Gift-giving, party-hopping and cheer-spreading are in abundance this time of year and we want all of it! There is no shortage of jolly and tradition in the month of December, and we caught up with some of your favorite pickleball pros to find out exactly how they're getting their merry on this holiday season!
Christopher Haworth, APP Pro: My favorite holiday tradition is Christmas morning breakfast. We went to my grandma’s house for 26 years and then when she passed away we kept up the tradition and all get together and have breakfast and it’s my favorite meal of the year. My favorite thing to eat at Christmas breakfast is probably biscuits and gravy. It’s nothing crazy, but it’s all good and it’s just good to be with everyone.
Shelby Bates, APP Pro: My favorite Christmas tradition is actually a Jewish Christmas breakfast. It started at my grandma’s house, we always had bagels, lox and cream cheese for breakfast and my parents and I still continue that legacy.
Brian Dunk, APP Champions Pro: Santa brings pajamas to all the family and the kids on the porch on Christmas Eve, there are five of us.
Mari Humberg, APP Pro: My favorite holiday tradition is on Christmas Day going to the beach because I spend my Christmases in Brazil and it’s summertime over there, so that’s my favorite tradition.
Craig Bobo, APP Champions Pro: Being from Austin, Texas it’s usually kind of warm, but we do Christmas Eve with one of our families and Christmas Day with the other family. Usually Christmas Eve my daughter and I will do a gingerbread house and we do characters with different family members and we put those characteristics on the different gingerbread men. Nobody’s been offended, we always have good laughs.
Andrei Daescu, APP Pro: Christmas with the family. I love waking up in the morning and opening up the gifts under the Christmas tree. I have two young kids at home, two girls - four-and-a-half and three. They make Christmas that much more sweet and special so it’s definitely my favorite holiday of the year.
Richard Livornese Jr., APP Pro: My favorite holiday tradition is baking at home with my family. We bake apple pie, crumb cake, muffins, we bake a lot of stuff. My specialty is the crumb cake, it’s a family recipe.
Marius Mitrofan, APP Champions Pro: Going and listening to Christmas caroling and Christmas concerts. My favorite Christmas song is Silent Night by Elvis.
Megan Fudge, APP Pro and daughter Lily DeHeart: We love making cookies for Santa and we make our homemade reindeer food as well, we want to make sure the reindeer are well fed. What do we put in there…sparkles and oatmeal and we chop up carrots, so just some fun things!
Andre Mick, APP Pro: My favorite holiday tradition back home in Australia is barbecues on Christmas Day, outside. We barbecue everything but not shrimp. Everyone says Australians do shrimp on the barbie, that’s not a thing. Everything but shrimp.
Ken Herrmann, APP Founder: My favorite holiday tradition to do - there’s nothing better than going for an early morning run on Christmas Day. There are never any cars in the street and I get the whole road to myself. You can always look in people’s windows and see everyone opening up their gifts. It’s a very peaceful run that I often look forward to every year on Christmas Day.
Regardless of what your traditions are, from all of us at the APP Tour, we wish you and yours the most wonderful holiday season!
