It has always been important to us to teach our kids to appreciate what they have and to give to others who have less, but it seems like that lesson is so easily lost. This year, in the wake of our big toy purge, we are even more committed to making this holiday season about giving and not getting.
One of our very favorite charity organizations is Operation Christmas Child (OCC), which I’m sure lots of you have heard of, especially if you have been reading this blog for a while. OCC sends shoeboxes filled with toys, candy, & toiletries to kids in need around the world. Although it may seem like just a small thing, he impact these boxes have on so many children who literally have nothing is life-changing. Seriously, check it out (and try not to get a little teary):
For the past few years, the girls and I have enjoyed the process of selecting items for other children and then filling up our boxes. One of the truly great things about using coupons is the ability to stretch our money and resources so that we can give back. Our first year we filled 10 boxes, and last year, with our stockpile overflowing, we were able to fill 15.
Aside from stocking up on school supplies in July & August, this year I wasn’t quite so good about collecting toys and toiletry items throughout the year, which meant we had to adjust our expectations a little. After watching some of the online videos, Princess emphatically declared we should fill 30 boxes, but the reality of making one big trip to Target with a 3 and 6 year old meant we had to make the process a little more manageable. We decided to do 6 boxes, 3 for each of their ages/gender. The girls were then able to pick out things for their boxes that they liked for themselves. We had a lot of fun gathering all our stuff, then filling our boxes and writing letters to the kids who would receive them.
If you are interested in filling some of your own OCC boxes, there is still time! National Collection Week begins next Monday, November 12th and goes through Monday, November 19th. There are drop-off locations all over the country, so click this link to find one near you.
Here are some ideas for things to fill your box:
- Small toys, puzzles, & games (look for clearance deals or save McDonalds Happy Meal toys)
- Candy (no chocolate–I found some great Halloween clearance candy deals!)
- Clothing (look for post-summer clearance deals on t-shirts & tank tops right now!)
- Stuffed animals
- Toothpaste & toothbrushes (free almost every week with coupons)
- Deodorant (often free with coupons)
- Bar soap
- Gum (often free with coupons)
- Crayons, markers, pens & pencils
This year Samaritan’s Purse is offering the option of “filling” a box online, which is a pretty great way to participate even if you don’t have time to go out and get everything yourself. For $30 you can select the age and gender of your recipient, as well as which toys and clothing items you would like to go in your box. Including the $7 shipping fee for each box, we spent $182 for the 6 boxes we did ourselves, or $30.33 per box, so $30 a box doesn’t seem like a bad deal at all if you haven’t already been collecting items all year.
However, if you have kids, I do highly recommend letting them do a box for a child their same age/gender. Watch some of the videos online of children receiving their boxes to open up a conversation about what the boxes are all about and why we do them, then let them participate in selecting items to put in their box. Make it real! And be sure to pray for the child who receives your box!
Get Printable Instructions & Box Labels Here
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I hope you will commit to doing at least one box, or, if OCC isn’t for you, then commit to giving back in some other way, big or small this year. Leave a comment below to share whatever you are planning to do to give back this holiday season & on November 19th I will pick one lucky winner to each receive an Operation Christmas Child gift package that includes a Power of a Simple Gift T-Shirt, 10 paper ornaments, and the new Scotty McCreery Holiday Album. (LOVE him!)
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Denise November 7, 2012 at 9:24 am
We love Operation Christmas Child! This will be our third year too, and we are going to try to fill at least 5 boxes. I try to stock up on small items throughout the year but I usually have to buy some stuff at the end.
Michelle November 7, 2012 at 9:26 am
I definitely want to do this! Awesome!
Sarah C November 7, 2012 at 10:41 am
I have a question, and I hope this won’t offend anyone, as that is certainly not my intent. When the boxes are sent out, is religious literature put into them or sent out with them? I only ask because while this is something I’d like to do with my family, we are not Christian and don’t agree with that practice, and because presumably the children receiving the boxes may have different beliefs. Again, this is not intended to denigrate anyone’s faith or the Christmas Child program
Rosie November 7, 2012 at 11:32 am
Very excited to have just discovered that the project is also in operation here in England. I’m off to find some shoes boxes now!
rebekah November 7, 2012 at 3:30 pm
So great to see your girls packing the boxes! My son is 2 so, I will be packing them this year – but looking forward to next year when he can contribute as well. We are committing to doing 4 boxes with OCC. We always try to balance out practical gifts with fun gifts as well. We are putting a good quality water bottle in the boxes and filling the bottles with pencils, toothpaste, etc. as to not waste any space! I love this project, it is dear to my heart, as last year we were in Cameroon Africa working with children who had been recipients of OCC boxes! It really does work!
