Bird Themed Shoebox for 10-14 Year Old Girl Thru Operation Christmas Child

I really enjoyed birds when I was a girl in the 10-14 year old range-even played with the idea of going into the field of ornithology.  I still like birds, so this was fun box to put together.

It started with the Beanie Baby which I said looked like an albino cardinal-much to the amusement of my family.  Then I found the photo/gift box

When I do a theme box, what that means to me is while I stick to my normal list of things to include, I try to find versions of those items that fit the theme.  I may add an extra unique item or two, but on the whole it's the same list, just different types.  My basic list for those interested is:

• Hygiene supplies (soap & case; toothbrush & case; washcloth; comb)
• School supplies (lined paper, pens, pencils, sharpener, eraser, ruler, etc.)
• Art supplies (crayons, watercolors, and/or colored pencils; plain paper and/or coloring book; stickers, etc.)
• Ball
• Stuffed Animal
• Toy
• Game
• Something to wear
• Whistle
• Some sort of container (maybe a bag or tin)
• And a family photo (not pictured above)

If you'd like a better look at what exact items I packed in this box, and how I fit it all in, check out this unboxing video I took of it:

For more ideas/fun boxes, check out other shoeboxes we packed for 10-14 year old girls or our themed boxes!

Crochet Flower and Heart Pins Instructions

Small handcrafted accessories are great to add to an Operation Christmas Child shoebox and these crochet flower and heart pins are perfect to tuck in a corner of a box.  Chelle, from Chelle's Caybees, wrote up these instructions for the ones her mom Vickie makes and donates to our packing each year.

We have packed literally hundreds of these in our OCC shoeboxes.  We have used many to share with the seniors and shut ins of our church, too (check out our Facebook page if interested in helping the elderly:  Serving Seniors and Shut Ins).  We also tuck them into pencil cases for fillers we send (see The Pencil Granny and Friends on Facebook for details of packing school supplies to donate as fillers if you are interested).

Crochet Heart Pins

Supplies:  small amounts of Worsted Weight Yarn and an F Hook (I usually use 1-2 sizes down to make it tight) I used an H hook here so the stitches would show better.

Instructions

How I Pack an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

I took a couple videos recently to show how I pack a shoebox.  Now, remember-this is not the "right way", just my way I'm sharing in case it helps others.

The first video shows how I pick items:

The second video shows how I make the items fit:

Now, if you want to be sure you're packing shoeboxes the "right way" check out my post: How to Correctly Pack a Shoebox.

2019 Shoebox Packing

I haven't had much time to write blog posts of late, so I wanted to share a couple videos I made recently showing how we're packing shoeboxes this year.

First, here's out packing party set-up:

And here's selecting items for one shoebox (turned out to be for a 5-9 girl):

Here's more examples of 5-9 girl shoeboxes we've packed.

2019 Girls Shoeboxes

Hi All!

If you don't follow my Simply Shoeboxes YouTube channel you may have missed out on seeing some of the shoeboxes we've gotten packed so far this year!  I've done a quick, informal video of one of each age group...check them out below!

2-4 Girl:

5-9 Girl:

10-14 Girl:

If you're packing boy boxes, you can get some ideas from past shoeboxes we've packed for boys!

Themed Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes Packed in 2018

When I pack shoeboxes I often try to pack them around some sort of theme.  Sometimes that happens as I'm packing, oh look, here's a stuffed teddy bear and here's a notebook with a teddy bear on it, and here's a pencil bag with a bears on it, etc.  Other times early in the year I'll find an item or two and shop all year towards that theme.  Either way, when I do a theme box, I don't leave out anything on our basic packing list-I still put in hygiene, school, and art supplies, clothing, whistle, etc as well as toys (including a ball and stuffed animal) with a family photo.  I just try to find versions of what we are putting in that goes with the theme and occasionally an extra item or two.

Anyhow, here's some sheoboxes I packed around themes last year-most just photos I snapped with my phone as I packed:

This was one of my favorites!  A construction themed one!  My mom found the big construction building toy on a deal at Hollar on Black Friday.  My aunt found the building photos in a calendar for me to put in the lid, and I found the Bob The Builder coloring book at Mighty Dollar.  It turned out to be a 5-9 boy box with yellow as a secondary theme.

 This was a blue, bird themed 2-4 boy shoebox.

A bug themed shoebox with fabric including bugs, a bug house and net, and Bumble Bee Transformer toy.

A chick themed shoebox for a 5-9 girl

A monkey themed for a 5-9 boy.

An ocean themed shoebox that I think ended up being for a 5-9 girl.

An octopus themed box for a 5-9 boy (you can see our idea/check list in this photo we use when packing boxes)

A seal/sea lion/polar themed shoebox for a 5-9 boy I think.

Simile face themed box for a 5-9 boy (lot more in this box than can be seen in this photo)

Stingray themed shoebox for a 5-9 boy.

A train themed box for a 2-4 boy.

This was another favorite of mine-a western theme built around a horse stuffed animal and cactus pencil case I found at Bargin Hunt.

For more ideas/fun boxes, check out our other themed shoeboxes!