Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing Party Memories

In the early part of November 2013 I shared how our Children's Pastor had drafted my daughter to host an Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing party for the kids at church.  She had 12 days to plan, shop (with a very limited budget) and organize the packing of 100 shoe boxes by the kids in our AWANA program (grades K thru 5).  I shared our journey as it unfolded and I have decided to share links to all of the posts here so anyone interested in hosting a packing party can find them easily and hopefully find some ideas and inspiration for their own party.

• Spur of the Moment Packing Party for 100 OCC Boxes ~ "On a Wing and a Prayer"
• It Takes a Family to Plan a Spur of the Moment Packing Party for OCC
• Step 1: Take Inventory of Stock on Hand
• Step 2: Candy Preparation
• Step 3: Bagging Hygiene Supplies 
• Step 4: Crafting Items to Stretch the Budget 
• Step 5: Bagging School Supplies 
• Step 6: Sorting Fillers By Age Groups 
• Step 7: Setting Up for Packing
• Donations Received from Near and Far 
• Thankful for a Home Printer 
• Final Accounting 
• A Favorite Story from Our 2013 Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party
• Let the Packing Begin! A Photo Essay 
• Sweet Memories from Our AWANA Kids' Shoe Box Packing Party
• An Email Received from a Shoe Box Kid!
• Could It Be One of Our Flower Hair Clips?

Here is a link that will take you to the blog page that you can scroll down thru all the posts tagged with the packing party -- if you would like to find them that way:  Spur of the Moment Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Packing Party.

Happy Packing!

Could It Be One of Our OCC Shoebox Flower Hair Clips?

Last fall at our Spur of The Moment Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing Party we included a couple dozen of these hibiscus hair clips that had been used earlier in the year as table decorations for a beach themed banquet for our AWANA workers.  With many of them we included a beaded necklace.

In April Operation Christmas Child shared this image on Facebook:

There is no way to know if this one of our hair clips -- but the smile would be the same on the little girls who did receive the ones we sent.  So I am thrilled to see this little girl enjoying hers!

You can check out more images of little ones with their shoebox gifts in our series Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Distribution Stories.

An Email Received from a Shoe Box Kid!

If you have a been a reader of Simply Shoe Boxes for long you will remember last fall we put on a spur of the moment packing party with our AWANA kids at church.   We had them fill out these Operation Christmas Child forms as letters to put in their boxes.  Each form has sections to tell a little about yourself.

We included the church's address and an email address in case a child could write back.  This week we received the following email (apparently he was answering the questions that were on the form about himself just like the child who sent it did):

Goodmorning brandon.my name is erick m......I am 25 years.I live in

the Burundi in Afrika.I live in the Bujumbura city.in the city of

buyenzi commune.my favorite:thing to drink is sprint.when I have free

time I like to play football.I love jesus because he takes bad things

a way.I my family,I have:1 brother,5 sisters and 2 pets.GOd bless you

He says he is 25 years old, we are not sure if that is a mistake, if he is writing in response to a sibling's box or if he did get a box.  But we were thrilled to receive a reply to one of our boxes and can't wait to share it with the kids at church.

We've shared in this link Tips on Writing a Letter to Include in Your Operation Christmas Child Shoebox.

Sweet Memories from Our AWANA Kids' Shoe Box Packing Party

Two sweet children gave us a couple of fun memories from our Spur of the Moment Packing Party this year for Operation Christmas Child.  We had the children fill out the OCC letter forms the week before the party.  My daughter was organizing them, readying them for the party, and as she did it she saw one from a sweet little guy she works with each week so she read it.  Under "your favorite thing to spend time doing" he had put down "look for acorns."  LOVE IT!!!  I am an outside type of gal, and with the new age of electronics, kids are so often having to be told to play or get outside, that this warmed my heart.  I have fond memories from my own and my children's childhoods of "looking for acorns."

This same little guy listened intently as my husband emphasized to remove just ONE item from each box to put into their shoe boxes.  My daughter was with him as he began down the line.  He reached the first box.  It contained ziploc bags full of school supplies.  He picked up one of the bags and began trying to get it open and when Sarah asked why he was opening it he said, "I have to choose just one item from this box to put in."  She assured him one "bag" full of school supplies counted as one item.

We had purchased the playhouse type balls to include the boxes. When organizing the fillers by age groups we pulled out all of the pink balls and put them in the 5 to

Let the Packing Begin! A Photo Essay ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...here are 23,000 words for you to enjoy.

The 2013 Spur of the Moment Operation Christmas Child Packing Party in Pictures.

