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It seems Christmas parties have finally gone the way of the Bar and Bat Mitzvah, as what were once modest eggnog-and-fruitcake-imbibing gatherings are now over-the-top extravaganzas, desperate to one-up each other with hunky Santa waiters, chestnut-roasting stations, hot-toddy-spewing volcanos, and, for that crowning, seasonal touch, your very own celebrity showing up to mingle with your guests. ABCNews.com explores the increasingly common trend, which will set you back as little as $5,000 for your Potsies or your Klingers, anywhere up to the neighborhood of a cool $100,000 for your marquee names. (That's what they report Drew Carey will be paid to entertain a Houston energy company next week, proving that not even the lessons of Enron can kill that industry's love of a profit-hemmoraghing good time.) But if it's an even bigger star you want, perhaps from a hit TV series still on the air, fret not—even Emmy winners have a price:

"They all want the biggest star to be there," said Mike Esterman, who runs Esterman Entertainment.

"We just had Jeremy Piven do a lady's birthday party at a home in San Francisco, where he brought out the dessert tray. They paid him $50,000 for one hour.

You'll be expected to cough up a premium for anything over and above one hour of sugar cookie and trifle distribution, however, so expect to pay in the low six-figures if you want The Piv to show up in a Santa costume as Ari Claus, more if you expect your guests to mount his lap and tell him what they want under the tree. Of course, that doesn't guarantee a good time will be had by all, particularly if he responds to your plus-sized co-worker hoping for a Tassimo machine for the office kitchen, "Great. And you know what I want? To feel my legs again. Maybe you should lay off the hot chocolate and ask Santa for an elliptical. NEXT!"