CAMP ISTIQLAAL, Iraq – A cold rain and rifle rounds fell on Baghdad, Iraq, on Christmas Day, and Santa had to wear a costume bulky enough to cover his helmet and body armor.

But troops from the 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, and the reserve and guard units nationwide assigned to Task Force 1/9 at Camp Istiqlaal (which means ” independence” in Arabic) still had some jolly times.

The small base in central Baghdad, commonly called Headhunter, is well known among the soldiers for its bad food. Instead of hunks of mystery meat or tasteless macaroni, on Christmas Day the soldiers were treated to lavish holiday spreads for both lunch and dinner.

Turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, pecan pie, eggnog – they had it all.

Some troops were saluted on the way into the mess hall by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, otherwise known as Pvt. 2nd Class Anthony Brooks, 21, from Los Angeles, who spent the day in costume.

“I was running around hugging people, letting them pull my tail. They got a kick out of it,” he said. “We’re trying to make everybody happy, trying to make them feel at home.”

“It’s fabulous. I really got into the Christmas spirit because of it,” said Sgt. Rowe Stayton, 53, from Denver. “Of course I’d rather be home, but I appreciate what they did.”

Cavalrymen in black Stetson hats served punch flowing from a fountain next to a large gingerbread house. And the guy in the kitchen dishing up slices of ham and shaking hands with the soldiers turned out to be Col. Mike Murray, 44, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team commander from Kenton, Ohio, visiting from his downtown base.

Sgt. Adam Ewing, 25, from Fort Hood, said the Headhunter staff really knows how to support the troops during the holidays. On Thanksgiving Day, the mess hall workers at the former Iraqi air force base had dressed as pilgrims.

“It’s a way for the commanders to show the soldiers they care. People in the rear know they’re not forgotten out here,” he said.

The soldiers stationed at Camp Independence may be separate from the large full-service bases near Baghdad International Airport and the Green Zone, which houses top commanders and coalition authorities.

But they are on the front lines of some of the most consistent violence in Baghdad surrounding nearby Haifa Street.

The insurgents didn’t take the day off, and neither did the soldiers. Capt. Chris Ford, 29, from Overland Park, Kan., and the Charlie Company from the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment started Christmas Day with a 3 a.m. sweep through Haifa Street and surrounding areas.

Many soldiers, aside from those who caught some sleep after the early morning raid, hit the phone banks first thing Christmas morning.

Sgt. 1st Class Terry Paden, 45, originally from Dallas, called Tylitha, his wife of 24 years in Albuquerque, N.M., to thank her for being so supportive during his deployment.

“She’s just really special. When you’ve been married so many years and they don’t want you to go but know this is what you want …” he said, thinking of the care packages she sent him and his maintenance crew filled with Hamburger Helper, a fancy thermometer and other thoughtful little gifts.

Others enjoyed the festive atmosphere with their military family.

First Lt. Christina Adams, from Poolesville, Md., who turned 24 on Christmas Day, looked around the dining hall full of soldiers and said, “This is the next best thing. If I can’t be home for the holidays with my family, I want to be with them.”

Besides family, surrogate or otherwise, Christmas wouldn’t be the same without presents under the tree. So Capt. T.J. Foley, 29, commander of Charlie Company, Arkansas National Guard 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, helped distribute gifts sent from Batten & Shaw, the construction firm where he works as a project engineer.

Many companies shipped presents to the military in Iraq, and Batten & Shaw, which is based in Nashville, Tenn., sent 27 large boxes, from DVDs and Walkmans to socks. “They didn’t want any soldier to not have something to open on Christmas morning,” Foley said.

Drowning out the sounds of the power generators on base and the crackle of gunfire outside its walls was the Task Force 1/9 band, Headhunter Main with special guests, who rocked the mess hall with a Christmas concert.

The crowd laughed to hear their rendition of the “Twelve Days of Christmas,” complete with “Three gre-eh-nades, two RPGs and a sniiiper in Building 93.” But it was the 12th day that really got them going.

“And on the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me … a 12-month extension!”

The Task Force 1/9 soldiers shouted and groaned, “Nooo!”