Comfort and Joy: Sending Christmas Cheer Overseas

By Nicola Ryan

Christmas is a time of warmth, togetherness, and celebration with loved ones. However, for many soldiers serving overseas, far from family and the comforts of home, the festive season can be tough. Kelly Luffman, a retired military veteran with 25 years of service, understands this better than most. After experiencing the challenges – and delights – of being deployed during the holidays, she was inspired to start a group dedicated to sending Christmas parcels to Newfoundland soldiers serving overseas.

Kelly’s military career spanned over two decades, with deployments to places like Kosovo in 1999 and Afghanistan in 2007. The sacrifices of military life, including spending holidays away from home, are experiences that have left a lasting impact on the Markland, NL native. Kelly recalls one Christmas in Afghanistan standing out as particularly special. Despite the harsh conditions of the deployment, it was a moment of joy and camaraderie that lifted her spirits and those of her fellow soldiers.

“One of the best Christmases I ever had was in Afghanistan in 2007 because of parcels like these,” she explains. “Christmas is hard enough being away from home, but in some of these places soldiers have to be, it’s twice as hard.” For Kelly and her comrades, opening the parcels was almost as good as a downhome Newfoundland Christmas.
“When the guys and girls started opening them up, it was like our own Newfoundland traditional Christmases where you didn’t know what was in the parcel, and everybody was excited, and we did it as a group. It was Christmas morning in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is amazing.’ It was by far one of the best experiences I ever had in one of the worst places I had ever been.”

Kelly retired from the military in 2011, but her connection to her fellow soldiers and the challenges they face during the holidays remained strong, so she decided to take action. “I retired in 2011, and five years ago I started this. I thought, let’s do some parcels and send them overseas to soldiers because it boosted our morale so much,” she says.
“The parcels tend to be our typical Newfoundland traditional stuff like Jam Jams, Caramel Log bars, Vienna sausages, and of course, we’ll put candy canes in there and ornaments and Purity candy kisses and a Newfoundland flag,” Kelly explains.
The Newfoundland flag, a small but meaningful token, serves as a reminder of home, and soldiers often use it to represent their roots while on patrol or during other missions. Other personal touches, including handmade ornaments and cards made by local schoolchildren from Whitbourne, in the parcels are what make them so special. These thoughtful gestures go a long way in lifting the spirits of personnel who may be feeling homesick during the holidays. “We just try to make it as special as possible for the soldiers,” Kelly says.

The effort to send Christmas parcels overseas has grown significantly since its inception, and the group, affectionately named “The Newfoundland She Shed Elves,” is always growing. “I’d say there’s about 50 people here in this area, and I get money and donations from all across Canada,” Kelly notes. “Last year, we did 67 parcels to be sent overseas to soldiers during Christmas.”
The name “She Shed Elves” carries a sense of humour and pride. “Men have their Man Caves, I have a She Shed,” Kelly laughs. “Everybody jokes about my she shed, because, you know the saying, ‘what happens in the she shed stays in the she shed.’” But as the initiative gained momentum, Kelly felt the group needed a proper name and the concept of the “elves” perfectly captured the spirit of teamwork and holiday magic that the group embodies.
“This would never happen without all these friends and family and people all across Canada,” Kelly stresses. “I would not be able to do this on my own. It’s all of us, it’s a group effort and a community effort. Last year there was that many people,” she adds with a laugh, “I mean, I only have a certain size of shed and I couldn’t get everybody in!”

Once the packages are prepared, they’re sent to the Military Family Resource Centre in Gander, which ensures they reach Newfoundlanders serving overseas. While civilians are not allowed to know the specific locations of the soldiers, the parcels often end up in far-flung places like Latvia, Kosovo, CFS Alert, and Navy ships at sea.
The feedback from soldiers who have received these parcels has been overwhelmingly positive. Many have expressed gratitude for the kindness and thoughtfulness of the gesture. “I’ve gotten several letters, and the feedback is that this is one of the nicest, kindest things that they’ve seen in a long time,” Kelly says. Knowing that the parcels make a difference is what motivates the She Shed Elves and the dedication and support of the members of the group are what make this heartfelt mission possible year after year.

For soldiers who are far from home, receiving a package filled with familiar treats, personal notes, and symbols of Newfoundland provides a much-needed morale boost.
“If one of these parcels out of the 60 shows up on some young fella’s lap who’s having a hard day and that puts a smile on his face, or her face,” Kelly reflects, “then we’ve accomplished what we wanted to do.”