December is typically known as a time of giving and generosity. The staff at one New Jersey diner was recently the recipient of some of that generosity in the form of a $500 tip.

It happened Monday at the Marlboro Diner. The customer tipped $500 on a $20 lunch bill. The customer said, “Merry Christmas” and told the manager to split the money with his staff. They split it six ways between the waitresses and busboys.

Waitress Sharon Vargo says that she got her $83 cut of the tip.

“I was shocked. It's surprising to hear things like that. It's nice to hear though around the holidays that people are so giving towards other people. It was nice,” she says.

The big tipper remained anonymous. News 12’s Brian Donohue went to the diner to see if he could find the generous customer – but no one there at the time fessed up.

Diner staff say they typically see higher tips this time of year – people feeling the spirit of the season. And it seemed to be contagious. Donohue says that while he was working on his story another customer tipped $100 on his bill.

Donohue says that he also got into the spirit – tipping 50% on his lunch bill.