School Supplies for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 8/13/2016

My sister and I were both able to stop by Dollar General and use their digital coupon for $5 off $20 school supplies for sale items, so ended up with all this for our Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing.

My sister had just signed up for Dollar General digital coupons, and got a $1 off any $1.01 purchase, used it to pick up a pack of combs and a jump rope that was 40% off with the other summer toys.  These are both great for my 10 to 14 year old girl shoeboxes.

We also both stopped at Office Depot and both picked up the poly notebooks and mini boxes (for fishing kits).  Check out two ways to fit a spiral notebook in an OCC shoebox.

I also stopped by Mighty Dollar to pick up some more of those super cute foam animal puzzles I found last week.

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $40.12

Added to stockpile:

• 40 boxes of 24 Crayola Crayons
• 13 boxes of 12 Crayola colored pencils 
• 14 packs of 18 pencils
• 1 pack of 3 combs
• 1 jumpropes 
• 6 mini boxes
• 6 poly notebooks
• 4 sets of foam animal puzzles (8 animals per set plus 2 scenes)

We include crayons in almost every Operation Christmas Child shoebox we pack and wondered which were best.  We did some comparisons in both coloring and melting.  You can find them both here:  Crayon Brand Reviews.

Online Orders & More for OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 8/6/2016

I did a couple orders online for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes that I got in the last week.

First, from Amazon I got these toothbrush holders ( Medline Toothbrush Holders, 72 count)  I'm really happy with them as they seem to hold all different kinds of toothbrushes I've got deals on. I was even able to fit two of the cheaper ones in!  I like to try to send more expensive ones (that I get on sale with coupons, see Simply CVS for more info on how I do that) when possible as I hope they're last longer then cheaper ones, and as I can often get them for around $0.25 a piece for nice name brand ones, I thought it was worth it.

From Dollar Tree I ordered these (Plastic Snack Containers with Lock-Top Lids, 3-ct. Packs) fellow packers recommended for soap cases. I really like them, they even have a seal which I hope will keep the scent in.

I was really happy about being able to get these cases as that's something I really wanted to add to my boxes this year.  With so many of the children getting boxes living in poor houses with nowhere clean to store them or in refugee camps, or orphanages where they have to share washrooms, it just seemed like something good to add if I could


I stopped at Office Depot after church to get some of the penny and quarter deals.

My sister was also able to stop and get more of the quarter deals.

I had an $8 ECB I'd got at CVS from buying oral care items for shoeboxes that was going to expire, so I picked up four of these $2.50 T-shirts for the 10-14 year boy shoeboxes, as they were still on our needed list...we're getting really close to everything we need for the year...still picking up fun stuff as we find it though-more to shove in our boxes this year, or a start for next year.

When I stopped by Mighty Dollar to pick up something we needed, I saw this, decided to pick up one to check it out-they turned out to be really cute!!!  Jungle and ice scenes, lion, gorilla, polar bear, walrus, two penguins, and a mama and young elephant.

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $4.33

Spent from gift cards earned or that I won online: $46.48

Added to stockpile:

• 72 toothbrush cases
• 72 cases to use for soap
• 6 magic marker 10 packs
• 9 erasers 
• 3 composition books
• 72 pens (red & black)
• 4 t-shirts
• 8 foam puzzle animals

You can check out different types of shoeboxes to use for packing in this post:  What Type of Box to Pack for Operation Christmas Child.

School Supplies for OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 7/30/2016

I stopped by Office Depot on my way home from church and picked up some penny deals and the colored pencils for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes:

My sister was able to stop by Office Depot and get three more packs of the colored pencils.

I had a beauty club (that I got in part from my Ivory deal) ECB that was going to expire, so I picked up two of the 4/$10 T-shirts for free!  I also got a free Lollipop with another transaction [UPDATE 2017--candy no longer allowed]:

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $3.30

Added to stockpile:

• 3 school supply boxes
• 18 mechanical pencils
• 3 packs index cards
• 6 packs colored pencils
• 2 T-shirts
• 1 lollipop 

Check out our Colored Pencil Brand Test to compare brands for your Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

Dozens of Items for our OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 7/23/2016

After church on Sunday I did some Operation Christmas Child shoebox shopping.  First, I stopped at Office Depot to get some of the penny deals (got the paper with the rebate to get up to the $5 minimum purchase).  We use the paper in our Handmade Coloring Books or Sketch Pads.

Then I ran to Dollar Tree to take advantage of their 10% off deal-I picked up the rest of the things I needed to pack sample shoeboxes based on my "3 OCC shoeboxes for $29 from Dollar Tree" blog post-got some cute things!  Plus a ball pump.