rebekah November 7, 2012 at 3:44 pm
So great to see your girls packing the boxes. My son is 2, so I am looking forward to his contribution next year as we pack boxes. This year we are committed to packing 4 boxes with OCC. We are balancing the contents between practical gifts and fun gifts. New this year, we are packing good quality water bottles, and filing them with pencils, toothpaste, etc. as to not waste any space. This project is dear to my heart as we were living in Cameroon, Africa last year and working with children who were OCC box recipients. This mission works!
rebekah November 7, 2012 at 3:46 pm
sorry for posting twice, I didn’t think my first attempt posted!
angie co November 7, 2012 at 6:27 pm
hello i want to be a part of this operation christmas child program, as you can see in my facebook lots of pictures are more on helping others under by club and organizations i joined with.. like medical and dental missions, gift giving, relief operations , etc.. i am not that rich, but more on helping others by giving service or volunteering works, i was the one collecting for the goods the people are giving…i hope i could be one of your volunteers if you happen to visit our place…lots of street children and aitas (native people from mountains ) , they are certainly needs to see us.. i want to help you just being a volunteer , i hope you could be able to see my plans and projects for those who are in need especially those childrens, in one way or another have their christmas a merry one thru YOU…
Julie Cadman November 7, 2012 at 7:58 pm
This is our first year doing OCC, and we are so excited!! I have four kiddos, and each one is doing one for a child similar age.
Julie November 7, 2012 at 8:04 pm
This year I plan on doing a box or two myself but in the past I’ve done them with my church bible study. One year a group of four or five of us were able to do 10 boxes! I’m excited to do mine this year!
Marjie Billock November 8, 2012 at 6:15 am
We filled two boxes last week!!! Love OCC!!
Kathryn November 8, 2012 at 8:34 am
This year we filled three boxes….one for each of my girls. We really stocked up when Walmart put their back to school supplies on sale….colored pencils, water colors, markers, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, notebooks,…etc. My girls love to draw and we thought the recipient might too! We included a handmade pencil pouch, a handmade headband, bracelets made by the girls and soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste. I’d love to put even more in them…maybe we can cram a bit more in before next week!
The girls and I watched the video on your blog and I cried. The impact of telling a child about Jesus through a little box of school supplies and soap….PROFOUND! We love Jesus and we want everyone else to know HIM….what a great way to spread His Love around the globe! Thank you for your encouragement for others to participate in OCC and your giveaway! God Bless Your Family! And Merry Christmas…It’s not too early to get in the spirit..is it? 
Jessica@SweatIsMySanity November 8, 2012 at 4:59 pm
I love this Ruth. We have done a Sub for Santa’s for needy families or given cash to single mom’s in need. I think this one sounds like a good one for my kids this year. I’m on it next week! You’re right, we so need to teach our kids this, I definitely had great examples from my parents.
xo, Jess
VICTORIA November 8, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Thanks for letting me know about this. We will be doing 2-3 boxes this year
Hopefully we can make this a tradition for year to come <3
Jen November 9, 2012 at 8:17 am
I am so glad I came across this post today! I always plan to do these with my son (since there are plenty of items in our stock-pile, etc. that we can use to fill them), but I somehow seem to miss the deadline every year even though I know it is in December. Thanks for sharing that their is still time! My mom’s church actually collects them so we can work on it tomorrow and then drop it off tomorrow night for her to take on Sunday.
Kimberly November 10, 2012 at 10:26 pm
We do OCC with our kids also. They each fill a box with money from their piggy banks and we do one from our 1 year old and one from us. (We cover all the shipping costs, that way the kids’ money goes towards the fun stuff.) We start with stuff I’ve collected and add from there. Sometimes our daughter likes to sew a purse/bag for her recipient. This will be the first year we are volunteering at our church to help collect boxes. Our church is a collection point for our area and we will be helping out on the last day. I am hoping this will make the whole thing a bit more tangible for our kids. Thanks for sharing your experience!
SJ November 12, 2012 at 11:33 pm
I have a question since you have younger girls. This is our first year doing OCC and when I was explaining it, my 4 year old daughter asked why Santa doesn’t bring presents to these kids. I was completely caught off guard by her question and wasn’t really sure what to say. I kind of talked around it but I’d rather have a good answer if it comes up again. Have your girls ever asked a question like this? How do you address it?
Ruth November 15, 2012 at 1:28 pm
You know SJ, every year I worry that my daughters might ask that but so far it hasn’t occurred to them. I have thought that I might say something like “Santa does bring them a gift, but it is only something they really need like clothes or food.” Hard topic!!!
Claire @ A Little Claireification November 14, 2012 at 9:45 pm
We did our boxes this eve and they are being dropped off tomorrow – the boys had a blast! I was surprised at how intently they watched the video. I’ll see if any of the pics turned out well enough to post – those boys would not sit still for more than a second and your girls look like little angels in all of their pictures! Thanks for all the great resources here. I also added this post to my “Best Of The Weekend” post this past Sunday so hopefully some others were able to link back here and get involved!
Ruth November 15, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Oh believe me, they are not always angels!
Thanks for the link love!