There'll be a Christmas after all at the White House

By MARY EVERTZ

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 8, 2000

For seven years first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton carefully planned elaborate Christmas themes for the White House.

Not so this year. Calls to the first lady's staff met with vague answers such as "We don't have a special theme this year." Requests for the information when it was available went unfulfilled. Even the first couple's Christmas card was up in the air last week.

Monday, amid all the seesawing over who will be the next occupants of the White House, the first lady held her last White House Christmas decorations news conference.

White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier created a 300-pound gingerbread, chocolate and marzipan model of the presidential residence. "Roland, you have outdone yourself!" said Sen.-elect Clinton. (Last year's effort weighed a mere 200 pounds.) "That's a pretty good likeness of Lincoln over the fireplace," Mrs. Clinton added. Wonder if she was thinking of her husband's pose on a recent cover of Esquire?

Christmas card creator Ray Ellis, of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., presented Mrs. Clinton with his watercolor of the Yellow Oval Room, the image for this year's card.

"That's the closest I'll get to the Lincoln Bedroom," the artist quipped.

"I don't know," the first lady replied. "We have six weeks left."

New York gossip columns are speculating that the Clintons are about to put their home in Chappaqua, N.Y., on the market. The proceeds from the sale would enable the Clintons to get a place in Manhattan and one for Sen.-elect Clinton in Washington.

Bagging a charity event

It's the Palm Beach way of doing things -- giving an elaborate opening for a worthy cause. Lana Marks, one of the world's outstanding luxury accessories designers, was to open her hometown retail store on fashion-famous Worth Avenue last night with pomp and purpose.

The gala, scheduled after our deadline, was to honor Nikki Harris, Julie Cummings and Lilli Monett of the Community Foundation of the Palm Beaches and Martin County. The foundation in turn benefitted from a percentage of the sales of Marks' bags at the opening party.

Marks, who was a close friend of the late Princess Diana, who loved her creations, is also a favorite designer of Sharon Stone, Angela Bassett, Princess Marie-Chantal, Oprah Winfrey, Courtney Cox-Arquette, Farrah Fawcett and Elizabeth Taylor.

The Lana Marks Collection is known for more than 150 styles of alligator, ostrich, crocodile and lizard handbags, which come in more than 100 colors. The bags carry some hefty prices,from $1,200 to $25,000.

Marks, who calls Palm Beach and Aspen home, founded her company in 1987 in Palm Beach. She opened her first retail shop on New York's Madison Avenue in 1994 and a second in Aspen in 1998. She'll open her fourth boutique in Beverly Hills a week before the Academy Awards in March.

Another court date

While the lawyers for presidential hopefuls duked it out in court, there was plenty of action on other courts -- tennis courts in Delray Beach. Some of the nation's leading celebrities and professional tennis players took part in the 11th annual Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro Celebrity Classic at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.

Among the highlights: former President George Bush teamed with Evert to play Regis Philbin and Jim Courier. Bush and Evert won on this court -- though Bush has since had his hip replaced at the Mayo Clinic. The event raised $1-million, bringing the 11-year total to more than $9.3-million. The money goes to fight drug abuse and assist neglected and abused children in South Florida.

Among those taking part in the tourney were Joy Philbin, comedian Chevy Chase, actor Alan Thicke, Dateline NBC anchor Stone Phillips, ice skater Caryn Kadavy, reporter-commentator Bud Collins, Olympic decathlete Dan O'Brien and tennis players Carling Bassett-Seguso and Tommy Haas.

Adding to the excitement was the appearance of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who was there to present the checks to some of the beneficiaries of the charity tournament. When she appeared, Harris received both boos and cheers.

Bid on ballots

St. Louis entrepreneur Michael Barnes, who brokered the $3-million sale of Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball, claims to have presented Harris with an offer to purchase Florida's 6-million plus ballots, chad and all, for $1-million. Barnes has yet to hear from Harris.

Star-gazing

Home Shopping Network brought in a galaxy of stars this week to kick off its holiday festivities. Wednesday night the luminaries gathered in the Tiffany Ballroom of the historic Belleview Biltmore for a party. Among those toasting the holidays: singers Helen Reddy and Frankie Avalon, actor Jennifer Flavin-Stallone and designer Adrienne Arpel.

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