I wanted to do a reminder post about Operation Christmas Child boxes because the national collection week is November 12-19.
I have mentioned this organization many times because it is one of my favorites and it has become a wonderful tradition in our house.
Operation Christmas Child is a nonprofit organization that donates little shoeboxes filled with holiday gifts to children in desperate need in war torn countries.
These are very easy to put together- just add snacks, toys, arts and crafts supplies, personal care products, clothing etc… into a shoebox or a plastic shoebox size tub.
Print off a label online and designate the box for a specific age group and gender. Take your box to a donation center nationwide during collection week (Nov 12-19) and that is it!
Now this a nonprofit organization and they run entirely off donations so there is a fee of $7 for shipping. If that is a hardship, you might get in touch with local churches as they often supplement the shipping fees.
I typically collect items year round for these boxes and just stash the stuff away- I buy school supplies during the great Back to School sales, I watch for the clearance sales at the Target Dollar Spot, grab clothing on clearance etc… You can put together really nice boxes for next to nothing by strategically shopping year round.
I have lots of tips about the types of items to pack in your boxes on the Operation Christmas Child post here as well as examples of our boxes from prior years.
One thing I try to keep front of mind is what I would want my children to have if we faced a devastating situation (clothing, underwear, stuffed animals to cuddle, toys that might have a chance of lasting- like coloring books,balls, dolls, race cars and so on.)
These little plastic tubs pictured are only $.99 at Dollar Stores and Walmart. If you can possibly get an actual tub as opposed to an old shoe box that is wonderful. Many villages use the tubs to transport water so it is something that will be put to very good use.
One other tip- f you can find any little shirts, dresses, pj’s etc.. to stuff in your box that is something we are certain to include each year. Little girls in particular face so much danger in some of these countries and simply having a child covered up in proper clothing can help to keep the girls safe. This year I found pj sets for $3 on clearance at Old Navy to put in our boxes.
My little ones get involved each year by decorating the boxes with glitter and stickers. Each of my children get a box that they send to a little girl around the same age. They also color pages to include in the boxes and help to get everything sorted and put inside.
In prior years the actual stuffing of boxes has been a little bit of an exercise in patience (on my part!) The children cry and whine about all the lovely things going inside that they can’t have. I love Operation Christmas Child though because it is a wonderful way to help teach children about compassion and the importance of giving back. We have long talks throughout the year about our friends in other areas that don’t get any toys at all and how wonderful it is that we can send them some things. My children can really connect with this organization because we are donating boxes designed for children that are the same age. So they can get excited about helping to decide what goes in the box. We spend a lot of time selecting exactly which coloring book is the right one, they help me find treasures in the Dollar Spot, they decide if we get the yellow pj’s or the pink pj’s and so on.
This year when we packed our boxes, my oldest (at 5 years old) was very helpful and kept explaining to her little sister that these things are for little girls that don’t have any toys at all and she needs to share. I was so proud of her and I can tell that the lessons I have been communicating are finally hitting home. So I am very proud to see how they mature and begin to develop compassion for those around them. I really think Operation Christmas Child has been key in developing these traits in my children by providing a cause that they can really understand and connect with.
One last thing that we do is print our label online so we can track the package. Our local library has a globe and my 5 year old likes to look on the map and see exactly where her box goes. We talk a little about the place that the box was sent and we talk a little about what the life of the little girl that gets the box might be like. So really what we get back from supporting this cause each year is worth so much more then our $7 investment!
My MOPS group at Church sets aside a day to make these boxes as well. We do them on our own at home but I always have lots of extra things like Crayons, bouncy balls, toothpaste, soap etc… and it can be very fun to assemble your boxes in groups. You can mix and match items and just get together and have fun chatting and doing something you can feel really good about. Usually a few of the leaders at MOPS donate some items they love (like candy, small gift cards, nice lotions etc…) and our group bids on the donated items. The bid is how many extra boxes that person will create. This year the big ticket item was a Starbucks gift card that was donated and the winning bidder agreed to do 7 extra boxes for OCC!
You can head over here to get a lot more information about Operation Christmas Child. If you would like to find a donation center in your area, head over to Samaritan’s Purse here. You can also print your labels and they do offer tracking so you can see where your shoebox goes!
I would love to hear all your feedback about this program- so if you are a member of Blogfrog head on over and join the conversation!
*Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for this post. I am working with BlogFrog and 200 other bloggers to spread the word about Operation Christmas Child. BlogFrog is sponsoring 200 extra boxes to go to children in need.
Sara says
I LOVE Operation Christmas Child!!! It’s so inspiring to read the stories behind some of the boxes on their FB page. I’m working with my kids this week to get all of our boxes “stuffed” and ready to go. It really is a fun project to do together as a family and a great way to teach your kids about giving!
debbie j says
I just finished shopping for my boxes today. The kids can’t wait to pack them up.
Rachel says
Thanks for the reminder. We did this last year and it was the beginning of a meaningful tradition. Our boxes went to Peru which was really neat to find out. Looking forward to seeing where they end up this year!
Sylvia says
We are doing this for the first time thru my daughter’s Girl Scout troop. Thanks for the ideas!
Maria says
This is awesome… I’ll look into putting some boxes together.
Sharla says
My mom started this tradition with my oldest a few years ago and now she does it with both girls. She takes them shopping and they get to pick out what to put in the boxes. I love it!!