The Earl Naswell Community Christmas Dinner 

A Christmas tradition in the Comox Valley for over 40 years

In 1982, Mr. Earl Naswell and family started this event as a small Christmas day dinner for a handful of friends.  It was a time to share the spirit of Christmas with those that were otherwise not going to enjoy a festive celebration. As the event grew in size, the dinner was hosted as a sit-down gathering in the upper Filberg Center Conference Hall for many years.  Hot Christmas dinners were served to approximately 200 guests, and an additional 200 take out dinners were prepared. 

When Covid hit in 2020 we found ourselves unable to maintain this tradition, and we opted for preparing dinner packages to be delivered to our guests’ homes.  We made arrangements through BC Housing and the Transition Society for large deliveries of 50 – 120 dinners to each of their managed housing locations.  The Salvation Army Family Services also registered an additional 300 individual deliveries to guests’ homes. A total of 625 beautifully decorated bags were filled; each with a complete turkey & ham dinner, veggies, fresh cranberries, desserts, baked goods and a special Christmas goodie bag for each guest.

We have refined our kitchen and delivery processes each year and managed to increase our number to a total of 850 dinners in 2024. St George’s United church graciously opened their doors on Christmas last year and we delivered 70 dinner packages, giving guests a place to come in from the cold and enjoy a hot meal.  Volunteers from St. George’s and the guests were thrilled with this opportunity to gather and share with the community on Christmas Day. This year we will deliver 125 dinners to the Salvation Army Ministries. The dinners are always absolutely free to all guests.

In 2026 we are again making plans to fill 1,000 Christmas meal packages to be delivered on Christmas Day.  This growth has come at a cost. While our number of dinners has more than doubled, our overall expenses have increased fourfold to purchase and prepare all the supplies for the event.  We are now paying more monthly storage rental fees for our kitchen equipment, paying insurance and rental fees for AGM meetings, and have some annual administrative and accounting fees associated with the Society. We require additional funding beyond the immediate dinner expenses to meet our growing needs and to invest in equipment that will make the whole process more efficient and effective in the future.

This event is 100% funded by donations from local businesses and individuals. Funding is always a concern each year as we begin to reach out in September to our long-term sponsors in hopes that they are able to support us again. These are tough economic times for everyone and we always find ourselves looking for additional sponsors to ensure we are able to meet our goals.

In 2023, a few of our dedicated volunteers joined together and formed the Earl Naswell Community Christmas Society.  Our annual event had grown to a point where we needed to take additional steps to secure the future of this Comox Valley tradition and ensure that Earl’s legacy will live on.  In 2025 we have successfully achieved our Registered Charity status with the CRA.

After months of gathering, we will have a team of professional chefs who volunteer 4 full days of their own holidays, December 22-25, to prepare and cook the many truckloads of supplies.  Last year we prepared over 1,300 lbs of turkey, over 300 lbs of ham, 400 lbs of potatoes, 120 lbs fresh cranberries and a mountain of vegetables and desserts.

Over 100 other volunteers gather to share in the preparations; peeling potatoes, packaging desserts, gravy and cranberries, filling the decorated bags that are painted by students and staff of Mark R. Isfeld school.  Many of our volunteers have been helping us for over 20 years, making this a big part of their own family’s Christmas traditions. No matter what the weather, we also have a line up of vehicles outside the Filberg with drivers waiting to deliver each package at noon on Christmas Day!