My youngest daughter set up a camera to automatically snap pictures every 2 to 3 minutes and she and my older daughter also took more pictures.  It has taken me quite some time to go thru them all and get them ready to share.  One reason for the extended length of time was I did not want to share any identifiable images of the children without their parent's permission--so I needed to work thru to find ones of their backs only or blur their sweet faces.  Enjoy your visit to our first

A Favorite Story from Our 2013 Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

I will be bringing a complete photo essay to you in the next couple of days of our Spur of the Moment Operation Christmas Child packing party, but I just wanted to stop by and share my favorite story my daughters and husband shared about the party.  We are always reading how the perfect box gets delivered to the perfect child on OCC distributions.  Now we have one of own about the perfect filler being packed by the perfect child.

Packing a special friend.
By the way it was "WACKY" night so she was wearing a wacky mask.

If you have been following our series of this packing party's preparation you'll remember we sent out a request on Facebook for stuffed animals. My daughter posted "...We are especially in need of small stuffed animals (think the size of Beanie Babies). If there is one you or your child is willing to part with (provided it is in like-new condition) it would be a great help to our shoebox packing party!"  That Wednesday a little girl who had not been able to be in AWANA club this school year yet came running up to her with a huge smile.  My daughter began exclaiming how great it was to see her when the little girl stopped in tracks and said,

Final Accounting ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

This is the "almost" final accounting of our spur of the moment packing party for Operation Christmas Child.  We had ordered some 88 cent sewing kits from a local craft store last week and they received the wrong item.  The supplier was to ship a replacement order to arrive yesterday...it didn't.  The party is tonight, so if it doesn't show up this morning my daughter will be buying them at Dollar General for $1 each.

Another thing keeping us from having a complete final accounting is the craft store in the past has given my daughter a 10% discount when buying things for the church, but she hasn't asked if that includes the supplies we picked up for crafting items and the sewing kits.  The store is keeping a running tally of what she is buying and will bill her once.  So without further ado:

Spending ($500 Budget given)

• $405 (with 10% discount and assuming kits come in) 
• $412 (if no discount and we buy them at DG)
• We stretched our budget with:
• Crafting
• Donations Requested
• My OCC Stockpile & Leftovers from Church Functions

Shoe Boxes

• Original Request:  at least 100
• More if possible
• 125 boxes ready to be filled
• 22 -- 10 to 14 years old boys
• 22 -- 10 to 14 years old girls
• 18 -- 5 to 9  years old boys
• 18 -- 5 to 9 years old girls
• 10 -- 2 to 4  years old girls
• 35 -- 2 to 4 years old boys

As I have reported she:

• Went from store to store listing prices.
• Figured what each box should cost.
• Figured from that she could fill just 75.
• Shopped at various stores to get the lowest price for each item.

If she had more time she could shop a little more and fill a dozen or so more with the cash balance.  But for the first time hosting a packing party and doing it in less than two weeks I think she did a fantastic job.  We had fun helping her!  Tonight...The Packing Begins!

Follow along with our family as I share our journey of The Spur of The Moment Operation Christmas Child Packing Party of 2013.

Step 7: Setting Up for Packing ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

Our spur of the moment packing party for Operation Christmas Child is scheduled for this Wednesday night's AWANA club at our church.  We planned to set up tonight, Tuesday, but there was another group using the gym and we didn't want to disturb them so we went last night and set up.

The light was so low that these images will be very dark and grainy.

Our church has grown and we use our gym for Sunday services.  The chairs can be taken down so that the gym can be used.  Usually for AWANA only half of the chairs are removed so the game circle is available leaving half of them still set up.  My daughter decided using the chairs and boxes

Step 6: Sorting Fillers By Age Groups ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

I thrive on organizing things so I loved being able to help my daughter sort her goodies for the 125 boxes to be packed by the AWANA kids at church Wednesday night for Operation Christmas Child.  What I don't thrive on is last minute anything.  But when you have less than two weeks to plan, buy for and prepare a packing party for kids, there is much last minute preparation.  Thankfully I was in possession of dozens of banker boxes to use to sort the fillers.  They hold a lot and are easy to handle.

Over the past couple of years Office Max has offered the banker boxes free after MaxPerks and I purchased them whenever the deal came up.  They came in handy when we moved last year.  They were stored in the attic just waiting for me to use them for one of my giving projects.  I must admit, I did

Thankful for a Home Printer ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

I am so thankful to have a computer and home printer.  I use them both daily for a variety of items, and they have certainly come in handy for our spur of the moment Operation Christmas Child packing party.

