It was a holiday party done in typical Hollywood tradition. At the rambling, adobe-style buildings that are the temporary home of Dreamworks, the lawn was covered with tents under which the company's 1,200 employees were helping themselves to a lavish buffet dinner.

Several tables were spread with items for making personalized decorations; a sled led by two live reindeer for employees to pose with, and wandering amid it all were Dreamworks' three partners -- Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen -- dressed in their trademark jeans and sport shirts.

The party resonated with the mood of success and stability typical of more established film companies celebrating splashy hits. But 26 months after the much-covered debut of Dreamworks SKG -- the first attempt to begin a major new entertainment company in decades -- the studio is still waiting to make its first big splash. It will not release its first live-action feature film until next fall, when ''The Peacemaker,'' a thriller, reaches theaters in September. It has three television series on the air, but only one, ''Spin City,'' has a strong chance of generating enough episodes to produce profits from rerun sales, several television executives said. And George Michael's new album ''Older,'' Dreamworks' first major record, has had a lackluster reception.

At any other company, such a record would doom executives to relentless and loud criticism. And in Hollywood there are those who say privately that so far Dreamworks is a disappointment.