Every year, I stock up on supplies as I find them (like during Back-to-School sales) and pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child. I’ve been doing this for, oh, I don’t know…like 15 or 16 years! Sheesh. Makes me feel old to say that!! 🙂
Now that I have children, it’s an awesome service project for them to do, too. One year, we even received a letter from two little girls who received our shoeboxes! The girls really look forward to packing them, and it’s makes my heart glad when I hear “Mom, can we pack another shoebox?”!!
How to participate in Operation Christmas Child:
1) Pack a shoe box: Pick an age group, gender, and include items such as small toys, school supplies, and toiletries. Click here to find full instructions.
2) Drop off the box at a local collection site: National Collection Week is November 12th-19th. Find a collection site here.
3) Follow your gift: If you make your gift donation online (to cover shipping costs), you can print out a special label and track the gift! Find instructions here.
Last year, we packed a box and tracked where the package ended up. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about the countries where our boxes went!
If you are unable to pack a shoebox, Samaritan’s Purse (the sponsoring ministry of Operation Christmas Child) also offers a gift catalog. You can give funds to purchase livestock, feed a baby for a week, give sports equipment, purchase mosquito nets, and much, much more.
If you’d like to host an Operation Christmas Child packing party, my friend Jenae over at I Can Teach My Child shares about her packing party (and shares a printable invitation). Also, my friend Jolanthe shares about her Operation Christmas Child packing party and has a printable invitation, too!
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