Also, I forgot to post last week that we got in on the Kmart washcloth deal, unfortunately with white washcloths-but at $0.03 a piece instead of $0.50+, couldn't pass it up!

We got an email from Kmart saying we'd get any reward points we used (up to $20, with restrictions), so I used my washcloth rewards (plus a few more) to get the below, I don't think I quite got all my points back, some must have been on clearance or something, but still a good deal, now just to be sure to use the bonus points before they expire 7/30.

Stopped by Hobby Lobby to check for the reported 80% off clearance.  I found these foam gliders, it worked out to 30 cents a glider

I also ran into Mighty Dollar to pick up some supper cute things we'd seen and Mom wanted to get while we could for next year's 2 to 4 year old girl boxes, plus I picked up a few more math kits for next year.

Also, we realized through a tip that the scissors weren't the ones Office Depot advertised, so we emailed to say we were disappointed it wasn't the same, and they gave us a partial refund, so that helps the packing budget! :)

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $45.11

Added to stockpile:

• 3 pencil sharpeners
• 3 spiral notebooks
• 3 pencil cases
• 9 erasers
• 1 ball pump
• 3 lined notebooks
• 2 plain pads of paper
• 1 coloring book
• 4 eraser & sharpener combos
• 4 pens
• 12 pencils
• 6 stencils
• 1 pack of crayons
• 3 combs
• 3 toothbrushes & holders
• 4 washcloths
• 3 balls
• 1 puzzle
• 1 bag marbles
• 1 waterbottle
• 1 totebag
• multible hair bands
• 1 board book
• 4 prisims 
• 1 baby doll
• 10 stuffed animals
• 10 pulling toys
• 3 math sets
• 6 gliders
• 1 Dinosaur
• 1 Hotwheel Track 

We include a stuffed animal or doll in each box we pack.  Want to know why?  You can read our thoughts here:  Why We Include a Stuffed Animal in All of Our Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

Office Depot Sales for OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 7/16/2016

Everything we got this week for the Operation Christmas Child "Shoebox Stockpile" came from Office Depot this week.

From the loss leaders this week - pencils and pencil cases for a penny and crayons for a quarter

I got in on the 50 cent scissor deal while it was going on-I also had a $10 off $50, as I had to get $35 for free shipping anyhow, I got more.  So,  I got them for like $0.21 instead of like $2.20 a pair!  It's enough for a few years-but at such a good deal I thought it was worth getting ahead.

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $43.56

Added to stockpile:

• 3 pencil cases
• 3 dozen pencils
• 3 packs Crayola
• 200 scissors 

Wondering what the best brands of crayons are for Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing?  Check out our posts on Crayon Brand Coloring & Melting Tests.

Hygiene & Toys for OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 7/9/2016

I got some needed, and some fun things this week for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

My biggest purchase was hygiene items at CVS (for more info on saving money shopping at CVS, check out my other blog Simply CVS.  They had two deals I took advantage of:

• IVORY BAR SOAP-buy 1 get one half off-spend $30 get $10 ECB with the coupons I had, it worked out to $0.22 a bar.
• ORAL-B TOOTHBRUSH 2 or 4 count get $4 ECB back, I found this 2 pack for $4.99, so about $0.50 per toothbrush, not the best price, but nice toothbrushes, and I feel the better the toothbrush the longer it'll last.

I also stopped by Dollar General-found a couple small Lego type kits on clearance, and found this Lincoln Log type kit as part of the 3 day sale 50% off, so it was $5.  Now, it's too big to fit in one box, but it includes 3 buildings, so I plan to build them, then bag them in three sets (with picture and instructions) which should make a fun, but able to fit, toy for 3 little 2 to 4 year old boys or girls.

Finally, saw these eraser pencil grips at a local dollar store, and decided to buy them for most of our 2-4 year old shoeboxes, thought it might help little hands learning to write.

Went back to the dollar store later in the week found this shirt, these 2 packs of flip-flops (originally $5.99) some extra ball inflating needles, cute Gund stuffed animals, and a cute friendship bracelet kit-has a little hardback instruction book, plus some floss and charms.

It has a big empty place in the back-plan to fill it with floss, beads, and other supplies to save room and make it even better! :)

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $20.48

Spent from gift cards I earned or I won online: $30.29

Added to stockpile:

• 80 bars Ivory soap
• 4 Oral-B toothbrushes
• 2 Lego type kits
• 1 Lincoln Logs type kit (plan to split between 3 boxes)
• 24 Eraser pencil grips

Each Saturday Sarah shares our additions to our OCC stockpile.  You can see the whole series here:  Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ Adding to Our Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile.