Operation Christmas Child: Packing A Shoe Box Full of Love

National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is coming up soon! Within the next week (November 12-19) millions of boxes will be packed, wrapped, and shipped with love all over the world. 

This is my first year participating in OCC, so I wanted to share how I decorated and packed a plain, white shoe box for donation. Hopefully my gift will be a huge blessing to one little girl out there in the world (UPDATE: I was able to follow my box, and it was shipped to Honduras!). 

First things first....decorate the box. I originally thought about using a roll of festive Christmas wrapping paper, but who needs wrapping paper when you have Sharpies!?

Spreading hope, love, faith, and joy...

Next...pack the box. Samaritan's Purse offers a list of gift ideas and suggestions, so I gathered my items with four categories in mind: school supplies, toiletries, accessories, and toys/activities.

TIP: Get crafty and make handmade gifts. (I made a couple bracelets and added little charms to make them one-of-a-kind.)

TIP: Take items out of the packages they come in to fit more gifts inside the box.

Finally...write a happy note. I found some pretty stationery, wrote a little note, and enclosed it in a small envelope. Now it's all packed and ready to go!

There's still time to pack a box! Recycle a shoe box or grab a plastic container and fill it up with all sorts of goodies. You can find your nearest drop-off location here!