Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes

Every year I participate in Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child by making two shoe boxes.  These shoe boxes are given to needy children all over the world as a Christmas gift.  I usually do a boy box and a girl box, and I typically choose the oldest age group because I assume that is the category that gets the least amount of boxes turned it.  But in all honesty, my shoe boxes are usually pretty generic and will work for almost any age.

So the kids and I went shopping for our shoe boxes today, and here is what we came home with:

Each shoe box contains:

• a flashlight--$1 from Dollar Tree
• 6 D batteries for the flashlight--3 for $1 from Dollar Tree
• 2 toothbrushes--$1 from Dollar Tree
• a tube of toothpaste--$1 from Dollar Tree
• hair brush--$1 from Dollar Tree
• a bar of soap--3 for $1 from Dollar Tree
• 12 colorful pencils--$1 from Dollar Tree
• small stuffed animal--$1 from Dollar Tree
• a yo-yo--$3 from Wal-Mart
• a package of socks--$2.88 from Wal-Mart
• a deck of playing cards--2 for $2.47 from Wal-Mart
• a washcloth--$0.47 from Wal-Mart
• a 1-subject notebook--$0.97 from Wal-Mart
• a pencil sharpener--$0.50 from Wal-Mart
• a box of crayons--$1.47 from Wal-Mart

I bought the plastic 'shoe boxes' from Dollar Tree, but I would not advise someone else to use them.  They are not very sturdy and I can't fit everything in them.  I plan to return to Wal-Mart and get a higher quality box.

Usually, I buy the school supplies for my shoe boxes in July when they are on sale and stash them at the top of my closet.  Apparently I forgot this year, because the only thing in my stash was the pencil sharpeners.  The crayons would have only been $0.25, the notebooks would have been $0.15, and the pencils probably would have been less than a dollar as well.  With the $7 for shipping that you are to include in the box, each box costs me less than $30.  Samaritan's Purse puts information in each box about Jesus and the salvation that is available to everyone.  This is an amazing ministry opportunity, and all you have to do is take one look at a testimony from a child who has received one of these boxes (which you can find easily of YouTube) and you will be heading out the door to shop for a precious child in need.  Be sure to go here and find out all the details about how to pack your own shoe box.