I did Operation Christmas Child for the first time last year
and loved it! I don’t have kids to buy Christmas presents for and enjoy the
fact that I get to buy fun things for kids in need.
This year I put together boxes for girls ages 10-14. I chose
the older age group because I heard that they get the least amount of boxes. I
might have gone a bit overboard because the boxes barely close! But I am
excited to bless a few girls this Christmas.
I chose to go with plastic shoe boxes because they can be
used long after “opened” and I wanted to be as practical as possible. However,
on the flip side, I have heard that sticking to the shoe boxes provided by OCC
is most efficient as it allows the most boxes to be packed and shipped, so
there are pluses and minuses to deviating from that.
Here is a picture of everything I included in my box:
It all fits!!!
I got nearly everything from the Dollar Store, a few things
from Walmart or Target. I shopped
periodically throughout the year so it never felt like much, just a few items
here or there.
Hygiene Items:
Homemade terrycloth bag to hold everything in (can double as
a washcloth)
Soap (I specifically got Ivory since it floats, remember to
put it in a ziplock bag so the smell doesn’t affect everything else in the box)
Soap holder (this is important since they likely don’t have
a place to keep the soap when not in use)
Toothbrush/ holder
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Comb
Hairbrush
Dehydrated towel (“Finding Dory” cute and tiny)
Q-Tips in a “Frozen” tin that they can re-use
Shower puff
"Barbie" Band-Aids
School/ Craft Supplies:
Pencil case (I got a few little bags to put things in since
they can be useful for other things as well)
Pencils
Erasers
Colored pencils
Black pens
Colored pens
Highlighters
Pencil sharpener
Safety scissors
Glue stick
Paper clips
Calculator
Stencils
Rubber bands
Drawing paper
Journal
Coloring book
Post-its
"Finding Dory" stickers
Practical Items:
Sewing Kit
Water bottle filled with hard candy
3 pairs of underwear
2 pairs of socks
Bag for underwear and socks (just because, why not throw in another bag)
Flip Flops
Plastic spoon and fork
Large drawstring bag
Toys/ Games:
Cheerleader type pom-poms
Jump Rope
“Disney Princess” Puzzle
Checkers game
Card games (Old Maid,
Go Fish, etc)
Punch balloons
Yo-yo
Silly Putty (I put this in a Ziploc so it doesn’t dry out
if the “egg” breaks)
Generic “Barbie” doll
Pretty stuff:
Bracelets
Paracord bracelet
Barrettes
Hair ties
Headbands
Chap stick
Compact mirror
Manicure kit
A bag to put it all in
