Christmas means many different things to different people. Recently, Dorene Rusho, Rick Holcomb and Bette Farrell, residents of the Community Restorium in Bonners Ferry, shared what the holiday represents to them.

For Rusho, Christmas wasn’t an important holiday in her childhood.

“When I was a kid, my parents didn’t celebrate Christmas,” Rusho said. “So, the first Christmas with my own kids, it was pretty special.”

She reflected on what the holiday means to her now.

“It means little kids and presents,” Rusho said. “I always enjoyed getting presents for my own children. But they have grandkids now, and I enjoy giving them presents.”

Family remains important to her, especially during the holidays.

“I try to celebrate with my kids. They usually get to come out here,” Rusho said. “Me and my family are close, but we don’t get to see each other that often.”

“I know the gifts are good but just being together — that’s what it’s all about. Having them close so we can talk about what they’ve been doing. To me, it’s special just to be with them.”

Faith also plays a role in her view of the holiday.

“Christmas means a lot to me because Jesus gave us a gift that gives every year,” Rusho said. “To me, that’s his gift to us.”

Holcomb shared what Christmas means to him.

“It means happy times, good remembrances, not getting what you want all the time growing up and sneaking a peek under the Christmas tree,” Holcomb said.

“Later, when I grew up, I had my own family. It’s watching the expressions on the kids’ faces. Nothing better, nothing better.”

He also recalled the kitchen as the center of some of his favorite memories.

“Probably the best thing is the smells coming out of the kitchen when you’re growing up,” Holcomb said. “We were definitely told, stay out of the kitchen.”

His mother’s fudge was his family’s favorite Christmas treat — so popular that she had to monitor it carefully.

“It was a constant battle, and she got to the point where she was counting the squares,” he said.

“Obviously, there’s the religious aspect, and that’s important, but as a kid, you don’t think about that,” Holcomb said. “You think of the desserts and the food.”

Holcomb said he and his siblings didn’t make gift-giving easy.

“She got to the point where she would hide them,” he said. “She couldn’t put them under the tree because we’d try to undo them and put them back.”

“She had to put them in somebody else’s house. We were rambunctious. I still am,” Holcomb added.

As for what he’s looking forward to this Christmas?

“Giving everyone in this place a bad time,” he said. “I’ve done that already.”

Farrell shared a simpler recollection of childhood Christmases.

“I’m 92 years old, so it’s been a long time,” Farrell said. “We used to be excited about opening packages and things like that, having candy and goodies that you don’t normally get.”

“We could hardly wait to open them. We’d pick them up and shake them — normal kid stuff.”

“I don’t remember anything being special,” she said.

Farrell offered a modest yet warm picture of the holiday.

“The whole family got together,” she said. “We weren’t an exciting family, but we enjoyed it anyway.”

Although she repeatedly said her Christmases weren’t exciting and that she didn’t have much to share on the subject, her memories reflect a quiet, heartfelt version of the holiday.