Martha Stewart's Holiday Party Blues

By Stephen M. Silverman

11/07/2001 at 01:00 PM EST

Martha Stewart isn't exactly looking like Mrs. Santa Claus to several of her employees this holiday season. Many of the more than 600 people who work for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia were unfashionably late in responding to her idea of attending a series of intimate holiday dinner parties at co-workers' homes instead of partaking of a traditional company Christmas party at a hotel or restaurant, reports Reuters. Stewart, 60, an arbiter of modern taste who may know the perfect spot for doilies and how to pen a proper thank-you note, was reportedly a little peeved when told that less than a quarter of staff had responded to her invitation. She told employees that a lack of enthusiasm for the dinner parties would be a sign the terrorists had won. "A lot of the higher-ups have volunteered their places, (but) no one is into it though," one employee told Reuters on Tuesday. Indeed, Stewart fired off a memo to staff on Monday chastising them for not signing on immediately, two employees said. The original invitation had gone out last Tuesday. Company publicist Allyn Magrino countered by saying there had been "tremendous support," though she could not say how many employees had accepted invitations, other than the fact that nearly two-thirds of the 65 required hosts had signed up.