By Marie Beachdale

Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, Surfside Beach - Christmas in Myrtle Beach can turn me into a Grinch, but surprisingly it’s my customers at the restaurant who have rekindled my holiday cheer.

I moved to the beach on my own five years ago, so the Christmas season can be a tough time for me. I come from a tremendously close-knit family, and it kills me when I can’t make the 800-mile trip to spend the holidays with them.

  
Because of this, I find myself focusing on work, and making my customers’ Christmas season a good one. I replace my desire to be with my family with enthusiasm for others. It isn’t uncommon to meet a diner who is in a similar situation, away from their family this time of year, and I always remind them they aren’t alone in their holiday loneliness.

On the flip side, when a family comes in to eat after a trip to the mall to see Santa, the sheer joy radiated by kids telling me about the milk and cookies they have planned to leave out for him reminds me that the magic isn’t totally gone out of the holiday season. My customers, especially children, have the ability to take away my “bah humbug” attitude in seconds.

I’ve also noticed that during the holidays, most customers will leave a little something extra for me when they tip. After long days of battling crowds of Christmas shoppers, they find it in their hearts to leave more than they usually would, and I always make it a point to let them know how much I appreciate it.

The greatest, most heartwarming holiday gifts I have been given from customers, though, have nothing to do with money.   

The off-season is when I see most of my regulars, some of whom I have known since my first year as a server. Though I only see these families when they come in to the restaurant, we catch up like old friends. Some bring photos and souvenirs for me from their latest vacation, and one family even helped me move furniture into my new home.  

A few days after Thanksgiving this year, one of my regular families- a mother and her two young children- came in to eat. True natives to the Grand Strand area, I have been serving them for three years, getting to know them and watching the kids grow.  

On this particular day, we got on the subject of Christmas.  

“Are you going home to see your family this year?” the mother asked. I explained to her that, no, I would be staying at the beach, because circumstances wouldn’t allow a trip home.

“That’s a shame, you spent Christmas alone last year, you can’t do that again!”  

Not only was I shocked that she remembered what I did for Christmas last year, but I was also surprised at the genuine look of concern on her face.  

“Why don’t you spend Christmas with us! It’s just the three of us, we’d love to have you!” she said.  

“YEAH! And we have reindeer food for Rudolph, you have to come see it!” her daughter told me excitedly.

I was blown away at the invitation they had extended. It meant more than any tip they could have left me, or any compliment they could have given.  

They weren’t the only family to be so kind this year. Another one of my regulars, an older man along with his children and grandsons, invited me to their home as well. When I told him I wasn’t sure what my plans were, he handed me an early Christmas present-- a t-shirt from his hometown, and said, “Just in case I don’t see you before Christmas.”

This is when I love what I do-- not because of the money or material things, but when diners remind me that good people still exist, I can’t help but be thankful for my job.  I don’t think my regulars will ever know how much I truly appreciate them.

I’m still not sure where I will end up spending Christmas this year.  Maybe I’ll be checking out Reindeer food, or maybe I’ll pay it forward and extend an invitation to my customers who have nowhere to go. Either way, it’s going to be a good one.

Merry Christmas, everyone.