LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
With a jolly last name and a merry spirit, it is no surprise that Paris resident Beverly Christmas is known for serving up smiles in her role as a Hampton Breakfast Host. Now, Christmas is receiving worldwide recognition with the brand new title of 'Waffle Boss', after winning a competition through Hampton by Hilton’s international hotel chain.
‘I'm really just a regular old human being and I've never done really anything big or anything like that,” Christmas told a Prairie Press reporter. “I never ever in my life expected to win a contest or to go to London. I just feel so incredibly blessed.”
The joyful journey started earlier this year when her manager Heather Williams asked her if she would like to enter the hotel chain’s official Waffle Boss contest.
“I love to do fun things, so I of course said yes,” Christmas explained.
Christmas wrote a speech and filmed a video displaying her waffle-making skills with the help of her co-workers in the kitchen of the hotel. She remembers the experience as a “hoot.”
“We spilled an entire thing of chocolate chips and I spent a whole week cleaning them up,” she said.
The video went directly to Hampton by Hilton headquarters and Christmas went back to her role as a breakfast host, arriving at 4:45 a.m. five days a week, until she received surprising news.
Surrounded by co-workers, hotel officials revealed to Christmas that she had been chosen as a finalist and then as one of three official Waffle Boss winners. She recalls the moment as unbelievable.
“I've cried a lot of tears and there are no words to explain how I felt,” Christmas said. “We were all crying when they told us and then they told me I was going to London and I cried even more.”
Christmas’ Waffle Boss title was awarded in preparation for the Hilton brand’s 40th-anniversary celebrations. As part of the new role, Christmas and the other winners were flown to London, England to film a commercial and social media content for the hotel brand.
“Then they told us we were going to London and I couldn’t believe it, and then they told us we were going to meet Paris Hilton and I was just amazed,” Christmas said. “I never ever thought of myself as a winner, never in a million years.”
For a girl raised on a farm, London was an experience of a lifetime.
“I stayed at the Westminster Curio and I walked 20 minutes to Big Ben by myself. When I got there, the clock was chiming and it gave me cold chills... I was just thinking to myself, ‘Oh, my God, Bev, you're in London,’” she said. “I was so, so humbled by it all and I am so humbled that God allowed me to win this thing and he sent me to London.”
While filming in London, Christmas said she was surrounded by love.
“From the person who put the mic on me to the director, there was just so much kindness,” she explained. “There was just so much laughter and so much love, you would have thought we all knew each other our whole lives.”
The waffle maker also got to meet hotel mogul Paris Hilton and work side-by-side with her while filming commercials. She recalls her favorite moment of filming with Hilton was when she snuck waffle batter from a bowl Hilton was holding and made a director yell cut.
“She is so beautiful and so genuine… we laughed together and she told me about her children,” Christmas gushed. “I learned two new words from Paris too, ‘sliving’ and ‘that’s hot.’ Sliving means living your best life and you know, I really feel like I am living my best life.”
As an official Waffle Boss, Christmas will continue to serve as a breakfast ambassador, representing Hampton’s beloved breakfast experience and creating masterful waffle displays at the Hampton Inn in Paris. She said the job is custom-made for her.
“I’ve been (at the Hampton in Paris) for three years and it's the best thing that I've ever done, other than nursing,” Christmas explained.
Christmas stepped into the role of breakfast host after more than 30 years of nursing at both Union and Regional Hospitals in Terre Haute.
“I saw this ad one day and I was just like, ‘You know what? God, if you want me to go in there, get that job. Just tell me to go do it,’” she said. “It all happened and I am so grateful to be where I am, surrounded by the people here.”
In her role as host, Christmas gets the opportunity to love on people every day while cooking food and spreading her creative wings; three things she has always loved.
“We grew up on a farm. We weren't rich or anything like that, but we felt like we had everything that we ever needed in our life,” Christmas explained. “We learned how to work and we worked from the time we were like five or so… our dad and our mom taught us at a young age that you had be responsible for yourself and your life, and that's what makes good character in a person.”
The values her parents instilled carried her through life as the second oldest of seven children. The same values kept her strong when she moved to Paris at 19 years old, practiced a career in nursing, dealt with unexpected tragedies and overcame the ups and downs that come with life.
“I’m a mom, I’m a grandma, I’m a great-grandma and I’m just a ‘what you see is a what you get’ kind of person. My mom always taught us the golden rule and I’ve lived that my whole life,” she said. “As a nurse, I always wanted to make everybody feel better and to do the best job that I could. I try to treat everyone like they are my family and those are my life lessons. You don’t have to be a big-name person, you just be yourself, tell the truth and do your job.”
Over the coming year, Christmas and the other Waffle Bosses will share their expertise through tips, tricks and recipes. They will also feature in upcoming content, events and promotional activities, spreading Hampton’s renowned “service-with-a-smile” globally.
In Paris, Christmas will make her first public appearance as a Waffle Boss on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Beginning at regular breakfast hours, (6 a.m. to 10 a.m.) the public is invited to come to the Hampton Inn in Paris for a free waffle tasting with Christmas.
“I’ve been so surrounded by love throughout all of this,” Christmas said. “I never imagined I would be recognized for doing the things that I love… it has been an amazing experience and I have nothing but so much gratitude.”