Party animals have more fun: Inside the Houses & Parties for Paperless Post launch party

Paperless Post BlogGet-Togethers > Party animals have more fun: Inside the Houses & Parties for Paperless Post launch party

November 6, 2026

5 min read

On Thursday night, the party animals came out in full force in New York City’s Chinatown. To celebrate the launch of the new Houses & Parties for Paperless Post invitation collection, Houses & Parties founder Rebecca Gardner, together with Paperless Post co-founder and CEO James Hirschfeld, invited friends, collaborators, and devotees of the elegant and unusual to join them for “dim sum… and then some.”

Launched in 2011, Houses & Parties spans events, interiors, and an online shop stocked with one-of-a-kind treasures—and the new invitation collection brings that same offbeat irreverence to every gathering. For more on the collection’s inspiration and a taste of Rebecca’s entertaining philosophy, read her holiday hosting rules (and when to break them).

Toasting the collection’s launch—and kicking off holiday celebration season—the soirée took place at Nom Wah Tea Parlor, the oldest continuously operating dim sum restaurant in New York City. First opened on Doyers Street in 1920 as a bakery and tea parlor, the beloved institution has remained a neighborhood staple for over a century, steeped in the perfect vintage charm to set the stage for an eclectic cocktail party with a little mischief on the menu.

Table of Contents

Step right up and go inside the madcap main event

LEFT: Rebecca Gardner, in a black polka dot dress and a hat shaped like a caviar tin, smiles as she holds a silver tray of caviar, toast points, and scallion pancakes in a room filled with gold balloons and streamers. RIGHT: A cream party invitation with vintage-style illustrations of a giraffe, monkey, flamingo, elephant, and alligator in party hats, with text reading PARTY ANIMALS HAVE MORE FUN sits in a lavender envelope with a red and white striped liner on a backdrop of colorful confetti. — “Pink Elephant in the Room” by Houses & Parties for Paperless Post

The theme was simple: Party animals have more fun. The moment guests stepped inside, they were met with a ceiling covered in multicolored balloons with long strings dangling beneath, and a floor scattered with a rainbow of confetti. The lights were exactly as Rebecca prescribes for any good party—low, low, low—with a warm glow of candlelight bouncing off Nom Wah’s vintage interiors.

The party’s soundtrack came courtesy of DJ Darius Rubin, who spun a steady stream of ’70s and ’80s disco hits—transporting partygoers from dim sum to dance floor. And holding court in the center of it all was Rebecca, dressed for the occasion in a custom ONE/OF silk taffeta polka dot party dress and a delectably decadent Houses & Parties caviar tin headband.

All the wild and whimsical details

Like any Houses & Parties event, the magic is in the details. According to Rebecca, every great party needs surprise and delight—and this one was a whimsical wonderland filled with both.

Décor, décor, décor, galore!

Photos by Adam Kuehl

Tables glowed beneath pink and red ruffled lamé lampshades and clusters of votive candles, while animal masks, party spectacles, and pearl cigarette holders lay scattered for guests to enjoy. Behind the bar, bartenders in extravagant ringmaster ensembles kept the circus running, serving drinks alongside custom matchbooks and precious pink cocktail napkins that offered a cheeky reminder of the night’s motto: “Party animals have more fun.”

Dim sum… and then some

No trip to Nom Wah is complete without dim sum, and the kitchen delivered an appetizing array of the restaurant’s classics, passed through the crowd all night long:

House special roast pork buns
Spring rolls
Shrimp and snow pea leaf dumplings
Pork siu mai
Pan-fried chicken and cabbage dumplings

Plus, a little elevated treat: Scallion pancakes topped with osetra caviar courtesy of event sponsor The Caviar Co. and served via Houses & Parties’ grand twist caviar service.

Twisted ’tinis and top-shelf libations

LEFT: A glass bowl of caviar on a silver tray with toast points, scallion pancakes, crème fraîche, and a tin of caviar. RIGHT: A server in a red ringmaster jacket with gold fringe and a black top hat carries a silver tray of coupe glasses and a bottle of sparkling wine beneath hanging streamers. — Photos by Adam Kuehl

Rebecca’s first rule of hosting? Start the evening with a strong cocktail. Espresso martinis, ginger margaritas, and vodka “mar-tea-nis” (served in Nom Wah’s own teacups) flowed alongside ice-cold Taiwan beer, Sanzo sparkling water in both yuzu and calamansi, and towers of bubbly from event sponsor Chandon.

In addition to drinks, the bar itself also served as a grand display for—yes, more caviar (you can never have too much).

