The invitation to Gina and Dr. Devinder Bhatia's Christmas party is fast becoming one of the most coveted in town as word spreads on the gilded evening that draws a swell gathering of 300.

The couple opened their stately home in Southampton Saturday for a jolly, holly-laced evening for which Jackson & Co. provided the five-star party treats for which the company is so well known. We were thrilled to see the famed empanadas, a personal favorite, being passed throughout the evening.

It seemed that no expense was spared by the surgeon and his wife. Uniformed staff swarmed through the house and over the grounds, around the pool and in the pool house. Bountiful displays of party foods beckoned in every corner. Guests could ramble between the sushi station, the poolside sliders and risotto station, the grand cheese display on a back patio, desserts in the kitchen and in the formal dining room a beautiful array of beef tenderloins and all the trimmings.

No one went home hungry or thirsty as the bars were plentiful as were the servers who kept every glass brimming.

So who was on the guest list? A cross section of Houston that included heart surgeon Dr. Bud Frazier, University of St. Thomas president Bob Ivany and wife Marianne, gallerist and fundraiser Carolyn Farb, New Orleans transplants Darlene and Cappy Bisso, philanthropist Margaret Williams with Jim Daniel, Ericka Bagwell and beau Alex Klein and Amy and Jim Lee.

We also spotted Elizabeth and Gary Petersen, Kirby and Scott McCool, Millette and Haag Sherman, Katherine and Jeff Smith, Donna and John Speer, Julie and Chris Black, Melissa and Michael Mithoff, Sarah and Ron Simon, Nicole Brende, Dr. Saqib Siddiqui and so many more.