I wanted to do something fun and meaningful this year as one of our school projects. The first thing that came to mind was Operation Christmas Child. We did this about three years ago at our church and the kids loved packing the shoe boxes for the children, so I thought it would great to do it this year as a project.
The first thing I did was go to their website Operation Christmas Child and I ordered the packing materials and other goodies that are available on the site. When we got the kit in the mail, the kids were super excited and wanted to start right away!
We went shopping one night to pick out our goodies for the children. The kids really got into picking out neat things for the kids that lived far away. They would say things like, "I think they are really going to like this toy mama!" We also got them some treats to enjoy as well.
One morning we got up and watched a video on the meaning behind it and all the lives these shoe boxes have changed. Minnie (me) said she wanted to cry after watching it because the kids were so happy to get something on Jesus' birthday!
After the video was over, the kids divided the items they bought into two piles. One pile for a girl and one for a boy.
Once that was done, the kids started right away filling up their shoebox. They had a blast doing it!
Super Boy was so excited telling me how happy the boy getting his shoebox would love playing with the balls that he got him. He said, "Since I got him 5, maybe he will share with his friends!" I love that idea!
Minnie (me) carefully filled her shoebox. She was talking about how much the girl would love the hair accessories and the doll that she packed!
We loved doing this so much that we said that next year we will have a packing party and invite our friends over to help pack even more shoeboxes! We would love to send over 100 boxes next year!
Hopefully this is something that your family can start as a tradition. I think it's something that will stick with ours!
Check out their website for more ideas and on how to get your party pack!
