My Tub Overfloweth with Crafted Items Donated for Operation Christmas Child

My friend owns a discount craft store and she loves to help children.  For the past two years she has collected crafted items all year long for Operation Christmas Child.  I have the privilege of delivering them to OCC.  Many will go in my own shoeboxes and I'm able to deliver many as fillers each year for the Operation Christmas Child shoebox processing center.  Every month or two I receive the donated items.  As you can see, my tub overfloweth

There are dozens of fleece scarves and crocheted hats (many Aunt Ida's design) and crocheted lovey bitty blankets and pencil cases. Some of the pencil cases are

Hello Kitty!! ~ A Sweet Donation

After sharing my Hello Kitty themed Operation Christmas Child shoe box last week some readers were sharing on the Simply Shoe Boxes Facebook page where I may be able to get more Hello Kitty items.  I replied that none of those stores were near me and I hadn't found anything local.  Soon after I received a message from one of the readers saying she would like to pick up some items for me at Target. Within a week I received this box of Hello Kitty goodies from Mary.

Mary said she couldn't decide between the two bags so she bought both.
Notice the picture below and how these red socks will be perfect!

I am so thankful for people who have donated to my shoe box packing efforts.  It makes my boxes better or allows me to pack more boxes--both things make me

Unlikely & Surprise Source for Cash Donation for Shoe Box Packing

I am always amazed at the unusual ways we receive donations for our Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts.  Complete strangers from around the country have given to our shoebox packing efforts.  When we were having our Spur of the Moment Packing Party for the kids at church a Simply Shoeboxes reader from TN mailed us a box filled with these goodies:

Well, last week another stranger, and reader of my daughter's blog Simply CVS, emailed Sarah and told her she knew we packed shoeboxes and she would like to donate to our packing. She said Sarah's blog posts had saved her so much money while shopping at CVS that she wanted to donate her first payment from her SavingStar account to our Paypal account so we could use it towards packing more

Christmas Gifts Received for My Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile ~ And A Big Surprise!

I let my family know that I would love to receive gifts for Christmas that I could pass on to a needy child thru Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.  I received some fun things for sure!

From Family

My daughter found this cute board book about Penguins and decided with the addition of the beanie penguin and this delightful card I had a great beginning for a

Special, Unexpected Filled Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Donation

After posting a "WANTED:  Empty Shoe Boxes" poster at work my husband received a few inquiries as to how to pack a box.  He took in brochures to give to those interested. He also provided the drop off location times so they could either drop them off themselves or bring them to him and we would take them.

I know the pretty ribbons will need to be removed at the processing center,
but I loved the detail she put into wrapping these.
 Maybe the checker will put them back on and they can be taped over; I like to think they will.

One day a fellow worker brought these two in that his wife had packed.  I could not believe how heavy they each were!  And she had taken the time to decorate them so lovely.  At times I miss the days of packing one or two extra special boxes.  That's why this year I am not setting a total number goal but trying to pack many while packing them each as unique as possible.

I enjoyed seeing these done up so lovingly and filled with wonderful items.  They reminded me of the premise of Operation Christmas Child:  one box from one family/person to one child.  Tho many of us pack in multiples, we can still make them individual in some way--just as the child receiving it is.

WANTED Poster: Beanie Babies for OCC Shoeboxes & A Bountiful Donation

I shared the Beanie Babies collection image I made earlier.  But I changed it into a WANTED Poster and wanted to share it again in case any one could use it.  I emailed the image to my friend and she shared it in her small business but didn't get any donations for several weeks and then....well, see the image below!  My Operation Christmas Child stockpile is full of animals now.

These are actually Avon Full O'Beans animals. They were delivered brand new in the

Delicious Fabric for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Dresses!

Can fabric be delicious?  Well, if it could this fabric would be on the desert bar.  It is just lovely in pattern, color and texture.  I just couldn't keep it to myself, I had to let you all see it!  I can't wait to cut into it to make some dresses and skirts for Operation Christmas Child shoebox girls.  But first I want to thank my generous benefactor:  Robin of Red Thread Stitches.

A while back my friend, Kristy, from Hopeful Threads told me about her friend's Etsy shop sale and that she was sponsoring a giveaway of a $25 shopping spree to her shop.  After looking at her lovely

A Bounty of Freebies ~ Putting Others' Leftovers to Good Use in OCC Shoe Boxes

I love it when I receive unexpected shoe box supplies for packing my Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts. Check out all these goodies that didn't cost me anything.

