Operation Christmas Child

I was reading a friends blog today about Operation Christmas Child and decided I needed to blog about it too! We've been participating for a couple of years now and I encourage you to check out Operation Christmas Child if you don't know what it is. It's almost too late to participate this year, but you can always participate next year or check out other programs by Samaritan's Purse. The shoe boxes are pretty easy and not very expensive, I began picking things up on clearance for the boxes months ago. We went to the dollar store and bought the plastic boxes, we packed them (there is a list of suggested items and things not to pack), then wrapped them. We opted to pay for the shipping online, then printed off the tags and taped them to the box. Our church is collecting them, so we just brought them to church when we were done! It is a great opportunity to teach our kids about others who may not receive any gifts for Christmas and the ultimate gift of Jesus Christ!

Here is a picture of the girls with their boxes before we turned them in. They had so much fun picking out things for their "friends"! Each girl packed a box for a little girl her age. Each box contained a shirt, pair of gloves, a couple pairs of socks and panties, a baby doll or Barbie, hair bows, purse, bracelets, stickers, lollipops and necklaces. Since Emma in the older category this year she also put in a jump rope, notepads, pencils, markers and lip gloss too! We also put a note in each box with each girls picture telling their "friend" a little bit about themselves and our address if their "friend" would like to write to them! This is the first year we've put notes in the box and the girls are anxious to see if they will get a response, especially Emma who is a beginner reader!