LOS ANGELES—There’s nothing that says getting into the Christmas spirit quite like gathering around the tree and opening up presents. More than 200 celebrity families did just that last month—at DreamWorks Animation's holiday experience suitably dubbed Gabby’s Catmas Spectacular after its hit show Gabby’s Dollhouse.
The interactive series for preschoolers was first released on Netflix in January of 2021 and has since seen record-breaking views, making it the most popular kids original the streaming service has ever seen. (The show’s YouTube views are also in the 700 million range, and Spotify playlist streams has surpassed 60 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.)
The show’s playful nature was translated into an IRL playground at Second Home Hollywood thanks to experiential event company ROCK+PAPER. And with 100 kids in attendance, “first impressions are everything,” said Jacob Brooks-Harris, ROCK+PAPER’s founder and chief executive officer. “We created a larger-than-life dollhouse facade and entryway. Before our young fans had even entered the venue they were jumping up and down with excitement that they were going into Gabby’s world. It created a sense of magic and a real ‘threshold’ as guests came through the front door.”
And once through that threshold, Brooks-Harris detailed the Gabby’s Dollhouse graphics that were set at “kid-level” to welcome the children and their parents on the invite-only list—which included the likes of Chrissy Teigen, Ashley Tisdale, Kel Mitchell, and Julianna Guill. Even actress Laila Lockhart Kraner (Gabby herself) was in attendance.
Holiday activities commenced at Santa’s Kitty Workshop, which Brooks-Harris described as “a magical space for exploration and crafting special gifts to take home.” The experiential CEO said of the touchpoint, which was created in partnership with LA-based crafting studio Makers Mess: “To see fans of all ages gleefully getting their hands dirty and letting their creative juices flow felt very on-brand and created a wonderful energy.”
And throughout an open garden space decked out with toys and on-theme photo ops were sweet and savory treats that nodded to the show.
"An important success metric was showcasing the diverse range of Gabby’s Dollhouse consumer products,” Brooks-Harris said. “So we worked closely with our caterer to bring items like the Bakey with Cakey Oven intro the service approach, which not only made for fantastic visuals, but really showcased and contextualized the products in a unique way.” (In the show, Cakey is a white cat-cupcake with a knack for baking.)
To “provide a moment of pause, kids could watch Gabby’s holiday episode on bean bag chairs in a cozy and safe space inspired by the bedroom’s Pillow Cat character from the show,” Brooks-Harris said. While the little ones were occupied, Brooks-Harris noted the importance of “leaning into the whimsy and magic of the show in a way that would inspire its very young fans without alienating adults.” So, parents were welcome to grab a coffee or—in a nod to the holiday season—a hot chocolate from the Kitty Cat Cafe. Naturally, each drink was garnished with a dusting of spices in a cat-shaped silhouette.
“No holiday party would be complete without a cat-tabulous pink Christmas tree where guests could capture a fun family photo for their annual holiday card,” Brooks-Harris added. And before bidding adieu to Gabby’s winter wonderland was Gabby’s Toy Box, where children could trade in the tokens they earned from the on-site activities for Gabby’s Dollhouse merchandise.
Keep scrolling to see more from inside Gabby’s Catmas Spectacular, with lots of what Brooks-Harris referred to as a “cat-tastic flurry of holiday activity…”