Very important partygoers

Four people stand outside a restaurant entrance at night beneath a red and gold sign and a striped awning: Rebecca Gardner in a black polka-dot gown and a gold caviar tin headpiece holding a drink, Kate Brodsky in a patchwork brocade coat dress, Alexa Hirschfeld in a black floral embroidered dress, and James Hirschfeld in a houndstooth blazer, white shirt, and jeans, with pink and red streamers hanging in the doorway and windows behind them. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

A guest in a champagne satin slip dress and silver platform heels lounges in a red vinyl booth with one arm raised, beside a table set with red votive candles, a small red lampshade, and a party hat, beneath stained-glass pendant lamps and hanging streamers, with confetti scattered across the tile floor. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

Nell Diamond in a pink satin blazer and black skirt holding a white beaded handbag stands beside James Hirschfeld in a houndstooth blazer and jeans holding a coupe of Champagne, beneath a ceiling of pink, red, and gold balloons with trailing streamers as others mingle on a confetti-covered floor. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

Jalil Johnson in a green utility jacket and beaded necklaces smiles while holding a pink balloon beside a leopard mask, as a guest in a sequin dress laughs and dances with a guest in a houndstooth blazer beneath a ceiling of red, pink, and gold balloons with trailing streamers. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

Darren Graham in round wire glasses, a black tailored jacket, and stacked rings stands beneath a ceiling of pink, red, and gold balloons with streamers drifting around, as other guests mingle on a confetti-covered floor. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

Three guests stand together under hanging streamers and balloons, one in a sheer black dress and a crystal fringe mask holding a coupe, one in a green printed shift dress and fishnet tights holding a teacup, and one in a sheer printed top and a ram horn headpiece, with glassware and party hats lined up on the counter behind them. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

Gigi Burris in a white and black feather headpiece and a long sleeveless black coat stands beside a booth table set with red votive candles, a pink lampshade, party hats, and a pink animal mask, under red and gold streamers hanging in front of a wall of framed photos. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

Two guests, one in a navy blazer and pink shirt and one in a tiger-print kimono and a red bow headpiece holding a black handbag with a gold handle, stand smiling in a doorway hung with red and pink ribbon streamers above a floor covered in colorful confetti. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

Zach Weiss in a cream utility jacket and a patterned scarf stands with arms crossed beneath a ceiling of red, pink, and gold balloons, with leopard and horse masks hanging on a post behind and streamers falling all around. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

The guest list was a fittingly eclectic mix of artists, tastemakers, and longtime friends. Spotted in the crowd: Paperless Post design partners Angelica Hicks and Happy Menocal, founder and CEO of Hill House Home, Nell Diamond, and fashion designer Gigi Burris.

A late-night spectacle of tantalizing surprises

As the night went on, the party spilled out onto Doyers Street, which was closed off for the occasion and lit up in the celebratory glow of Chinatown’s signature lantern lights. And if there’s anyone who knows just how to keep the party going, it’s Rebecca Gardner, who had a few more tricks up her sleeve…

Lovely lagniappes

LEFT: A guest in a leopard mask and a burgundy outfit raises one arm among pink, red, and gold balloons and streamers. RIGHT: A guest in a rooster mask and a white shirt dances under hanging streamers. — Photos by Adam Kuehl

A lagniappe is “a little something extra,” and the evening was full of them. Guests delighted in trinkets and keepsakes everywhere they turned, including pearl cigarette holders, party spectacles, wild animal masks, marbled party hats, custom matchbooks, and more.

Outside, partygoers turned a quick breath of fresh air into a little rebellious revelry with the help of a few party puff cigarette dispensers, offering a playful nod to the glamour of a bygone party scene.

Ladies and gentlemen, the grand finale

Rebecca Gardner, in a black polka dot dress, sunglasses, and a caviar tin hat, dances with a drink alongside a guest in a tiger-print outfit as a trombone player in a party hat performs for a crowd on a city street lined with balloons and lit storefronts at night. — Photo by Adam Kuehl

Just when it seemed like the festivities couldn’t get any merrier, a surprise appearance from The Villagers Brass Band brought the night home with a lively performance that turned the curtain call into a full-blown street party.

Playing a high-energy mix of New Orleans-inspired jazz and dressed for the occasion in novelty animal horns and Houses & Parties marbled party hats, the band led the crowd out to Doyers Street to dance the night away under the Chinatown lights, drawing an enthusiastic audience of onlookers from nearby restaurants and neighboring rooftops. It was a fitting finale to a night that proved that party animals really do have more fun, and there’s always a reason to celebrate.

Find more reasons to celebrate with Houses & Parties for Paperless Post

As Rebecca puts it, anything can be a reason to celebrate—dahlias in bloom, a riveting football game, even a party to show off your new haircut. Whether you’re planning a Friendsgiving feast, a tipsy-turvy cocktail party, or a very merry un-birthday, set the tone for any gathering where you invite guests to be on their best misbehavior, with the new collection from Houses & Parties for Paperless Post.

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