We are doing the shoebox thing with our MOPS group and my table is doing two - one for a 10-14 year old boy and one for a girl. Any ideas for small items to put in?

We did this yesterday with our Girl Scout Daisy troop.
This might help.
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/pdf/PackABoxwithLabels.pdf
I was told that we can not send anything liquid, but not sure about that. toothbrush, toothpaste, wash cloth, soap, candy, writing paper and pens, underwear, t-shirt, ball cap, flashlight, and small toys like bouncy balls or playing cards, personal note.

Here's a better link.
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Pack_A_Shoe_Box/

This post was edited on Nov 06, 2009 10:14 AM

harmonica
brush
t-shirts
hair bands

We did three shoe boxes as a family this year.

One that we did was for a boy 10-14. We put in a flashlight, sunglasses, ball cap, markers, crayons, writing tablet, suckers, pencils, toothbursh, toothpaste, hot wheel car, and bouncy balls.

Girls that age would probably like a small purse, hair items, brush, school supplies, etc.

This is a wonderful organization!

This sounds like such a nice thing to do.

Do you have to be part of a church to do this?

~Melissa~

Anyone can do this and I think it is a great project to share with your children. We showed our Girl Scout Troop pictures of where the children lived and pictures of them opening their boxes. I think it had a huge impact on them and how blessed we truly are. If you feel in your heart that you would like to share a gift, then you should act on it.

Copied from their web site: "The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ."

Also, when I did a search for drop off locations, none of our locations came up. I am thinking that there are more than listed or local churches take all the boxes to a main location, so if a drop off site doesn't appear near you, I would just call a church nearby and ask if they know of any Operation Christmas Child drop off sites near you.

We are doing a couple of family boxes, so we will go shopping for them today. We need to have ours to the collection person by Nov. 15th.

Here are some ideas for contents and check out the links in my previous post for labels for the box.

GIFT IDEAS
TOYS
small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky®, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES
pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.

HYGIENE ITEMS
toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc.

OTHER
Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries)

A PERSONAL NOTE
In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child may write back.)

DO NOT INCLUDE:
Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers; aerosol cans

Lightsticks are fun. Maybe you could plan on some candy that doesnt melt like candy corn or something. That is a real treat. Even though these boxes are based more on needs than wants its fun to put fun things in. Dollar store has some great stuff. I was involved with this when my daughter was in a private school. She would get so excited putting everything together.

This is so easy and anyone can do it. Nope, you don't need to be part of a church. Just follow the instructions on the website.

Also, if there isn't a drop off center near you, you can ship it to the Operation Christmas Child address yourself.

We did three boxes relating to the boy/girl and age of my kids. They each got to help pick out items for their "child" and pack them up. Collection week starts Nov. 16

It was our first year to do boxes and I am so glad we did. This will be a tradition every year now.