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Easy Nativity Craft for Kids & Teens

December 6, 2017 By Brandy 3 Comments

A quick 5-minute nativity craft for kids that they can hang on the wall. Simply peel and stick the repositional decals onto the pre-cut plaque! This post contains affiliate links.

You might also like our 12 Days of Christmas gift idea for Latter Day Saints and Christians! A container with 12 pieces of candy, each labeled with a QR code to a Christmas video! Looking for a SUPER FUN edible Christmas activity? How about our graham cracker nativity scenes! We make these every Christmas season!

A quick 5-minute nativity craft for kids that they can hand on the wall. Simply peel and stick the repositional decals onto the pre-cut plaque!

Twice a month I get to work with the girls in our church who are 8-11 years old. The program is called Activity Days and we do all sorts of fun projects and activities! I LOVE being able to work with them. We have a great time. We wanted to do a nativity crafts for kids and am totally thrilled with what we came up with! This would be a great project for youth groups too!

Easy Nativity Wall Hanging Craft for Kids and Teens

These nativity wall hangings are 6" big. The perfect size to hang on the wall or in the tree. And they were SO easy to make and the girls had a great time adding their stickers. Each wall hanging turned out different. Some had 2 sheep, others had 1, the star was placed in different spots as well as the angels.

Another idea would be to give the kids each a take home kit with a plaque to hang on the wall and a sticker sheet and have them add one sticker each day leading up to Christmas. There are 14 stickers.

Either way, it's a quick and easy kit for kids and would look so cute on an entryway wall.

Supplies

How To Assembly Nativity Wall Hangings

Instructions

You can purchase unfinished wood plaques and nativity vinyl stickers on Oriental Trading. The unfinished wooden plaques come in packages of 12 and the vinyl in packages of 24. The vinyl is marketed for using on mason jars to create nativity luminaries. I wanted something a bit more affordable for 15 girls than mason jars and the wood plaques (12 for $4.99) fit the bill!

The stickers are reposition able so it was easy to rearrange until the perfect scene was created.

There were plenty of stickers to choose from on each sheet. Two angels, two camels, two sheep, etc. The girls didn't need to use them all. They could opt for a nativity scene without the wisemen, or find a way to squeeze them in.

We added a strand of bakers twine through the pre-drilled holes and it was complete!

More Christmas DIY Projects for Kids!

25+ Gifts that Kids Can Make

My kids love making their own gifts during the holidays. They take such pride and get so excited to have us open our gifts which really brings the holiday spirit. Here are over 25 Christmas crafts and gifts that kids can make and give this holiday season!

Santa Gift Tags

These Santa suit gift tags are SO easy to make and the belt is made from a soda bottle tab! A few cuts of paper and a bit of glue is all you need! Don't have the embellishments? No problem! Draw them on with a marker!

Tissue Punch Advent Calendar

Quite possible our favorite advent calendar and very inexpensive to make, too!

Christmas Cookie Countdown to Christmas

November 30, 2017 By Brandy 6 Comments

Count down the days to Christmas with a Christmas cookie advent! Cut one cookie off every day until Christmas Eve.You might also like our paper plate snowman countdown or our tissue punch advent calendar.

cookies wrapped in plastic wrap, hanging on cabinet

This cookie countdown was a lot of fun to make and super inexpensive too. My favorite holiday cookies are gingerbread cookies. I have an awesome quick gingerbread cookie recipe, but I'm also partial to the Betty Crocker cookie mix. I had a package on hand so I decided to go that route this time!

Christmas Cookie Advent (Countdown)

cookie mix, stick of butter, egg and rolling pin

My inspiration came from this photo on Instagram. Jill said that her family received these as gifts from a friend when she was a child and she and her siblings loved it so much. The family made a bunch and handed them out every year. I think we may start that tradition too!

I usually undercook my cookies just a bit so that they are nice and soft. Not this time around. I cooked mine a minute over what the package said and let them sit on the pan until they were completely cool. After all, the last few cookies will be hanging for 3 weeks. So I wanted to get some of the moisture out of them. Stale cookies are better than moldy cookies.

You'll need a really long work surface. Even though I used small cutters my countdown is over 6' tall. So I used my kitchen floor. Roll out a long strip of plastic wrap.

