Packing our OCC Shoeboxes!
This year, we decided to prepare one Operation Christmas Child shoebox for each age and gender. There are three age groups: 2-4 years; 5-9 years; and 10-14 years.
That means we’re packing six shoeboxes!
How we pack our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes:
In the past we’ve bought small plastic shoeboxes, but I’ve learned this year that any size shoebox works, so we collected boxes from friends. A bonus: that saved a few bucks, which just goes for more goodies in the boxes!
The box we use for year-round collection of OCC goodies was stuffed full, but we knew we needed more gifts to fill six boxes, so Lindsey and Kathryn and I bought a bunch of things at Target last week, then set out our shoeboxes to divide up gifts according to age-appropriateness and gender.
Our boxes were almost full after that, but we wanted a few more things to squeeze in there. A trip to the dollar store gave us the last few things to make sure all our boxes have a nice mix of useful and fun.
What goes in our shoeboxes:
- travel-size tissue packs
- soap and washcloths
- stuffed animals
- small toys like yo-yo’s and jacks
- pencils and/or crayons
- small notebooks
- matchbox cars
- toothbrushes and toothpaste
- shorts
- gloves
- flip-flops
- socks
- hair bows
- comb/brush
All we have left to do now is write a personal note to each child — including a photo of our family — and then wrap the boxes in pretty paper!
Join me! Pack a shoebox with your family!
Collection week is still a month away (November 12-19), so there is plenty of time to prepare a shoebox! If you blog about it, please add your link here. And if you tweet it, use #OCCboxes.
As a member of iHomeschool Network’s Samaritan’s Purse Blogger Team, I write about the ministry on a volunteer basis. All posts are my own thoughts and do not necessarily reflect the views of Samaritan’s Purse. I am not an employee, agent, or contractor of Samaritan’s Purse.
Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »
What a beautiful post, Jamie — you are blessing so many children 🙂
We also like to have a good mix of both fun and practical in our OCC shoeboxes. Thanks for all the fun ideas!
I love the flip flops idea here. Maybe next summer I’ll watch for sales and try to grab some up for our boxes!
[…] to: See Jamie Blog True Aim […]