What: 11th Annual Santa's Elves Party.
Where: Home of Tilman and Paige Fertitta.
The scoop: The chillier Houston weather and the plush surroundings of the Fertitta's River Oaks mansion made for the perfect holiday setting as more than 350 guests turned out to support the annual benefit for MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital, raising $100,000 for leukemia and lymphoma research.
The beautifully decorated home combined with the good cause no doubt drew the large crowd, as the valet line stretch down the street. The Houston Children's Chorus, directed by Stephen Roddy, lined the circular staircase in the grand foyer of the home and greeted guests with a variety of carols. In the back yard, where heaters were set up to ward off the cold, Santa and a live reindeer from the North Pole posed for photos at his sleigh.
Guests dined on a bountiful buffet provided by a variety of Landry's restaurants and mingled amid the holiday setting that looked like a scene out of Architectural Digest. The cooler weather also gave guests a prime reason to don their winter clothes, as a number of women, including host Paige Fertitta and Dr. Lynda Chin, sported stylish black boots and others took the opportunity to wear long fur coats.
Who: Santa's Elves co-founders Diane and John B. Connally III, Kelli Kickerillo and Todd Forester, MD Anderson president Dr. Ronald DePinho, Diane Lokey Farb, Kelli and Eddy Blanton, Dr. Richard Gorlick, Kristin and David Thrasher, Gregg and Jo Lynn Falgout, Kristin and Hugh Hamilton, Harvey and Collie Michaels, and Charles Cooper.
Santa, Kristin Thrasher, David Thrasher.
