Jamie King and AnnaSophia Robb at ‘The Nutcracker’ 

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com.

BROWSER UPDATE To gain access to the full experience, please upgrade your browser:

Note: If you are running Internet Explorer 9 and above, make sure it is not in compatibility mode

AnnaSophia Robb at a party for ‘The Nutcracker.’ Neil Rasmus/BIlly Farrell Agency

It isn’t Christmas without a trip to “The Nutcracker,” right?

This weekend, New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet will host their annual Nutcracker Family Benefit, sponsored by Bonpoint, with Ladureé macaron towers, the ability for children to pose for photos with, for instance, the Marzipan Shepherdesses, and even an appearance by Santa Claus.

But on Tuesday, Cole Haan, which has a multiyear partnership with City Ballet, invited VIPs such as actresses Jaime King and AnnaSophia Robb for a bit of Tchaikovsky, mini-cheeseburgers and Sugar Plum Fairy pixie dust.

There were also chocolate nutcrackers and adorable ornaments—miniature cans of “frivolity,” “mischief,” “humbug” and “coal,” courtesy of the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co.—once Marie and the Prince had finally said goodbye to the Land of Sweets.

Ms. King, who was a dancer as a girl and grew up seeing “The Nutcracker” in Nebraska, said that she hadn’t seen the George Balanchine ballet in quite some time. Maybe it was the fact that she now has a 1-year-old son and it was the holiday season, but driving around in Los Angeles, “I suddenly felt the urge to see ‘The Nutcracker.’ I felt it in my soul.”

Gretchen Smith, Sara Mearns and Megan Fairchild Neil Rasmus/BIlly Farrell Agency

Jaime King and Kyle Newman Neil Rasmus/BIlly Farrell Agency

Ornaments from Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. Neil Rasmus/BIlly Farrell Agency

Cole Haan’s invitation came the next day. “It was as if I had manifested it,” Ms. King said. “Like ‘The Secret.’ ”

It helped that the performance coincided with her friend Taylor Swift ’s birthday this Saturday, so Ms. King and her husband, Kyle Newman, came to Manhattan a day early.

Other guests for pre-performance cocktails and butternut-squash pizza included Amy Sacco, Teen Vogue editor Amy Astley, Mia Moretti and Trish Goff, as well as City Ballet’s Gretchen Smith, one of the three dancers who appear in Cole Haan’s ballet-inspired footwear campaign. (The other two are Sara Mearns, who danced the role of Dewdrop on Tuesday, and Megan Fairchild, who dashed off to her role in Broadway’s “On the Town.”)

Ms. Smith said she and her fellow dancers have been enjoying the company’s shoes offstage, in particular the lightweight Zero Grands. On Tuesday, Ms. Smith, however, was all too happy to zip out of the David H. Koch Theater, because it was her one day off, this week, from “The Nutcracker.”

Vince and Louise Camuto Aria Isadora/Billy Farrell Agency

It’s also, apparently, not Christmas without people in New York giving each other hulking coffee table books they don’t really have room for in their already cramped apartments. The fashion industry, especially, likes to traffic in these tomes. A few weeks ago it was all about Valentino; just before that, Tory Burch.

On Tuesday, Vince Camuto celebrated his enormous Assouline book, “Life of Style: Vince Camuto,” at Sant Ambroeus on the Upper East Side. This was at a dinner thrown by his friend, Tommy Hilfiger, and included many of the young designers who were up for one of those Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Fund Grants this year.

Mr. Camuto’s 300-page, $150 book is something to behold. The cover features a black-and-white image of him with a woman’s leg stepping on his shoulder, while the inside includes pages and pages of photos of Mr. Camuto’s family, his extravagant homes and his various ad campaigns.

The book represents “a lifetime of drama, love and passion,” said Mr. Camuto, who co-founded the footwear line Nine West before getting into the licensing business and his own label.

“It puts together all of your life’s achievements,” said his wife, Louise.

If you can even lift it. Mr. Camuto said “Life of Style” would make a good holiday gift, alongside tickets to “The Nutcracker,” of course.

“It gives you the inspiration about what’s possible,” he said. “This is America.”

An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Sara Mearns had a day off on Tuesday and incorrectly attributed the quotation about getting a steak to her. (Dec. 11, 2014)

Paris Attack: Gunmen Caught on Film From Rooftop

1795 Time Capsule Found and Opened in Boston

Why Digital-Movie Effects Still Can’t Do a Human Face

China’s Anticorruption Drive Hits Business Schools

Inside Judd Apatow’s 25-Year-Old ‘Simpsons’ Episode

Dunkin’ Donuts to Open 1,400 Locations in China

Ford Motor Company Boosts Dividend, and More