Have You Packed a Shoebox?

I love trying to find ways to get my children involved in giving to others.  We have found Operation Christmas Child to be a great way to help our children experience the joy of giving to others. At Christmastime, Samaritan's Purse distributes shoeboxes filled with gifts to needy children worldwide.

What I love about this particular ministry is that my children can be actively involved.  Throughout the year, we encourage our children to set aside a portion of what they receive to give to another child in need.  I love that our children are actually giving instead of us buying something for them to give.  Here are some things that the girls were able to include in their boxes this year:

• Toothpaste and dental floss from the dentist 
• Summer Reading Program prize packages: All four kids participated in the library's summer reading program.  We kept two of everything and included two of everything in the shoeboxes.
• Stickers: Oh my goodness, our sticker box is always overflowing.  When the girls receive new stickers, they choose some to include in the shoeboxes.
• Markers, crayons, pencils: OK, this is something that Mom actually purchases.  I just buy extra when I hit the back-to-school sales.
• Extra party favors: We had extra notepads, pencils and erasers from Mary's birthday party.  It was really fun to include these in the boxes this year, almost like the little girls were here celebrating with us.
• Trinkets from the doctor's office: Whenever we receive a car or other toy from the doctor's office, we set it aside to give to someone else.
• Extra toys that we receive as gifts: Mary received four jars of play-doh for her birthday this year.  She chose two colors to keep and we set aside two for the shoeboxes.  Matthew and Jonathan received two stuffed animals, but our stuffed animal stockpile is continually overflowing, so we chose to include those in the shoeboxes as well.
• Craft projects: We made several tie-dye shirts this past year as a craft project, so we included some shirts in our shoeboxes, too.

The girls have so much fun loading their items in the shoeboxes.  This year, I am hopeful that they will want to write a letter to the recipient also in which we can communicate that we want to give to them because God gave us salvation through His Son Jesus.

You can find instructions here.  After you pack your shoebox, simply print out a label, which you can find in the link above, tape that to your box and rubber band your box also.  Take your shoebox(es) to the nearest collection site during National Collection Week (November 14-21).  Samaritan's Purse does ask that you donate $7 per box to cover the shipping costs.