Director Julian Schnabel and girlfriend Rula Jebreal, guests of honor at Cipriani Downtown

‘Tis the season to be jolly, or something like that, and holiday parties have been popping up all over town. In NYC, some art galleries are hosting extra cocktails; designers are doing special shopping and drinking nights; and at Cipriani in Soho, the Italians served up a five course meal, with director/artist Juian Schnabel and his girlfriend, Palestinian writer Rula Jebreal at the center table. (Before meeting Schnabel and now spending much time in NYC, Jebreal lived in Rome.)

Other guests  assembled in the second floor private room on West Broadway included Greek shipping hier (and Paris Hilton’s ex)  Stavros Niarchos, a nephew of Gianni Versace, jewelry designer Stefania Pia, and a sculptor named Arturo, who claimed her made the bull down on Wall Street.

A lot of the ladies wore red coats and dresses, the Italian guys donned gold watches, and everyone feasted on the continuous dishes coming out of the kitchen that included eggplant parmesan, artichoke salad, beef carpaccio, pasta with four cheeses, prosciutto ham, and tiramisu. Given the food, every day could be a holiday. As the Italians say, “Mangia, mangia!” (“Eat! Eat!”) (Check out some of the Cipriani specialities below)