Making a Special Time of Year Even More Special

Ever the style maven, Sheila Prell Sonenshine knew exactly how to tell her three children she was staging a formal holiday dinner just for them.

“I sent them invitations done in calligraphy,” she said. “Like any party, the invitation sets the tone.”

When Sonenshine gathers with her family this month to dine on short ribs, latke , spinach casserole, tossed salad and cheesecake (“Each dish is a favorite of a family member,” she explains), it will mark the first time the family has celebrated the holidays alone.

“So, of course, it had to be very special,” says Sonenshine, a California Court of Appeals associate justice who resides with her husband, Ygal, in Corona del Mar. “These days, we don’t often get the chance to be together, just the five of us.”

For members of Orange County’s social scene, the holiday season represents the opportunity to do what they do best--schmooze for a good cause--on behalf of their families.

The Sonenshines’ dining room table will be set with Hanukkah plates that “we’ve had forever,” she says. Also on view will be the silver and beveled glass Hanukkah lamp the couple bought in Jerusalem.

“And I’ll set out all of the dreidels made by the children over the years. One was created out of Popsicle sticks,” she says. “It will be a time to celebrate our family’s closeness.”

Orange County Protocol Chief Gayle Anderson will return to her hometown of Minot, N.D., to whip up Norwegian dishes with her mother. “For the first time in 30 years, I’m going home to bake,” she says. “We’ll make lefse, a bread that is made with a special grooved rolling pin, and all the lovely Scandinavian cookies. For dinner, we’ll have codfish, Swedish meatballs and lingonberries.”

And afterward, a sleigh ride. “There’s a man with an antique carriage and sleigh collection who lives in the area,” Anderson says. “He’ll pull one of his sleighs into our snow-covered driveway and take us for an old-fashioned ride in the country. We’ll sip hot apple cider and sing carols.”

For Mary Roosevelt, widow of James Roosevelt, Christmas was always a time spent with a slew of family members gathered around. But now, with Jim gone and their daughter Becky married, Mary spends much of the day visiting friends.

But one tradition holds fast. “Becky always comes on Christmas to do stockings after breakfast,” Roosevelt says. “We’ve changed a lot of things since Jim died, but this always stays the same. Santa stuffs the stockings during the night and they’re on the fireplace when she gets here.”

During the year, Roosevelt collects the treasures she will place in the stocking Becky has had since she was a child. “I’ve filled it with everything from little games and puzzles to sweet pieces of jewelry and candies,” she says.

When Jim Roosevelt, FDR’s eldest son, was alive, she filled his stocking with toiletry articles she’d picked up in London. “There was always a special shaving cream and brush he liked--so I’d buy them during a trip and save them,” she says.

“Christmas was always spent with Jim, my parents and Becky and I. Now we’ve gone another direction and we’ve dealt with it. But, we’ll always maintain the stocking tradition. It’s very special to Becky.”

The decor in Pat House and Peter Keller’s homes in San Marino and Corona del Mar will focus on the couples’ collection of santos (saints). “They’re pieces of religious art from Hispanic cultures--mainly from Central America--that we treasure,” says House, who is director of development for the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana. Keller is the museum’s executive director. “And I’ll cook, mostly international fare. I have a northern and southern European background so there will be lamb and salmon and vegetable salads.

“Peter will do most of the decorating. He’s really into the santos . He has a great eye.” After Christmas, the couple will head for Mammoth. “We always go skiing,” House says. “It wouldn’t be the holidays without a ski trip.”

Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and his wife, Lois, will ski the slopes of Sun Valley during the holidays. “On Christmas, we’ll watch the ski instructors do their beautiful torchlight parade down Sun Valley Peak and have dinner at the lodge,” says Lois. “We love the snow. We go for the white Christmas.”

Tom Tomlinson, new president of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, will return to Anchorage to celebrate the Yuletide. “I’m probably the only person you know who will be installing baseboard on Christmas,” says Tomlinson, who will spend the day with friends. “Before I came to the center, I was finishing a remodel on a home there. Now, I need to get it ready to put it on the market. It will be my personal confrontation with the American Dream.”

Christmas was always a zany time for Tomlinson. “Thanksgiving was very traditional in my family. But on Christmas, you never knew who would be there. My mom was in the theater and she would always invite people over who didn’t have families. We always had a revolving door kind of Christmas. It was fun.”

Janice and Roger Johnson will return to Laguna Beach from their Georgetown digs to celebrate a traditional Christmas Eve party with friends and neighbors.

“We’ll have a buffet dinner,” Janice says. “I always make clam chowder and serve up shrimp, smoked salmon and ham.” And cookies and breads. “I love to bake at Christmas. I do a lemon-pecan cookie, a raspberry cookie and cranberry and banana-nut breads.”

After dinner, Janice plays the piano and everybody sings carols near a roaring fire. “Thank goodness for good friends,” she says.