The Anatomy of an Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box

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? Thank you, Oriental Trading for donating so many fun items for our shoe boxes this year! 

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. Ours 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.

Here are some of the items that we purchase for our boxes every year for each Operation Christmas Child shoebox:

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.

You can purchase a plastic shoe box 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 shoe boxes too? What are some of your favorite things to include?

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