Lot's of Goodies ~ Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 12/26/2015

I'm about to head out to hit the after Christmas clearance...it's the most wonderful time of the year!!!  Below is what I got for my Operation Christmas Child shoebox stockpile last week.

 I took advantage of the free shipping day and I $5 Sports Authority gift card I'd gotten as a reward and thought I'd never use to get these cute hats on clearance for just $1.34 total including tax!.  Perfect for my aunt's 2-4 year old boy shoeboxes!

These are some things my mom got for Christmas some specifically bought for shoeboxes as she'd requested and some things she got and thought would be cute in in shoebox, so she'd share it.

My dad drove me around to hit a lot of store's after Christmas Clearance, here's what we got:

From Dollar General-everything I got was $0.50...coloring books, pens, pencils, stickers, & playing cards.

From CVS.  A little big, and $5...but super cute, and I had some ECBs I had to use up, so got for a Wow item for a 2-4 boy box...hope my aunt doesn't hate me for how big it is ;) ...but you can see how it fits:

That is an averaged sized box, and there's still a good amount of room on top to add supplies, stuffed animal, etc.

From Dollar Tree-everything was $0.50

From Walgreens, I know these will probably go more off, but like to have candy canes for my shoeboxes and they often aren't available around here before we pack, and the big ones I got last year were hard to fit in, and I had a Walgreens gift card.  UPDATE 2017:  Candy is no longer allowed in Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

From Office Max-the free after rewards battery deal again.

From Big Lots-a couple tins to pack in inside the boxes, thought it'd be cute, plus good for the kids to store in, plus it has a penguin, and I like penguin themed shoeboxes as you may have noticed...one was $1, the larger was $1.50.

From WalMart.   I think everything was $0.48 a piece

Plus my mom and sister crocheted 18 more Aunt Ida hats.

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $50.84 (hope to get $27.96 back in Office Depot reward)
Spent from gift cards earned or won online: $19.25

Added to stockpile:

• 20 hats
• 9 pencils
• 3 pens
• 3 mini paper pads
• 13 coloring books
• 19 various games
• 1 train set
• 5 tins
• 4 sheets of stickers
• 12 cups
• 7 flutes
• 2 tambourines 
• 1 stuffed animals
• 1 pack toy tools
• 2 pairs socks
• 65 small peppermint candy canes
• 32 AA batteries

You may be interested to read Why We Include a Stuffed Animal in Each of Our Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.

Throwback Thursday ~ Winter/Christmas Themed OCC Shoeboxes

If you've been following Simply Shoeboxes on Facebook, you may have seen my "Throwback Thursday" posts of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes I've sent over the years.  I thought I'd share some on here for those of you not on Facebook.  I thought now, before, the after-Christmas-clearance (that I really hope to hit) in case they inspired anyone else.  I love making themes around clearance items-save money AND have themes!  

NOTE:  In the USA starting in 2017 we need to not send candy or toothpaste anymore, these are from past years when those things were okay.

When I make a themed Operation Christmas Child shoebox, I don't leave out anything on my list-I still put in hygiene, school, and art supplies, as well as toys including a ball and stuffed animal.  I just try to find versions of what I'm putting in that goes with the theme and occasionally an extra item or two.  Please note that these are from past years before Samaritan's Purse was really emphasizing to pack standard sized shoeboxes, so a few of these may be in larger boxes then I would send with what I know now, and some may have less then I'd send now or that year's list of basic items I planned to pack might be different than this year's...I view OCC shoebox packing as a journey where I'm always trying to learn more about how to pack the most fun and useful box possible.

Several of my favorite Operation Christmas Child Themed Shoeboxes

Christmas tree themed shoebox ~10-14 Girl~2012.  I found that darling little tree on clearance and had to get it to send to a girl who might not get to have a free.  Then I built a box around it-doll & dog to go with the tree (I put in beads on hooks for ornaments), tree themed (on clearance) towels, book, notebook, puzzle,

Hats, Bunnies & Batteries ~ Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 12/19/2015

I decided to share each week at "Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Saturday" what I've added to my stockpile lately via purchases, crafting, and donations.

 

I stopped by Office Max/Depot to pick up the battery deal ($0.01 after reward points)

I also stopped by a local discount store I found this supper cute tin-it was $0.99, a little high, but SO cute I had to get it, hope the girl who gets it falls as in love with as I did as well as a small Spirograph type tool/toy for $0.79

My mom and sister also crocheted 11 Aunt Ida hats!

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $29.88 (I hope to get  $27.96 rewards back on the batteries, if not, I may return them)

Spent from gift cards earned or won online : $0

Added to stockpile:

• 32 AA batteries (we already have flashlights to go with them
• 11 crocheted hats
• 1 Tin
• 1 Mini spiro tool

 We have shared several ideas on Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Organization if you are interested in seeing how we keep track of what we buy throughout the year.

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing Lists - 2016

UPDATE 2017:  No candy or toothpaste allowed.

I've been trying to get organized for shopping for next year's Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes we will be packing.  I still need to do a little more work on the organizing of the stock before I post on that...I'll edit this post when I do so to give the link for that.  But I did make a tentative list of what we need to shop for/are planning to pack, and thought I'd share it in case anyone was interested.  

I divided it between what all boxes-regardless of age or gender-would get, then the additional things that will go in certain ages.  These are just draft lists and may change slightly depending on what we may find, have donated, learn more

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 12/12/2015

I decided maybe I should start a weekly blog post called "Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Saturday" of what I've added to my stockpile lately via purchases, crafting, donations, etc.

I stopped by Office Max/Depot to pick up the battery deal ($0.01 after reward points) and due to another shoeboxer's suggestion, I checked for compasses & protractors in the normal clearance area-they didn't have prices on them, but an associate scanned them for me and they were $0.24 for the plastic ones and $0.42

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 12/5/2015

I decided maybe I should start a weekly blog post called "Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Stockpile Saturday" of what I've added to my stockpile lately via purchases, crafting, donations, etc.

Here's what we added this week:

We got these washcloths from Kohls...we were purchasing something else from them online and checked RetailMeNot and found a coupon code for $10 off $50, as we were already buying $40 worth, we threw in two $5 sets of washcloths, so they