Letters

We printed off the letter form from Operation Christmas Child and had the kids at church fill them out to include in the boxes (actually, I found out my daughters had this printed on the copier at church--but I wanted to include it in this post as a printing resource).

Shoe Box Labels

Clip With Purpose shared these great sheets of shoe box labels--all marked with the

Step 5: Bagging School Supplies ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

Our spur of the moment Operation Christmas Child packing party is coming together.  Five days from now it will be history.  We bagged all of the school supplies for each box in a gallon zipper bag just as we bagged the hygiene items.  My daughter choose to do it this way for two reasons:

1. To better ensure each box will be getting each item.
2. Make it easier on the kids packing the boxes.
1. Limiting the number of items they are responsible to put in each box will not only make it easier on them, but make it move more quickly.  They

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

Step 4: Crafting Items to Stretch the Budget ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

As many of you know, crafting your own items to fill shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child can really stretch the budget while giving a very personal touch to the gift.  I know many of you craft all year for your own boxes and for packing parties you are involved in. While throwing together a spur of the moment packing party on a budget takes a lot of time, we still found some time to do some easy, quick to make handcrafted items to save on the budget and personalize the boxes.

I began with some scarves cut from fleece blankets I had purchased at after Christmas clearance sales.  I had enough for 36 scarves. While counting up the "warm" clothing we then had, we were still short by nine so we purchased some plain fleece from the local discount craft store and with just a yard and a fourth

Step 3: Bagging Hygiene Supplies ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

Hygiene items ready to be packed in zipper bags.

Each box we personally pack for Operation Christmas Child includes many hygiene items. We wanted to include as many as our given budget could afford in our supplies for the packing party.  We always bag our soap in sandwich zipper bags to contain the fragrance...even tho we use Ivory which is mild.

To make it easier on the kids packing the boxes we went ahead and used quart sized bags and included all the hygiene items with the soap.  This will also ensure

Step 2: Candy Preparation ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

Candy double bagged to protect items in boxes in case of melting.
It also helps keep it from absorbing any soap odor/taste
 (soap is also bagged).

We have always included hard candy in our shoe boxes and our Children's Pastor mentioned putting it in so that was included in the list for the Operation Christmas Child packing party my daughter is doing for her AWANA kids.  We had some left overs from our own shoe boxes and whenever my daughters need candy for the AWANA kids they buy hard candy suitable for OCC boxes...if there is any leftover,

Step One: Take Inventory of Stock on Hand ~ Organizing a Spur of the Moment OCC Packing Party

The sorting begins.

Because I collect Operation Christmas Child shoe box supplies all year long I often have an odd assortment of supplies left over that cannot make up complete boxes.  But I don't mind because I plan it that way...I then donate the leftovers to packing parties or send them to the OCC processing center to be used as fillers.  So when my daughter announced she was to quickly pull together a packing party of 100 boxes we needed to take inventory of what we had before she went shopping.

Also, my daughters are in charge of any AWANA banquets or programs throughout the year.  Whenever they need decorations for the tables they try to use things

It Takes a Family to Plan a Spur of the Moment Packing Party for OCC

They say "it takes a village to raise a child."  We now say, "it takes a family to pull together a last minute packing party of 100+ shoe box gifts for Operation Christmas Child."  As I explained in my earlier post, "Spur of the Moment Packing Party for 100 OCC Boxes ~ "On a Wing and a Prayer"," my daughter was asked to put together and shop for a shoe box packing party for our AWANA kids at church in two weeks time.  As this is not her only responsibility we have joined along side of her to help her pull it off on a limited time and financial budget.

Some of the things we have been able to help her with:

Spur of the Moment Packing Party for 100 OCC Boxes ~ "On a Wing and a Prayer"

My daughter found out Wednesday night at AWANA that she was placed in charge of the Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing party planned for Wednesday the 20th.  That gives her 12 days for planning, hunting and gathering supplies and a day to set up the day before.  We feel like the plane with a motor out coming in "on a wing and a prayer."

Her first shopping run....she just had to run back to Sandy's
last night and grab 99 cent stuffed animals and a few other goodies.
(I think that is the biggest bag I have ever seen from a store.)

Now in our family, we shop all year for shoe boxes hitting sales and clearances.  We also tend to fill our boxes with MANY items, we always seem to find one more thing to go in.  Just going out shopping for 100 shoe boxes on a limited budget on the spur of the moment is new to us.  So the first thing we did was go to the