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One of the most important things we can teach our children is to be compassionate & giving. The holiday season is a great time to really focus on putting these values into practice. There are many wonderful organizations to which families can give their time and money….food banks, homeless shelters, Angel Trees. This year, one of the organizations with which our family is getting involved is Operation Christmas Child.
What is Operation Christmas Child?
Operation Christmas Child is a program that coordinates an effort to provide gifts to children in areas of the worlds where Christmas or birthday gifts are an afterthought. It is also a way to share the word of Jesus with these children and show them the love of people around the world.
Through Brooke’s Girl Scout troop and Leah’s daycare, we were given the opportunity to join in two Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing parties. To prepare for the parties, the girls and I made a quick trip to Dollar Tree where we were able to gather up more than enough for two shoeboxes for about $40!!!
Below is a video of our trip to Dollar Tree and all the items we bought to fill the boxes.
How To Get Involved With Operation Christmas Child
There are many ways to get involved in the Operation Christmas Child project. You’ll want to get moving if you’d like to do it this year because the collection time period is November 14 – 21. For more information & drop-off locations, you can check out their webpage at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/
Some suggestions would b not to include 1 use items (Kleenex, play doughs/clays, 1time use paint) Buy quality items so they last longer. $ store pencil lead constantly breaks. Include what OCC suggests is at least 1 WOW item. Clothing, real soccer balls deflated, nice doll, smallish stuffed animal. Send spiral notebooks(bendable & much needed for school), nice drawstring backpacks, flip flops or other shoes. Watch for clearance racks. shorts, socks, water bottles (lots of places have only 1water source) Fill bottles with the pens, pencils, toothbrushes etc. Dresses. Cute Underwear (also aids n physical protection). Send extra batteries if needed. Purchase hand crank flash lights. Add extra items for family, such as extra toothbrushes. Fishing kit, sewing kit + fabric. Try to think about the environment they may b living in. Pack boxes as full as possible!😊
All great suggestions!! Thank you for sharing!!!