Our church has decided to move in a new direction with their children ministry so they have canceled our AWANA program.  My girls were jointly in charge of the

Surprise Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing Supplies

I just love it when I receive surprise Operation Christmas Child shoebox fillers.  I am also often surprised by the source of some of my fillers and crafting supplies.  I have received some great items from online friends...ladies I have never met, but who share with me so I can share with the children.

Pile of Panties - 30+

Last week a gal I met online thru our passion for sewing dresses for girls in crisis situations and the ministry of Dress A Girl Around the World, offered to send some panties to go with my dresses I am sewing for my shoe boxes.  By the time she packed the box and shipped it, it was bulging at the

Sweet Surprise: Seventeen Donated Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

If you have been reading along our Spur of the Moment Operation Christmas Child  packing party posts you will remember I mentioned we came up short on EMPTY boxes to fill!  We sent out pleas far and wide to get boxes.  My friend owns a small, discount craft/fabric store and I asked her if she would mind putting a plea out on her store's Facebook page.  She said sure and shared on her personal page, too.

A trunk full of filled shoe boxes!

Because of those pleas enough shoe boxes came into the store to fill our need.  I had given her OCC brochures, too, and she mentioned in the posts that if anyone wanted to pack their own box they could get all the information in the store.

My daughter received a text from her today that a church's women's group packed 17 boxes and dropped them off at the store!  They also handed her a check made out to Samaritan's Purse to cover the shipping. And these boxes were PACKED FULL!! They are heavy!  What a fun surprise came out of our need for empty shoeboxes!

If you would like to use the Wanted! Poster we made for collecting empty shoeboxes you can find it here:  Wanted!  Empty Shoe Boxes for Packing Operation Christmas Child Sheoboxes.

Donations Received from Near and Far ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

From My Daughter's Facebook Plea

Request for small stuffed animals & Beanie Babies.
Results:  19 loveys for boxes!

I wanted to take a moment to share donations we have received this week for our Spur of the Moment Packing Paryt for Operation Christmas Child.  With the time limit and personal time restraints we were unable to run around to stores/hotels/restaurants/etc. and request donation items, but we still received

Shoebox Tip ~ Request Dental Supply Samples for OCC Shoebox Packing

The next time you visit your dentist or orthodontist ask them if they would be willing to donate floss, toothbrushes or toothpaste for your shoe boxes.  Many dentists are more than happy to help.  You can request brochures from  Operation Christmas Child to show your dentist if he/she is not familiar with the program.

If you need toothbrushes in bulk or are looking for an inexpensive option check out our review of MDSupplies & Services Toothbrushes.

If you are looking for more tips for packing check out our series of Tips for Packing Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.

UPDATE 2017:  Toothpaste is no longer allowed in OCC shoeboxes.
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Boxes of Blessings Unpacked: A Little Bit of Many Things for OCC Crafting

Well, we have unpacked the boxes I told you about that my Father-in-law brought us (at least half were for my daughters work at church).  We now have a nice supply of retro/vintage craft supplies for my shoe boxes--most will go for Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing.

There were several pieces of Christmas print material and some other pieces that must be from the 60's.  There is one large piece of double knit.  I can always find something to create out of fabric:  tote bags, dresses, cuddlies, doll

Boxes of Blessings: What's Inside for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Crafting?

My father-in-law is here to visit for a few days and has brought us several boxes of goodies.  My mother-in-law died several years ago and left a great supply of craft and sewing items.  Before we moved into our new home with my new laundry/crafting room I didn't have space to take much of it so over the years he has shared most of it with ministries or crafters who create items for my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

When I knew he was coming I asked if he had anything left I could craft items for my shoe boxes if he'd bring me some.  We also asked for anything like silk flowers, vases, etc. that my daughters could use for the banquets they do at church.  As always, Grandpa came thru.  Here is a pic of the boxes before we began to open them.We have only gotten into a couple so far and as soon as we are thru I'll share what treasures we found inside :-).  I thought it would be fun to have you join us in the suspense.

Update:  Adding this link to the unboxing post:  Boxes of Blessings Unpacked for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.