Gathered around a table at Wailana Coffee House, the four ladies exchanged Christmas gifts and shared a pre-holiday luncheon, an annual ritual, according to Bell.

"Since the presents are here, why wait until Christmas to open them?" she smiled.

"Besides, this will be the last time that we're together before the holidays."

Tearing into her gift with child-like enthusiasm, Alexander unwrapped a box of two holiday-decorated flutes and held them up for the others to see.

"Now, we must have champagne," she said. "It's the perfect way to start the holidays."

With Thanksgiving behind him, Wailana Coffee House's Peter Cheng is now in high holiday gear, making plans for the restaurant's Christmas Day specials, which will include prime rib and roast turkey.

"Even though it's not a regular menu item, I can't tell you how many prime ribs I've made throughout the years," the longtime Wailana chef said. "We always have it as a special at certain times of the year, including Christmas."

Peppered with rosemary and other seasonings, the prime rib is slowly roasted and served with au jus and creamy horseradish. Cost for an inch-thick slice is $15.75.

"I love prime rib," Alexander gushed while eyeing the piece of beef on her plate. "And this one looks like it's perfectly done."

Two other Christmas favorites feature the traditional turkey-and-ham combination plate ($11.25) and a more local-style meal of hibachi chicken and shrimp kabobs ($12.95).

Each entree comes complete with unlimited trips to the salad bar, a choice of starch, dinner roll, corn on the cob, chocolate-drizzled bread pudding, and coffee, tea or soda.

"This has become a busy time of the year for us," said Kenton Tom, Wailana's general manager and vice president. "And it starts this weekend with the Honolulu Marathon."

Starting this Thursday, Wailana will roll out its all-you-can-eat spaghetti for $8.25.

Except for the salad bar, guests will be served endless plates of spaghetti with meat sauce and slices of Parmesan garlic bread on Thursday, from 5 p.m. until midnight.

The format changes to a self-serve, buffet-style all-you-can-eat pasta bar on Friday and Saturday nights, from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

The buffet will feature spaghetti, spinach fettuccine and rainbow rotelli, topped with a choice from among three sauces: white clam and herbed or meaty marinara.

After 8:30 p.m. on both nights, the all-you-can-eat spaghetti plate dinner will be made available until midnight.

"For the past five years, we've had a group of 70 to 75 runners from Arizona who come in for this buffet," Tom said. "It's an annual ritual."