Money might have been on their minds, but it didn't replace their hearts.

Across the region, people celebrated Christmas by giving, whether wrapped in a bow or through personal effort. There was the grandfather serving up seven ducks for his family, and the restaurateur opening the doors for 3,000 hungry people who smiled at being treated with dignity. And just when you may have thought one family's Christmas was destroyed, they turned around to bring joy to others.

For one day, at least, being wealthy had nothing to do with cash in pocket.

CONIFER FAMILY

The sun was setting when Frank Maixner and his family showed up at the Lawrence Street Shelter of the Denver Rescue Mission, dressed completely in donated clothes and shoes, ready to help serve dinner to the homeless.

The family hadn't planned to volunteer at the shelter on Christmas. But nothing about this holiday went as expected.

They were supposed to wake up in their spacious log home in Conifer, open gifts and eat a decadent dish of biscuits with caramel and nuts they call "monkey food."

Instead, the family woke up in a relative's house in Highlands Ranch, dazed, stunned and homeless.

There were no wrapped presents to open under the tree, but more generosity then they could imagine.

Early Wednesday morning, Frank Maixner, wife Mary Kay Kiley, and five children escaped barefoot in their pajamas from a blaze that quickly engulfed their home. Ever since, a stream of friends, neighbors and strangers have appeared with clothes, gift cards and offers of places to stay.

"It's been amazing," said Mary Kay Kiley. "We just can't believe how generous people are. They're giving more than they have."

She said she's still in shock, but grateful and glad her family was not hurt.

"It feels like a different kind of Christmas."

The family returned to the charred ruins Thursday afternoon. They drove around in Mary Kay's brother's SUV, looking for their dog, Steel, who disappeared during the fire. They hope the chocolate lab/springer spaniel mix ran off to another home. They sifted through black piles, finding a salvageable vehicle title and a metal vase.

A chain-link fence surrounded the devastation. A bent outdoor basketball hoop hung near the ground. A metal frame was all that was left of what had been a blue Saturn sedan.

Frank Maixner looked for his car keys, to no avail. He had lost everything, including his wallet.

At 3:30, the family piled into the SUV and headed down to the Rescue Mission.

Frank Maixner said he and his family decided they wanted to give back to their community.

"This is something we all feel we need to do."

MEALS ON WHEELS

Nine-year-old Yusha Crider knocked on the stranger's door.

A man's voice called from the other side: "Come on in!"

Yusha and her family pushed open the door and walked into the apartment in the Thomas Bean Tower, a subsidized senior housing complex in downtown Denver.

"Merry Christmas!" said Mark Crider, of Littleton. "We're with Meals on Wheels."

They handed Charles H. Williams a hot meal in a tin-foil dish, a small carton of milk, a paper bag with rolls and a wrapped present, all prepared by Volunteers of America.

Williams smiled and thanked the Criders. He then asked them to pray with him.

They all stood in a circle, hands clasped, and bowed their heads.

The Criders wished Williams well, picked up their boxes and bags and went on to the next apartment.

This was their second Christmas volunteering.

Mark Crider, a detective with the Denver Police Department, said he heard about the VOA program from a district attorney.

On Thursday, they were among more than 80 families who delivered about 1,100 meals and gifts across Denver.

Mark Crider said the holiday program is a great way to teach his daughters the value of giving.

"We get more out of it then we put into it."

Williams said he appreciated the Crider's visit.

"That was really nice of them," he said, looking down at the present wrapped in white tissue paper and a green ribbon. "This is the only thing I'll get."

GRATEFUL FAMILY

Sometimes Christmas is marked by smells: The pine, the baking, the candles. Sometimes it's sights: twinkling bulbs, red and green. At Wiley Key's home in Green Valley Ranch, you could tell it was Christmas from the noise.

Ten grandchildren (and one great-grandkid) were running helter-skelter throughout the house, playing with their new toys and one another.

"They got a Wii, one of the boys got a Hummer remote-control truck, one granddaughter got a cell phone," Key said. "And two of the grandgirls got these sewing machines. Hopefully they will be little seamstresses."

