OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~12/9/2017

I stopped at CVS and got a couple toothbrushes free after coupons and ECBs, and the 7 in 1 game set was on sale for $6.99, and I had a $6 off $30 coupon, and since I was picking up some other things, I got it for $0.99!!  What a great WOW item!!  I put the chess pieces in an organza bag we'd been given recently for shoeboxes-all 7 games fit the case decorated to look like a domino that should fit great in a shoebox!

While my sister and I were out shopping for last minute things for the youth packing party, I found this spirograph type ruler-fun!

We also got our order from ToysRUs.  There'd been a problem with an earlier item we'd ordered, and had a coupon code, plus a sale on Black Friday, so we stocked up on wooden puzzles for the boxes we pack for the littlest kids

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $1.58 

Spent from gift cards earned or won online: $29.46 

Saved through coupons:  $23 
Saved through sales: $19.48   

Thanksgiving Holiday OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 11/25 & 12/2/2017 ~ Saved over 50%

I skipped posting last week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, so this week's post has a couple week's worth of stockpiling...and it's a lot because online orders with holiday codes came in!

I stopped by Office Depot on my way home from church, and got all these pencils...a great start for next year!  (for info on the deal and looking for the stock at your store, see my earlier post Office Depot Pencil Clearance)

We picked up a  few of the Hotwheel 5 packs Buy One Get One Free!  ...50 cents a car, not bad!

In going through/organizing some of my gift/letter-writing, etc stash getting ready for the holidays, I found some things that we could send in shoeboxes.   Also a couple sewn ornaments my grandmother had received over the years.

Decided to get ahead on our photos for next year, so took advantage of penny prints at Walgreens.

  I stopped by Bargain Hunt and was able to got some great deals....the kite was compare at $12, I got it for 60 cents!!! So exciting!

Here's my order from US Toy.  A lot of repeat things, plus some new things to try...pretty pleased...hope to post a review of it soon as I get time!

And here's my order from Kipp Brothers a few re-stocks from last year, and some new things-really excited about some, some okay, a couple not so great, hope to do a review soon, to share to maybe help others decide what to order!  I used a Black Friday/Cyber Monday code, but I think there is also one for shoeboxers...check out Shoebox Shopper's Facebook page.

My sister got some unused stuffed animals at a local thrift store.

We went back to Bargain Hunt for some holiday shopping, and I found this-compare at $3, spent 60 cents!  So cute!

We stopped by Office Depot and found LOTS of eraser caps packages for 14 cents! Plus some nice pencil cases for 44 cents, and rulers for 24 cents.  If anyone wants to check BrickSeek for the possible stock in their local store, here's the UPCs/Item numbers:

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $238.60 
Saved $254.28 or 52 %

Saved thru clearance:  $241.62
Saved through BOGO deals: $10
Saved through photo discount code: $16
Saved through Black Friday % off codes: $48.26
Saved through "Bargain Hunting":  $38.40
Plus, not figured in to these numbers is the fact I used Office Depot Rewards Points for both Office Depot shopping trips.

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox for 5-9 Year Old Boy- 2017

This was a really fun Operation Christmas Child shoebox for me to pack this year for an 5-9 year old boy.  Early in the year I found a racing themed coloring book for 50 cents, and so began a theme!  I do love themed boxes...see more of my themed boxes here.  This shoebox was 382 inches cubed, for comparison, a GO box is 306 inches cubed, so it's reasonably close in size.  I wanted a wrapped on since I had Cars wrapping paper.

If you'd like ideas for other ages be sure to check out my posts on OCC shoeboxes from this year for: Girl 2-4, Boy 2-4, Girl 5-9, Girl 10-14, & Boy 10-14 (will be updated with links as I post those boxes, until I do, here's a link to all the shoebox examples posts). 

NOTE: Different countries have different restrictions on what can be packed in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox due to customs-no candy or toothpaste in the USA going forward.  Be sure to check the guidelines from your national organization before packing!

What went into the OCC shoebox gift (Items with ** are on the list of "Wow" items):

• Hygiene Supplies:
• 2 Toothbrushes
• Toothbrush case
• Soap
• Soap case 
• Washcloth
• Truck Bandages
• Comb 
• School Supplies:
• Pens
• 1-Red
• 1-Blue
• 1-Black
• Pencils
• 5-regular
• 3-decorative 
• Sharpener
• Small decorative erasers
• Eraser  
• Spiral notebook 
• Tape measure
• Art Supplies:
• Crayons
• Stickers
• Large coloring book
• Pad of plain paper 
• Cars Maze
• Practical items: 
• Pencil bag
• Drawstring backpack *
• Water bottle
• Clothes:
• Gloves
• Flipflops
• Swim Goggles
• Cars Ring
• Toys 
• To play noisily or others
• 3 Race-car themed Hotwheels 
• Frog hopper game
• Marbles
• Racing Peg game
• Balls
• Mini 
• Inflatable 
• Fun-house 
• Frisbees
• Whistle
• Mini Apples-to-Apples game
• To play with quietly alone
• Race go kart**
• 6 Race driver/crew figures
• 3 Dinosaur figurines 
• 1 Turtle figurine
• Cars keychain
• Cars top
• To "love"
• Stuffed Bear with goggles and scarf like an old time car driver** 
• Personal correspondence (not pictured)
• Family photo 
• Letter

