What Are Some Of Your Unique Christmas Traditions? Here's One Of Mine...

I thought this might be a fun thread since there are so many forum members here from all over the world. The one thing that joined us together here on this forum is motorcycles, but it's cool that we share stories, funnies, and experiences that aren't strictly motorcycle-related.

I'll kick it off with a unique tradition that my hubby, Steve, and I have had for about five or six years now. Because the weather here in southern Arizona is typically warm(ish) and sunny in December, we do a little motorcycle ride to Waffle House on Christmas morning. Waffle House is an American chain diners and there are probably half a dozen of them in the Tucson metro area. Over the past few years we've opted to go to one particular Waffle House because Freddy the Greeter is always there doing his "greeter" thing on Christmas morning . No one seems to be able to tell us just how old Freddy is but he does seem to be getting up there. But he takes his greeter job very seriously and is a truly sweet guy.

The other aspect of our tradition that makes it more than "just" breakfast and a ride is that Steve and I have both been servers and know what it's like to have to work on a major holiday like Christmas. So we leave our server a v-e-r-y large tip quite out of proportion to our actual bill. It's such fun for us to make our server's day and hopefully it helps them out financially and in a memorable way. I've been the recipient of a couple of unexpected large tips in my past (both when I drove a horse & carriage in San Diego), and I still remember that to this day.

After breakfast we do a little ride on the west side of town out among the Tucson Mountains. I always enjoy riding on Christmas Day because there is so much less traffic than any other day of the year!

Here are some photos of our "Christmas Waffle House Motorcycle Ride" from this morning.

Steve rode his 2001 Fat Boy this morning and I chose to ride my Low Rider ST. I think I rode my Speed Triple RS last year.



The place was packed but there were two seats at the breakfast bar. That's our preferred place to sit anyway because it's amazing to watch the skill and efficiency of the line cooks. This is a pan shot so the proportions of the people (particularly the gal in the red hat!) are a bit "off" if they moved as I was panning.



Some good friends who know our tradition bought us Waffle House hats for Christmas a couple of years ago!



Our sweet server with my pecan waffle



My entire breakfast...I wasn't hungry again for about 8 hours!! I'd eaten about half of my eggs, ham, and hash browns by the time my waffle was delivered hot from the waffle iron.



This server had such a great Christmas outfit that I asked her if I could take a her picture.



The little Christmas tree next to the Waffle House jukebox. I'd never heard of a TouchTunes jukebox before today.



I have a red leather Harley motorcycle jacket that I found on eBay many years ago. I pull it out once a year in December for any and all of the Christmas rides we do, whether it's a Toy Run, a Sunday group ride right around the 25th, or our annual Waffle House ride. A couple of times I almost sold it at a swap meet but have always been glad it didn't sell. After this year I decided that it's worth more to me to just keep it and have it for the holidays than to sell it even if I only wear it a few times a year.



Freddy the Greeter. He started wearing a mask after Covid. I suspect he's doing his best to stay healthy. As I said, we don't really know how old he is but he's only getting older each year. He also seems to be getting shorter each year. And we're always glad (and a bit relieved) to find him still doing his greeter thing each year when we walk in the restaurant door.



Back home after breakfast and a ride. We were going to have a couple friends join us this year but both came down with "the crud" that's been going around. Last year Russell joined us. But it's usually hubby and me and it's one of our cherished "couple" traditions for Christmas.



OK, what are some of your unique and cherished Christmas traditions???

 

I love your traditions, @Fork Lock! Especially the pajamas and the telling (and I'll bet retelling) of embarrassing stories. And your Christmas Eve dinner sounds absolutely delicious!

 

What sweet traditions, @ajc400! I'm not always a fan of technology but how wonderful that technology allows things like your video call with your family in New Zealand 12,000 miles away!

 

Thanks for sharing about your and Helmut's Christmas's, @Mrs Visor. Although work and being away sound like they've made having "big" traditions a challenge, it's cool that you two have found ways to incorporate your own special rituals into the season. I think most often it's those simple and personal traditions we share with those closest to us that are the most special traditions of all.

Thanks also for sharing about the elderly gentleman who was so generous and thoughtful. Gestures such as that are truly magical, special, and memorable.