Line up the cookies (front side down). Then carefully fold the sides over to the center, overlapping if necessary. I did 4 cookies at a time and worked my way to the top.

Tie a bow between every cookie with baker's twine.

It turned out so pretty and festive and only took about 30 seconds for the baby to find, ha!

24 cookies wrapped in plastic, hanging on cupboard

I'm still getting used to having a toddler around.

two cookie countdowns hanging on cupboard

So here is what our final countdown looks like. Toddler and dog safe 😉

3 Ways To Simplify Christmas and The Holiday Season

November 28, 2017 By Brandy 2 Comments

Simplify Christmas and the holiday season by letting your phone become your personal assistant! Let it remind you of the big events, capture the holidays with vivid photos & video, & organize your lists! This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SamsungTargetTech #CollectiveBias

We all know that the holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be the most hectic at the same time!

Let's start by finding ways to simplify Christmas and organizing the holiday season!

This year alone we have 3 band concerts, a church holiday party, 5 children to buy gifts for, extended family to send gifts to, the everyday appointments, after school activities, gifts for teachers, holiday baking for friends, and 1 year old shots for the baby.

Let's go ahead and toss in a Boy Scout campout in December, two activities that I'm planning for the 8-11 year old girls at church, and trying to put up a fence in the backyard before the end of the year. Exhausted yet? No? I'll add in one more task. Purchasing a new cell phone. Because that's always fun and stress free, haha!

One of my favorite holiday songs is the Chipmunks, "Ho Ho Ho". If you haven't heard it, look it up---it's hilarious. "Ho Ho Ho and jingle jingle; grown ups seem to go bizerk. Why are parents so wigged out when Santa Claus does all the work?"

If only! I'm DETERMINED to have a peaceful holiday season by staying organized and focusing on what matters the most: family time and making memories.

If I don't get to all of the holiday baking that's okay. If the teachers at school receive gift cards instead of something creative they will probably be happier anyways, right?

One of the best organizational tools that we have right at our finger tips are our phones. When I found myself needing to purchase another phone I went to Target and Derrick and I selected the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. This baby is NICE. A crystal clear screen, a nicer camera than any mobile device we've owned in the past, and a competitive price.

Here are 3 ways to simplify and organize the holiday season by taking advantage of what your phone has to offer.

1. Learn How to Use the Camera Controls.

No longer is it necessary to lug around my bulky DSLR camera when I want a beautiful photo. My Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has 7 camera modes; my favorite being Pro, although I've also been able to capture some great shots in auto mode. The low light dual pixel camera with live focus compensates beautifully in darker rooms.

I shoot exclusively in manual mode on my DSLR camera and can now use some of those same settings to really bring out the depth, light, and clarity in my mobile shots.

And would you like 2 tips for shooting great pictures with the phone on your camera?

Every camera comes with a zoom feature, but if you really want clarity, zoom in with your body---not your phone. Get up close to your subject if you can and you'll get a better shot!
Crop and edit! It used to be that cropping pictures taken on your phone resulted in fuzzy, low resolution images. Not anymore. The images that come from your phone cameras now are often higher quality than any point and shoot camera you'll find. The photo editor pro on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 even lets me edit my photos by adjusting the lighting and color, add fun stickers and effects. So crop and edit away!

It takes a little while to sit down and become familiar with the settings so that they become second nature, but now I can easily capture my family's activities and the excitement of Christmas morning with my pocket sized camera and 4k video capabilities.

So play around with what your phone has to offer and ditch the big camera bag when cutting down your tree or checking out Christmas lights!

2. Let You Phone Become Your Personal Secretary.

I've always been a hard-copy kind of girl. Pen and paper suit me just fine, but that method has already failed me twice this school year. Like when I forgot to pick up Aaron from his after school STEM club. As much as I love using my planner notebook, I find that I'm a bit less stressed that I will forget something when I use the alarms and calendar on my phone to "set it and forget it". And the stylus is pretty darn close to having a pen in my hand so I get the best of both worlds 😉

3. Make Lists and Check Them Twice.

Speaking of the stylus, I've organized my gift giving lists and to-do list using the planner features. I also use the stylus to write in the search bar, send texts, and add hand written details to photos.

And since I no longer own any cookbooks, and rely on my favorite bookmarked websites, it's nice to have everything at the ready. I use my phone to look up holiday cookie recipes, find new recipes, and scroll through ingredient lists while I bake.

Some of the fun holiday traditions that we have as a family are new pajamas for the kids and letting each child pick out a new ornament to add to there tree. We also add to our holiday movie and book collection. These are our favorite things to bring out of storage every year!

I can easily shop for pajamas and games from my favorite retailers directly from my phone, and price compare with the Bixby feature on my camera

Rudolph Ornament Gift Idea

November 20, 2017 By Brandy 4 Comments

These DIY Rudolph ornament gifts are the perfect holiday party favor! Fill them with darling finger puppets, shredded paper, and seasonal candy and hang them on the tree. A great kids craft to make at school Christmas parties! This post contains affiliate links.

Theis DIY Rudolph ornament is the perfect holiday party favor! Fill them with darling finger puppets, and seasonal candy and hang them on the tree. A great kids craft too!

I love clear holiday ornaments! There are just so many fun ways to use them! Fill them with candy, mini nail polish, or holiday finger puppets! You can even create tiny snow globe ornaments. The possibilities are endless. I used clear dome ornaments to make lip gloss ornament gifts for the girls in our church youth group. They turned out so cute and took about 10 minutes to make a dozen of them. I've also filled them with hot cocoa mix and mini marshmallows as a cute single sized portion of hot cocoa. The possibilities are endless.

Rudolph Ornament Gift Idea

This year I made a Rudolph ornament for each of my six-year-old Sunday school students using these finger puppets that I found from Oriental Trading.

I filled them with shredded paper and snowman fluffs and shredded white gift paper.

My kids love these marshmallows! They come in a packages of 72 for around $8. We ordered the Ghost Poofs during Halloween and they were such a hit when I brought them to a kids church activity. I ordered another giant bag to use for tiny gifts like these ornaments, and to use in the hot chocolate bar that we keep on our dining table during the holidays. They stay nice and fresh and are the perfect portion for hot cocoa in the individual bags.

The clear ornaments come in several sizes and snap together, making them easy to fill.

I added a piece of clear tape along the bottom seam, but even without it, they hold together really well. A double knot in the baker's twine really helps seal them tight, too.

What would you put inside a clear ornament?

If you like this Rudolph ornament craft you might also like fun holiday crafts...

Reindeer Candy TinsAnother fun use for the finger puppets from Oriental Trading! Glue them on top of a metal candy tin and wrap with ribbon for a fun party favor! Darling reindeer candy tins that come together quickly for the perfect holiday party favors! You can also add numbers and use as a fun advent activity!

Reindeer Snack Cups with Printable TemplateWhat could be easier than these reindeer snack cups? I'll tell you what, reindeer snack cups that come with a free printable template for cutting! These make great classroom crafts for kids and when they finish them they can fill them with snacks. A craft and serving cup all in one.

Reindeer Root BeerMy daughter asked if she could make a gift for my husband for Christmas. This is what we came up with. It was a total hit and a fun little keepsake of her tiny hands. Root beer is always a great gift idea for dad. Here's another idea that uses root beer---a sampler of root beer brands for dad to try!

Paper Sack Place Holders

November 16, 2017 By Brandy 9 Comments

Make darling holiday place settings using paper lunch sacks! Fill with everything needed for a holiday dinner, including an activity page and a treat! This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #EverydayCraftMoments #CollectiveBias

We all remember the anticipation of a holiday family dinner as a child. The smells, the sounds, the seemingly ENDLESS wait time. After hours the turkey emerges from the oven, only to have to sit and rest for awhile before cutting into it. Then it took time to assemble the whole family around the table and by this point you were contemplating whether or not your napkin might be edible. You know, just to hold you over.

(Hover over this image to shop the Scotch™ Brand products that I used for these sacks!)

These little lunch sack holiday place stettings come together in just minutes and are the perfect size to hold everything needed for a holiday dinner, including an activity page and a treat!

You can print any 8.5x11 activity page at 50% and it will be the perfect size to tuck inside lunch sack.

The beauty with these are that they are made with basic supplies and are super cost effective so making a table full won't break the holiday bank. They are also interchangeable for ANY occasion. Just swap out the colored paper and front decal for Valentine's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, or any gathering! And not only are they colorful and decorative---they are functional too!

Place one on the center of each dinner plate with a small bowl of candies for playing "Don't Eat Pete" and watch their little eyes light up!

Paper Sack Holiday Place Settings

Supplies:

Paper lunch sacks

4.75" x 4.75" piece of decorative card stock

Seasonal decorations like tags, stickers, or a small wood decal

Scotch® Create Adhesive Squares

Scotch® Expressions Glitter Tape Platinum

Scissors

Scotch® Create Multipurpose Glue

Utencils

Napkin

Straw

Printable Don't Eat Pete Game (printed at 50%)

Small candies or snacks to use as markers

Cut the top section off of the the paper sack so that it is 6" tall.

Place a few Scotch® Create Adhesive Squares onto the back of the card stock square. These are great for photos and paper projects because they are initially reposition-able. If you need to adjust the position right away---you totally can!

Place the card stock square onto the bag and press firmly to attach.

Cut a strip of Scotch® Expressions Glitter Tape Platinum that is the width of the sack and attach close to the top edge. This is completely optional, but who doesn't love glitter tape? We have rolls and rolls of it in all different colors and have found so many uses for it!

I found these fun felt Santas at my local craft store and they were the perfect size to add to the front of my sack. You can use wood cutouts or any other seasonal decal. Apply Scotch® Create Multipurpose Glue to the back, attach to the front of the sack and let dry. You can use a different cutout for each child or add a name to the sack somewhere to personalize them!

Fold a napkin in half and tuck inside the sack with a straw, utensils, and a printable activity. I found this cute "Don't Eat Pete" printable here. This is another game that can be use for ANY holiday or occasion. There are so many free printable online or you can make your own!

How To Play "Don't Eat Pete":

Have one child leave the room. The remaining children choose one of the game squares to be "Pete." Call the child back in. One by one, the child slowly picks up each snack until he picks up the one on "Pete." When they pick up "Pete," the other children will yell, "Don't eat Pete!" Refill the board, choose another child to leave the room and continue playing until everyone has had a turn!

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul."---Dieter F. Uchtdorf. There’s a certain thrill that comes from figuring out how to fix or create something yourself or creating a project from an idea in your mind, but nothing’s worse than when you don’t have the proper tools to get it done right. You can find all of the Scotch® Create Adhesives that I used for this project at Walmart. From masking tape to spray adhesives and everything in between! Be hands-on with Scotch™ Brand this holiday season. Click here for more creative inspiration!

If you like these holiday place settings you might also like...

Santa Suit Gift Tags

Tissue Paper Advent Calendar

DIY Christmas Tree Topiaries

Winter Wreath Tutorial with Evergreen and Berries

November 15, 2017 By Brandy 12 Comments

Make a gorgeous winter berry wreath for your front door with a few supplies from your local craft store. An easy to follow winter wreath tutorial and inexpensive way to add a touch of color and to your home this holiday season!

I'm so glad that I have this little guy to keep me company at home for the next 5 years! All of the other kids are in school so he's my sidekick and goes everywhere with me. We decided to make a stop at Hobby Lobby the other day to check out their Christmas decor and I'm so glad that we did!

We had a great time strolling up and down every aisle. All of their floral supplies were 50% off so I gathered some pretty stems and picks and also picked up a wreath base that was 30% off to make a new holiday wreath. I wanted some sort of frosted floral elements and didn't see any that I liked there so on the way home we stopped by Joanns and got a few picks there for 60% off. Wreaths are so pricey to purchase, and can also add up even in price when you make them yourself so finding deals like this was super helpful.

Winter Wreath Tutorial with Evergreen and Berries

I contemplated adding greenery all the way around my wreath base, but decided to just create a swag affect across the bottom and side. I started by tucking in the large evergreen sections as a base. Using my wire cutters, I trimmed them in a few different lengths. Then I added the frosted boxwood picks and berries.

My wreath base was more of an oval shape than a circle so I had it staged in a horizontal position. I also didn't want it to seem super symmetrical so instead of having the greenery and berries covering exactly half of the wreath, completely centered on each side, I had it trailing up the side more on a diagonal.

Finally I added a few sprigs of berries and eucalyptus and it was complete!

I absolutely love how it turned out!

If you liked this winter wreath tutorial you might also like...

