Under the Median: TIME TO BEGIN PACKING OPERATION CHRISTMAS SHOE BOXES!

It's hard to believe that it's actually time to begin counting down to the holidays. There's actually something my family loves to do that is Christmas related, but takes place in mid November.

I am a HUGE fan of Operation Christmas Child. Through Samaritan's Purse, shoeboxes filled with items to bless needy children around the world. This organization, offers international relief to hundreds of thousands each year and is run by Billy Graham's son.

This does NOT need to be expensive!

Even when we were living on little and pinching every nickel and dime, we set aside a portion of our Christmas budget to pack shoeboxes for Samaritan's purse. It's so easy to do! If you plan ahead, you can pack a box very economically!

This experience gives the child the opportunity to "think outside the box" and acknowledge that there are children in the world who have less than they do. There are children to wake up hungry every morning. There are children who need to know that there is a God who loves and cares about them.

Packing these boxes every year ranks very high on my older boys' Holiday memories. It is SO meaningful for your children to participate in blessing another child in another part of the world!

NOTE!

NOTE: In the past several years Samaritan has begun asking for a donation per box to cover the cost of shipping. If this cost is too much for your family (It would have been for our family several years ago), then you could:

Still participate, but send fewer boxes. So, if you have four children, you could have them "team pack" two boxes or just send one box.

Look around. Many times, larger organizations or churches underwrite the cost of shipping. Last year our orthodontist office covered the cost of shipping up to 200 boxes. So, we just had to collect the items and pack them.

Here are some of my favorite places to find shoebox items:

Back-to-School sales!

Dollar Tree

Clearance sales

Garage sales

Handmade items

Used book shops

Samaritan's Purse has a special page, giving ideas for collecting items for your box each month throughout the year.

What to pack in a box:

Here's the recommended list from the Samaritan's Purse website:

A "Wow" item

Clothing and accessories

Toys

Crafts and activities

Personal care items

A personal note

What NOT to pack in the box:

There are some items that just don't ship well. Samaritan asks that you not include them in your box. Additionally, many of these children are from war-torn areas of the world. So, any toys or gifts with war or violence related themes are not accepted

It's actually a pretty short list of items which are not accepted. Here is it (cut and pasted directly from the website):

"Candy; toothpaste; gum; used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives, or military figures; chocolate or food; seeds; fruit rolls or other fruit snacks; drink mixes (powdered or liquid); liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans."