Now Hear This — Our Dream Dinner Party Guest List: The Celebrities Who Truly Move the Needle (and Spicy Conversations)

It’s that time of year where your Uber budget skyrockets as you bop about from Preston Hollow to the Statler rooftop to the far eastern border of Highland Park to make appearances at various holiday parties. A few of us here on the PaperCity team are also hosting a soiree or two.

For this week’s Now Hear This PaperCity Dallas office question, I decided to ask: What’s your dream dinner party invitation list for a magical or mayhem-filled evening?

Christina Geyer, Dallas Editor in Chief

Dream dinner party guests? Better bust out the long dining table. Also, I’ll need at least a month to prepare proper seating arrangements.

Here it goes: Diana Vreeland. Warren Buffett. Joan Didion. Ronan Farrow. Princess Margaret. Frank Sinatra. Lee Radziwill. Karl Lagerfeld. Julia Child. Anderson Cooper. Oprah. Jimmy Stewart. Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. Nicky Haslam. Christiane Amanpour. Ernest Hemingway. Jacqueline de Ribes. Walt Disney. Audrey Hepburn. (Billy, I’ll give you a seat at the table, too.)

Lisa Collins Shaddock, Senior Editor

Everyone is invited to my dream holiday affair, which takes place in a beautiful home decked out in lights (classic soft white only for me) and a gigantic Christmas tree. Outside, there is a blanket of white snow on the ground and snowflakes falling.

For the guest of honor, I need only name but one: Santa Claus.

Billy Fong, Culture and Style Editor

My holiday party would be a motley bunch. I’ve always dreamed of throwing a party where part of the invitation would be a frame. Invitees would be instructed to fill the frame with whatever they wish.

Perhaps a drawing or doodle. A photograph. A poem. Then a wall would be reserved in my home to hang them all salon style when they arrived for the affair.

With that in mind, my guest list would include: Tilda Swinton, Bea Arthur, Akira Kurosawa, Mark Rothko, Baby Paley, J.D. Salinger, Halston, Doris Duke, Lapo Elkann, the whole Rose family (hailing from Schitt’s Creek), Aristotle Onassis, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Fran Lebowitz, Maggie Smith, Tallulah Bankhead and Fiver from Watership Down. The dream ending to the party would be Moira Rose and Bea Arthur at the piano belting out “I’ll Plant My Own Tree” and then “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Hillery Stack, Dallas Publisher

It’s so hard to say who I would want to host most. Would it be my ancestors to get a glimpse into my family’s past? Would it be the cast of This Is Us (don’t judge) to have a wonderful sob fest recapping every episode? Would it be Kate, William, Harry and Meghan to discuss all things British Royalty? Or would it be my best friends who are spread all throughout the world, to gather all my treasured gals in one room?

Regardless of who is there, the wine will be flowing, Tootsie will be giddy with excitement, my wedding crystal, silver and china will be polished to perfection and my famous charcuterie board will be bountiful!

Samantha Olguin, Senior Account Manager

Well, mine are all men, because as a girl what could be better? Also, dressed in fur we will dine fireside on rack of lamb with mint jelly and hot toddys with peppermint and cinnamon sticks. Those receiving invitations would include:

My Dad, because his humor was always the perfect addition to any dinner conversation. George W. Bush, because he and my Dad would really get along and I simply adore him. Oliver Hudson, my latest TV crush. He’s dreamy.

Prince Harry, (pre-married). Wonder if I would have a chance then? Frank Sinatra, since every good dinner party needs the appropriate serenade and there is no better than Ol’ Blue Eyes. Karl Lagerfeld, as someone has to bring party favors and there is no better choice then Chanel! I would also love him to bring his chic kitty cat, Choupette George Clooney. I feel like he would bring some very exciting stories to the mix.

Caroline Lidl, Editorial Intern

John Legend and Chrissy Tiegen would most definitely top my holiday party guest list —in hopes of getting a live performance from Legend and some time in the kitchen with Tiegen! As far as celebrity couples go, they are as genuine and engaging as they are glamorous. Legend’s newly released album has been my go-to holiday music this year, so there are few things I can think of better than a John Legend performance of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

If her Instagram stories are anything to go by, Tiegen is somewhat of a culinary star. Her posts look both beautiful and delicious. She would definitely have to give this cooking novice some advice. With these two in attendance, I would expect lots of laughs and some pretty iconic tweets.

I would also invite celebrity florist and artistic director, Jeff Leatham, to get insight to his creative genius and maybe receive one or two floral masterpieces.

Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas, co-founders of Revolve clothing, would also make the invite list. As a business and fashion journalism student, meeting the two people who built a billion-dollar e-commerce clothing brand through social media and statistics would be the opportunity of a lifetime. I am sure they would also be fabulously dressed.

If you ever have something you want our team to address, shoot us your thoughts via social media or email (@papercitydallas on Instagram; facebook.com/papercitymagdallas on Facebook; or yours truly, billy@papercitymag.com). Or, better yet send a message to the office, handwritten on the Smythson stationery of your choice — and feel free to include a bottle of Veuve. Champagne really helps get the ideas flowing.

Look for the next installment of Now Hear This from Billy Fong next Thursday.