Button Wreath Tutorial

How to Make a Grapevine Wreath Base

Boxwood Garden Wreath Tutorial

15 Minute Zipper Pencil Pouch Tutorial

November 8, 2017 By Brandy 2 Comments

This zipper pencil pouch tutorial is such a quick and easy project and these pouches are useful for so many things! Pencils, markers, make up...anything! A special thanks to the The Pencil Grip Inc. for sponsoring this post. This post contains an affiliate link.

My girls love the Kwik Stix products. They are solid tempura paint sticks that glide easily on paper and they've recently added to their collection by making markers, and Thin Stix! I recently brought these to a church activity for girls ages 8-11. We made "Thankful" boxes out of small pumpkin shaped cardboard boxes and they filled them with slips of paper that had things they were thankful for written on each slip. The girls decorated the outside of their boxes with the Kwik Stix and they worked GREAT! They dried quickly, spread easily and were so vibrant.

These are the kind of items that I like tucking inside their Christmas stockings. With five children, the last thing we need are more trinkets so we carefully select the things that we will add to our kids' collection of "stuff" and generally lean towards creative products.

We all know that the cardboard boxes that art supplies come in often don't last very long with a lot of wear and tear. A pencil box, pouch, or other way to transport is always useful to have to tuck inside a backpack. I whipped a couple of zipper pouches for my girls to keep their art supplies in and each one only took about 15 minutes to make from start to finish!

For 60 more sewing projects, check out my sewing book for kids!

15 Minute Zipper Pencil Pouch Tutorial

Supplies:

Cotton fabric

zipper

pins

sewing machine

scissors

measuring tape

thread

Instructions:

The size of your pouch depends entirely on the length of your zipper. Want a 9" pouch? You'll need a 9" zipper. A 12" pouch? You'll need a 12" zipper. I'll share the dimensions of mine and you can customize your pouch to fit your needs.

Cut 4 rectangles of fabric the length of the zipper and the height that you want your pouch to be. 2 are outer fabric pieces and 2 are lining pieces.

I used a 9" zipper so my rectangles were 9" x 5".

Place two rectangles together, right sides out. Zig zag across the top edge. Fold over ½" and press. Repeat with other set of rectangles.

Lay folded edge of one set of rectangles along the zipper. Pin in place. Sew close to the zipper edge using the zipper foot attachment on your machine. Start with the zipper open a few inches and as you approach the zipper pull, gently maneuver to sew around it and close the zipper as you pass it.

Repeat for the other side. Trim excess zipper sections off.

Fold pouch, with the lining facing out, lining up edges and pin. Stitch the sides and bottom. Zig zag around all 3 sides to finish the edges and prevent fraying.

Make sure that when you stitch around the sides that the zipper is open a few inches so that you can turn your pouch right side out.

Turn pouch right side out.

You can use matching zippers, but I think it's fun to choose bright colored zippers to add a pop of color!

These pencil pouches are the perfect place to store art supplies like Kwik Stix. There are several fun varieties of Stix that we love from The Pencil Grip, Inc!

We also love the Magic Stix washable markers because they won't dry out if the cap is left on for up to 7 days. My girls are notorious for leaving the caps off and I'm not always that great at noticing.

Kwik Stix are available in store at Michaels and Walgreens (as well as the 6 packs of Kwik Stix), and online at Amazon.com and for a limited time the Thin Stix are available at BJ's Wholesale for a discounted price of $19.99.

What would you store in a 15 minute zipper pouch?

If you liked this pencil pouch tutorial you might also like...

DIY Fabric Bags

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Halloween Capri Sun Wraps (Juice Box Wraps)

November 8, 2017 By Brandy Leave a Comment

Add some spooky fun to your kids' lunches this year with these printable juice box wraps for Halloween! Just cut, wrap and tape! Thank you CAPRI SUN for sponsoring this post.

Sometimes I pack fun seasonal- themed lunches for my kids. And by sometimes, I mean three times a year. Ha! The day before spring break I pack my kids' lunch boxes with plastic Easter eggs, filled with their food. They look forward to it every year. For St. Patrick's day I make a green lunch. Usually homemade green tinted bread, grapes, you get the idea. In October I use cookie cutters to make fun shapes for sandwiches, cookies, and other items. I'm not sure how those ended up being the holidays I chose to be a fun mom, but that's just how it's been. Maybe this year I'll do something for Christmas. You know, to shake things up 🙂

I had everything planned out. Pumpkin muffins, cinnamon bats, pumpkin shaped carrots, and even a ghost cheese stick, but I still needed a fun -themed drink.