The family started arriving around 11 a.m., joining two grandchildren who had spent the night. They found piles of gifts under the tree, decorated with lights and homemade ornaments.

Creating a big holiday for his family is a tradition Key carries on from his own grandparents.

Key cut back slightly on his gift expenses this year, but the children didn't seem to notice.

"They didn't care if they didn't get what they really asked for," he said. "They were just grateful."

FREE CHRISTMAS DINNER

There was an infant in Sing Sing, the usually raucous piano bar, crying on Santa's lap. Just before him, Stacy Adams and John Halsey had walked out, holding photos of themselves dancing alongside the white-bearded fellow.

The two men, residents at Denver Rescue Mission's The Crossing, were among an estimated 3,000 to take advantage of free Christmas dinner, gifts and even flu shots as part of Denver Chophouse & Brewery's Miracle on 19th Street.

For 13 years, the LoDo restaurant has offered dinner with waiters, tablecloths and even take-home boxes to all comers. By noon, the line stretched down 20th Street past Coors Field.

"It was very nice," Halsey said. "It is a gift. It's very personal. They treat everybody like a person."

Over the years, the event has spread to 15 cities over Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas. Thursday's dinner put to work 350 volunteers, including 50 members of the restaurant's staff and their families. They not only served dinner, but gave out gifts, including new fleece jackets and pajamas that the cheerleading group Cheer Central had donated.

This year, there were more people new to hard times.

"We definitely have seen an increase in numbers. They might not be in the system, just not affording a nice dinner and some great gifts," said Chophouse managing partner and Miracle chairman Robert Kaczmarczyk.

Deborah Lindsey brought her husband Rick Thomas for his first visit to the event. The two were living in a hotel until they recently moved in with friends.

"It's good that they do something like this for people that can't afford it," she said.

HOMELESS SHELTER

Christmas was a day of reflection for the young men and women staying at the Urban Peak homeless shelter.

Michael Miller, 20, said that he was recently released from jail and is hoping to save money, move to Florida and land a stable job. The Denver native couldn't remember the last time he appreciated Dec. 25.

"This is the first Christmas in a long time I've actually been happy," he said, bouncing around the shelter in a Santa hat. "I'm going to enjoy it."

Others, including 20-year-old Eric Kirk and 18-year-old Tony Loffredo, said that it was the first Christmas they had spent away from their families. Although the they cited problems under their parents' roofs, they expressed sadness they couldn't be home.

Kirk, who spent a month sleeping in hotels and outside a library before finding the shelter, said that he is working toward his GED and hoping to get into a college where he can play football. Kirk, who has a security job at Invesco Field at Mile High and wore a Michael Vick jersey on Thursday, said he liked the fellowship.

"Even though it's not my real family here, I still got family," he said.

VOLUNTEERS

More than 60 volunteers gathered Thursday afternoon at 444 Sherman St. to pack re-usable sacks with goodies for needy people.

Seated around a circular table in a room that Metro Volunteers leases from the American Red Cross, the volunteers — parents with children, adults, teenagers and retired folks — sorted and stuffed the sacks with shampoos, conditioners and fleece scarves.

They stuffed razors in the men's sacks, hygiene products for the women and small underwear for children. The younger volunteers, including a couple of kindergartners, made holiday cards.

All told, the volunteers took one hour to pack nearly 300 sacks — 200 of them donated by REI, and the remaining by HomelessGear, a nonprofit program based in Fort Collins.

"With the economy not so good, people hearing about neighbors getting laid off, there is a real sense to do something positive," said Kristy Judd, executive director of Metro Volunteers.

"We want to say, 'Volunteer at school, at church, or take up an issue that warms your heart like animals, environment, literacy," Judd said. "If you can't find what you want, call us. We will help you find that place."

Metro Volunteers decided to hold the Christmas Day project for eager volunteers who couldn't find opportunities with other charitable organizations such as Catholic Charities and the Rescue Mission that already were filled with volunteers.

John Vivian, who devotes few hours each week helping Metro Volunteers, said the stuffed sacks would be carted away Monday to charities that help homeless families and individuals.

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