Christmas is known as a time to spend with friends and family. But the students at Paragon Culinary School in Colorado Springs opened the doors of the school and the kitchen on Christmas Day to strangers in the hopes of making the holiday a little brighter with a free meal.

The meal was provided to all military and their families.

The idea for this free holiday meal came about when a culinary student from Paragon went searching on Craigslist.

"I remember my first Christmas being away from family, not having a lot of money, and no place to go. It impacted me," says Brian Davis, a student with Paragon Culinary School. A posting on Craigslist caught Brian Davis by surprise. "It was soldier who just came back from Afghanistan. And he was trying to sell his Play Station 3 in order to provide, not only, a Thanksgiving meal but also provide presents for his daughters and wife," says Davis.

That sparked an idea to cook a free Christmas dinner for military men women and their families. Davis set a goal to feed 20 to 30 families. "We were just inundated with phone calls from donors," says Davis.

But that quickly snowballed into a huge event. "We kind of set our sights on the three to five hundred range," says Davis.

The event was full of food, fun and music. It touched the military service men and women who stopped by. "Before we came to Fort Carson, I never seen so much support for the military. This was amazing for them to open their doors on a day when everyone wants to be with their family." says Rene Colon.

"Ya know it's the idea, it's a wonderful idea...to give those that have given everything they have that they believe in," says Charles Mandrell. He is retired from the military.

"It just feels overwhelmed to me and hard to explain that so much goodness come out of so many people, strangers," says Jose Colon.

The event continued until the food ran out. And with the great response from the community, Davis plans on doing this event again next year.