My kids love lunch box notes so I decided to make some juice pouch wrappers. A lunch box note and a way to dress up their CAPRI SUN juice pouch all in one!

Just cut, wrap, and secure with tape. So easy!

Pinterest is a beautiful thing. I found the ideas for the carrots and cheese stick on there. You can find the recipe for my pumpkin muffins here and my cinnamon bats here.

Have you heard about the four varieties of CAPRI SUN that are made with all natural ingredients, no added sugar* and no high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives?

Click here to download a set of printable Halloween CAPRI SUN Wraps!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

If you liked these printable juice box wraps you might also like...

Printable Halloween Lunch Box Notes

Vampire Donuts

DIY Trick or Treat Drawstring Bags

The Anatomy of an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

October 30, 2017 By Brandy Leave a Comment

You've probably heard about families and church congregations packing shoe boxes for Christmas. Have you ever wondered what that meant? Ever wondered what goes inside an Operation Christmas Child shoebox?

Eight years ago my husband came home from work and was really excited about a program that his co-worker had shared with him. Operation Christmas Child. He said that families pack shoe boxes to send to children all over the world with not only basic necessities, but fun items too. We decided to learn more about the program and visited their website.

We were so touched by the stories shared of giving and receiving that we decided to pack two boxes with our boys. 2 boxes turned into 4 boxes the next year, and 4 boxes turned into 6 boxes each year after.

Each child who receives a box will most likely not receive any other gifts that year. And since there are so many needy children in the world, the chances of a child ever receiving two shoe boxes are pretty slim.

When you pack a box you are given the opportunity to pay for a shipping label to track where the box goes. We don't generally find out where our boxes have gone until February or March of the following year. Our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes have gone to the Philippines and Central America in years past.

There are several age groups that you can pack a box for and you can decide if it is going to be sent to a boy or a girl.

We always do 3 boxes for girls and 3 boxes for boys. There are idea lists to go by and things that you should not pack like food or toy weapons. Starting this year the have banned toothpaste and hard candy due to custom regulations, so if you've packed a box in the past be sure to make a note of that.

What you put in your box is up to you! Many gather supplies all year long for their boxes. We keep an eye out for sales on crayons and colored pencils during the fall when the kids go back to school. You can even add homemade items such as hats and stuffed animals.

Operation Christmas Child shoebox ideas:

toothbrush

toothbrush cover

soap

soap Box

wash Cloth

combs

nail clippers

jump rope

ball

stuffed animal

notebooks

colored pencils or crayons

hair clips (girls)

toy cars (boys)

book

pencils

pencil sharpener

flash light

Those are the standard items that we pack. Then we fill the leftover space with other items such as:

lip gloss

harmonica

puzzle cubes

activity books

socks or gloves

stickers

playing cards

yo-yo

When we've finished packing our boxes, we add a Christmas card telling the child who we are, where we live, and send a special message of love and hope.

This year we added personalized pencils from Oriental Trading.

We purchased all of the hygiene products at our local grocery store then placed a large order with Oriental Trading. The kids had fun selecting items to put into the boxes. Most items from Oriental Trading come in packs of 12. That makes it pretty simple to divide amongst the boxes. They have such a great selection of items to put into the shoe boxes! We ordered a large variety of items and mixed in some fun Christmas items too.

Where to find shoeboxes

You can purchase a plastic shoebox at the store, use a cardboard one, or order them online.We then print out our label and look for a drop off location in our area. This is generally a local church. Out of all of the holiday activities that come this time of year, packing shoe boxes is our absolute favorite. It's something small that we can do to brighten the life of a child. It's been so good for our children, who live charmed little lives, to see the world through different lenses. To learn about children who have to work so hard to find a meal and clean water. Who value going to school as an extreme privilege, not something they have to do because mom and dad said so.

National Drop Off Week is November 13-20th so there is still plenty of time to place an order with Oriental Trading and pack a box! These little boxes of cheer aren't just great for sending to other countries. If you know of a family in need in your local area, fill up a box and door bell ditch it!

Does you family pack shoeboxes too? What are some of your favorite things to include?