November 18-25 is collection week for Operation Christmas Child, the annual event where families fill shoeboxes with toys to send to children in impoverished countries.
Filling the shoebox was one of my favorite holiday activities as a child (somehow my public school got away with collecting boxes for a couple of years), and now I love sharing the activity with my kids.
Sending a box of toys to a child in a far-off land is a bit abstract for my four-year-old and two-year-old, but I like the way that shoebox shopping exercises their empathy muscles as they think about what other children might want or need.
Our 2013 boxes include t-shirts, hairburshes, cars, coloring supplies, and a few other items. Ian requested that we include Slinkies, and I wanted to include stuffed animals to be comfort buddies.
For next year’s boxes, I’m hoping to take a cue from the way Jenny from Southern Savers shops for Operation Christmas Child all year long, finding great deals on toys, clothes, and personal items to fill her boxes (I WILL make the Old Navy $1 flip flop sale next summer!). I’ve also thought about trying to include fair trade toys next year; I hate the thought of filling these boxes with items made in sweatshops.
Filling a shoebox seems so simple, even silly. I’m grateful, though, to have an opportunity to let my boys serve others in this small way. Perhaps someday we’ll graduate to larger projects (power tools!), but for today I’m treasuring our shoeboxes.
Do you know of other kid-friendly ways to serve others during the holidays? I would love to hear about them!