I know sometimes one of the hard things of packing shoeboxes is making things fit, so here's some photos I took of how it all packed in the box.

I thought the back of the coloring book was neat-it was a fold out sticker scene, but also kind of fit the Hotwheel-haha!

Here are more examples of 5- 9 boy boxes we've packed.

Westcott Kids 5" Scissors from MDSupplies & Services Review ~ Great for OCC Shoeboxes

Scissors are a great thing to include as part of the school supplies or a tool/sewing kit in our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. (Disclosure: post contains affiliate links & I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on them)  When MDSupplies & Service's special Shoebox Shoppers order form was first offered, I thought of it just for hygiene cases, but there are also other items including scissors!

If you're unfamiliar with MDSupplies & Services, they have helpfully made for us who pack for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes a special order form of just items that can go in OCC shoeboxes...plus it has FREE SHIPPING!!!

Now to review the scissors, there are two different kinds to pick from: Kids 5" Pointed Scissors, Bulk (42515) and Kids 5" Blunt Scissors, Bulk (42516).  They are pretty much the same other than the tips, so I'll review them together.  If you pack a large number of boxes, this may be the option for you.  You buy them in cases of 700 for $525, which works out to $0.75 a piece.

I tested them cutting a variety of materials: paper, the cardboard backing of their packaging, and fabric:

I thought it cut them all just fine.  Obviously the cardboard was harder to cut, but certainly reasonable.  I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well it cut the fabric.  Obviously, with the shorter blade it's not a true pair of fabric scissors, but certainly usable in a sewing kit!

The one downside to the scissors is their handles are rather small, but usable, and wouldn't be as big a deal for children as to me as an adult.

I hope this review helps someone...if you have any further questions, please just ask and you may want to check out the rest of my MD Supplies & Services Reviews for items appropriate for packing in Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

Disclaimer:  I received these products free to review, but the opinions are all my own.  Links in this post to MDSupplies & Services are affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox for 5-9 Year Old Girl - 2017

We don't often pack many Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for girls age 5-9, because that's the group that gets the most boxes packed for it, but this year we did pack a few, and here's one my sister packed.  You can see lots of handmade goodies in this one that others shared with us!

If you'd like ideas for other ages be sure to check out my posts on OCC shoeboxes from this year for: Girl 2-4, Boy 2-4, Boy 5-9, Girl 10-14, & Boy 10-14 (will be updated with links as I post those boxes, until I do, here's a link to all the shoebox examples posts). 

NOTE: Different countries have different restrictions on what can be packed in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox due to customs-no candy or toothpaste in the USA going forward.  Be sure to check the guidelines from your national organization before packing!

What went into the OCC shoebox gift (Items with ** are on the list of "Wow" items):

• Hygiene Supplies:
• Toothbrush
• Toothbrush case
• Soap
• Soap case 
• Washcloth
• Comb 
• School Supplies:
• Pens
• 1-Red
• 1-Blue
• 1-Black
• Pencils
• 2-regular
• 2-decorative 
• Sharpener
• Eraser  
• Composition book
• Protractor
• Tape measure
• Art Supplies:
• Markers
• Large coloring book
• Pad of plain paper 
• Spirograph type tool
• Practical items: 
• Mini blanket 
• Small bag
• Small crocheted purse
• Outfit**:
• Dress
• Bracelet
• Hair pins
• Lace for hair
• Cars Ring
• Toys 
• To play noisily or others
• Ball
• Whistle
• Mini Apples-to-Apples game
• Hotwheel
• Maraca
• Mini Clacker
• To play with quietly alone
• Gorilla 3D puzzle
• BB maze
• Top
• Mini Turtle
• Mini dinosaurs 
• Cow Keychain 
• Special
• Rose
• To "love"
• Stuffed animal** 
• Personal correspondence (not pictured)
• Family photo 

I know sometimes one of the hard things of packing shoeboxes is making things fit, so here's some photos I took of how it all packed in the box.

Here are more examples of 5- 9 girl boxes we've packed.

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Disclosure: Links in this post are my personal referral links.  I also earned Swagbucks for sharing this post, but all opinions are my own.