~ Operation Christmas Child ~

One of my friends posted a note on Facebook today about Operation Christmas Child. Basically, you take a nice shoe box and fill it with items that you think a child may like. Then, you drop it off with a small donation of $7 and it'll go to a child in need. November 16th - 23rd is the national collection week and there are a lot of locations. Look for one near you here! I was excited to see that one of the locations is right behind my house!


Operation Christmas Child is organized by Samaritan's Purse. It looks like a great organization. They are Christian-based and do a lot of other activities like helping general surgeons who wanted to volunteer for short-term mission trips. There are a few touching stories on the site so be sure to check it out!


What are you going to put in your boxes? Here's a list of suggested item for a girl. There are many items that you fellow Etsians make! I am sure these girls would love some handmade items. You can leave a little note in the box about what handmade means.

• Doll - I know you have a lot of these!
  
• Clip-on earrings
• Bangles
  
• Necklace - I definitely have a bunch of these lying around ;)
  
• Hair bands
• Scrunchies - I have so many cute little ones that I collected on my travels. I am glad I can give these away to someone in need!
  
• Hair brush
• Comb
• Bar of wrapped soap - If you have a soap shop, you probably have a few bars that didn't come out of the moulds right. So, it'll be perfect for this donation. Or, you can just make a batch for these boxes. I am sure these children would appreciate it! Maybe, they will even be inspired by your soaps!
  
• Sponge
• Soft toy
• Finger puppet - come on Etsians! I see a lot of cute little finger puppets in your stores. Want to give some away?
  
• Jigsaw
• Yo-yo
• Small musical instrument
• Felt pens
• Pens
• Pencils
• Pencil sharpener
• Rubber - I think this is eraser in American English :)
  
• Colouring book - I know a few of you make these too.
  
• Notepad - You make these! I know you do!
  
• Puzzle book
• Pencil case
• Stickers - I have plenty of these!!!
  
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Gloves
• Scarf - I have a lot of these too! All you knitters probably can give a lot of these!
  
• Sunglasses
• Hat

The gifts don't have to fill up the box. A lot of these items are just things lying around in our house that we may not even use! Wouldn't it nice to just pack them up and give it to someone who needs them? Here's a list of items for boys:

• Cars
• Trucks
• Small ball
• Teddy bear
• Finger puppet
• Jigsaw
• Yo-yo
• Balloons
• Small musical instrument
• Felt pens
• Pens
• Pencils
• Puzzle book
• Pencil case
• Stickers
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Gloves
• Scarf
• Sunglasses,
• Cap Rubber
• Colouring book
• Notepad
• Pencil sharpener

Don't worry if you can't make it to a donation center this week. I know everyone is busy with preparation for Thanksgiving. You can send completed boxes year-round to their headquarters:

Operation Christmas Child
Samaritan's Purse
P.O. Box 3000
801 Bamboo Road
Boone, NC 28607


My friends and I are planning on getting together to pack and decorate boxes soon. I hope you and your friends will do the same. If you don't have time, it's fine. Just spread the word! See the little retweet button on top of this post? Just click on it! Then, all your 1000 followers will find out about this great cause. Or just tell your coworkers and family and friends. Anything little thing you do now will help bring a smile and hope to children across the world!