Personal touch

Never too early to be thinking about Operation Christmas Child! I crocheted a bunch of barrettes this year to put in the shoe boxes which I plan on doing again this year but am also working on some of these. I already buy these small dolls for the boxes at Walmart and saw the idea of crocheting a blanket for them on someone else's site. It is just a simple granny square but what a nice personal touch. I just did this one this weekend and hope to get several more done.

Operation Christmas Child

The We love participating in Operation Christmas Child each year and blessing children in the name of Jesus. This year I crocheted 50 barrettes to put in the boxes the ladies group I am a part of is putting together. We will be having a box packing party with our kids, which should be a great time. I have been picking up other items throughout the year to add as well. A great time to pick up things are at after Christmas sales and during back to school time. Here is the link for more information on this amazing international program. Operation Christmas Child

Below are the boxes my family put together on our own last year. The boys 10-14 category is the category that receives the least amount of boxes so I encourage you to pack a box for this group. These boys are probably out in the work force already or at the very least has a big responsibility around the home and neighborhood. I packed tools that may help them with those responsibilities and possibly to even help them earn income. However they are still boys who want to have fun so I also packed some toys and fun items for when they are able to play.

Because the boxes are clear I used bandannas as a liner, so that they still had that element of surprise. I also hot glued strips of scrapbook paper to the tops so that even though they were not wrapped presents, they still had that Christmas touch.

In the plastic soapbox you see in the girl's shoe box below underneath the crayons I took a stack of colored paper and cut it to fit the soapbox.