SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Growing up on the land, Janet Naskathey said she knows what it's like not to get a gift at Christmas.

So for the 11th year in a row she has collected teddy bears to share with children.

Janet Naskathey, also known as the "teddy bear lady," is sending eight boxes of bears, candy, toothbrushes and books to Lutsel K'e to be distributed as Christmas gifts to the community's children. - Nicole Veerman/NNSL photo

Sitting in her Yellowknife home are eight boxes full of bears, candy, toothbrushes and books that will be flown to Lutsel K'e where they will be distributed to children in the community.

"I always think ahead for the kids," said Naskathey, who said she's often called the "teddy bear lady." "Whenever I see teddy bears, I pick them up."

At every dental visit she also asks for extra toothbrushes for the kids and at the end of the Christmas season, she buys candy canes at discounted prices to save for the following year.

Naskathey started the tradition in 2000 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"My friends brought me bears and bears and bears and bears. I ended up with about 500," she said.

Over the years, she has collected about 3,000 bears that have been sent to communities around the territory, including Jean Marie River, Gameti and Wrigley.

Last year, during her second bout with cancer, she delivered some of the bears to the Stanton Territorial Hospital.

"I just want the kids to have fun," she said.

This year's bears will likely be distributed at the school Christmas concert in Lutsel K'e, said Maureen Laboucan of the Lutsel K'e First Nation Band.

She said the donation is a really nice gesture.

"It's good for the kids that someone out there is thinking of them," she said.

Naskathey said she would really like to be there to see the children accept the bears.

"It would be awesome," she said through tears. She hasn't yet planned the trip.

Earlier this year Naskathey had a brain tumour removed. Her last round of radiation wrapped up in June.

She said she's "living day-to-day" and hopes she'll still be able to collect bears next year.

As for this Christmas, she said she's already received her present.

"Beautiful hair," she said removing her homemade hat to reveal short grey hair.

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