On Christmas Day last year, in a town next to the Jur River in South Sudan, Major Christian Jacobsen opened a package sent thousands of kilometres away from Trentham.
He was one of three Kiwi military personnel deployed on a UN Peace Keeping Mission and is based in the town of Wau.
It was an RSA gift parcel Jacobsen received; Pam's ginger biscuits providing "a little slice of home."
This year, he's paying it forward, helping package parcels for the 140 Kiwi Defence Force personnel who will be overseas this Christmas.
"It was an important thing to receive overseas so I thought it was important to do this in return."
Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
It's the 85th year of sending out packages.
They're filled with a delicious mix of Kiwi goodies, including scorched almonds, popcorn and Jetplane lollies.
They also feature two hand-made and handwritten cards from the tamariki of Mount Cook Primary and Silverstream Primary.
Nine-year-old Kieran Riley-McQuillan from Silverstream stood in line, packing Jetplanes into the boxes. He volunteered last year and said he'd be back again.
His mum, Rachel Riley served in the Army for 15 years as a logistics officer. She's now the RSA's communications manager.
Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
In 2004, Riley was told she had six days before a plane departed for East Timor and she had to be on it. This was just a few days before Christmas.
"When I arrived I didn't know anybody. I didn't have any friends around and I hadn't been able to bring any Christmas gifts with me."
The only thing she had to open on Christmas was her RSA package.
"I woke up on Christmas morning, feeling quite flat because it's a really big day in my family, but there in my hands were big packets of chips and reduced cream and dip," she said.
"It was really cool to have something that showed people were thinking of me."
Now she's on the other side of it, helping pack and deliver the packages to the Defence Force overseas.
Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
The number of overseas personnel is lower than in previous years when they were filling up to 500 boxes with Kiwi treats donated from Pams and the RSA.
Riley said the parcels have been packed with different items over the years.
They used to feature a can of beer.
"But we definitely don't have those anymore," she said.
"The parcels get sent all around the world from Antarctica to the Middle East so it's got to be something that goes well in those environments."
The parcels sent to Antarctica, wrapped in an added protective layer of black plastic have headed off on their journey already.
Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
Major General Rob Krushka, Commander of Joint Forces New Zealand, added rainbow fruit jubes sparkling with sugar to the mix. Outside of his Christmas elf duty, he's in charge of deployed operations and said there are 268 people deployed overseas on mandated missions.
"For all those people, there are certain times of the year where you feel quite isolated away from home," he said.
The Christmas packages "uplift them".
Krushka received a parcel himself.
"Now this has been going for 84 years. I'm not quite that old, but getting close," he chuckled.
"But in the early nineties when I was deployed to Antarctica over Christmas I received one of these and it was absolutely amazing."
Most packages will be sent to Sinai, where the largest number of land forces are deployed currently. The defence force has provided troops to the international peacekeeping force in Sinai for more than 40 years.
"It really does mean a lot to our soldiers, sailors and aviators that are deployed offshore," Krushka said.
RSA president Sir Wayne (Buck) Shelford was in charge of packing the popcorn.
Set up in 1919, Shelford said the RSA was set up because all the soldiers "came back broken".
"And it's no different today. Now we've got a lot of broken soldiers coming back from Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor."
There are no longer any World War One defence force members left in New Zealand, and just a handful of World War Two veterans.
Shelford said veterans make up only 25 percent of the RSA members. "It's the civilians that keep it going and it's really good."
"Keep buying poppies, head down to your local RSA and spend a few dollars at the bar, volunteer at events like today."
