Events or Bering's or any number of participating shops during that time period recognizes that something is up. The stores are typically packed.

Throughout the shopping card days, Victory held a series of events at retail outlets where a percentage of sales for the evening were dedicated to the shopping card. Further monies came from sponsorships including top sugar daddies I.W. Marks Jewelers and Weingarten Realty.

Among the many hands on deck in the successful project were Susan Nelson, Vickie Lander, Barbara Rubenstein, Cathy Robinson, Laurie Vander Ploeg, Fay Eason and Victory president Laura Hand.

Saluting social stars

You couldn't squeeze one more bold-faced type into the ballroom of the Westin Oaks Hotel the other night when the Social Book announced its 2011 Houston Treasures. Twenty were named as honorees and more than a handful of past honorees introduced them, meaning that everybody was somebody.

The folks you'll find on the pages of the 2011 Social Book as Houston Treasures are Denise and Philip Bahr, Linda Lyons Brown, Gracie and Bob Cavnar, Connie Cooke, Kimberly and Frank DeLape, Deborah Duncan, Debra and Mark Grierson, Ernie Manouse, Janice and Bob McNair, Bobbie and John Nau, Carol Sawyer, Dr. John Stehlin and Phoebe and Bobby Tudor.

Totaling 250, they sipped Pommery Champagne, dined on a four-course meal and partook of a five-foot cake from Cakes by Gina.

Key players in the evening were Houston Treasures founder and Social Book owner Warner Roberts, Social Book publisher Scott Evans, editor Jeff Henry and Sami Shbeeb.

Taking their bows

While we can't keep our finger on what all notables are doing during the holidays, we do know where three Houston young women and their parents will be on Dec. 29 — at the International Debutant Ball at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

Applause for Olivia Flores, Meredith Mosbacher and Emily Weber who will be among 30 young women from prominent families around the world to make their debuts in the elegant setting of the 56th annual social coronation. Presidential nieces Lauren Bush and Ashley Bush were both presented at the ball.

A sophomore at SMU, Olivia is the daughter of Cherie and Jim Flores, CEO of Plains Exploration & Production Co. and, according to information from the International Debutante Ball, she will wear a gown by Jenny Lee.

Studying at Brown University, Meredith is the daughter of Rob Mosbacher and Catherine Clark Mosbacher and the granddaughter of the late Bob Mosbacher, Secretary of Commerce under President George H.W. Bush. Her gown is by Monique Lhuillier.

A history major at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., Emily is the daughter of Betsy Cook Weber, a professor at the University of Houston, and Frederic Weber, a partner at Fulbright & Jaworski. Carolina Herrera is her designer of choice.

Partying like rock stars

That would be Bevin and Dan Dubrowski, who threw a tequila tasting and Mexican feast at their abode on Saturday night, entertaining a passel of friends with Blue Agave and Devin's home cooking. Guests were advised to dress like rocks stars for the evening that continued with a bus trip to Diverseworks for a production of Bluefinger, the new rock opera created by Catastrophic Theater.

After the rock opera, guests returned to the Dubrowski digs for more partying. In the way cool crowd were Kristen and Lee Nix, Ann and Matthew Wolfe, John and Becca Cason Thrash, Marley Lott, Kelly and Norman Bering, Patrick Breen and Anne Whitlock with Michael Skelly.

Packed to the rafters

That would be Tony's on Saturday night when it felt like the center of the universe. Every table was loaded with movers and shakers starting with the center table in the dining room where trial lawyer John Eddie Williams and his stunning wife Sheridan Williams hosted Houston Port Commissioner Janiece Longoria and Steve Lasher, attorney Bruce Buckley and his steady Sandy Rush, and Alina and Roberto Garcia. At another table, Patsy and Greg Fourticq dined with Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff.

The bar was rocking with Frank Hevrdjes hosting Anny Whyte and Steve Adger, Jo Lynn and Gregg Falgout entertaining Ileana and Michael Trevino on her birthday, Leslie and Hedley Karpas holding their regular table in the bar by the fireplace, and Karen and Mike Mayell at another table. Arriving for a late supper were former Gov. Mark White and wife Linda Gale, Barbara and Charles Hurwitz, and Shara Fryer and Barry Silverman.