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!

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox for 2-4 Year Old Boy - 2018

It's almost packing season 2019, here's one of the Operation Christmas Child shoebox my aunt packed at our family packing party last year a 2-4 year old boy.  I enjoy seeing what other people pack in their boxes for ideas/inspirations, hopefully som e of you do, as well.  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 , Girl 5-9,

OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ A Month worth of Donations and Deals ~ 5/18/2019

For those who don't follow my YouTube channel, I wanted to share the video here to show what we've gotten of late for shoebox packing!

OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 4/20/2019 ~ Cars and Balls

We were able to stock up on a couple "shoebox staples".  First we found 3 packs of tennis balls at Mighty Dollar-score!!  We like to include balls in all of our boxes and tennis balls are sturdy.  Also picked up a couple fun little toys.  Then Dollar General had their B1G1 free Hotwheels sale, so we got some of those, too!

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $58.75
Saved $60 or 50%   

Lego Deal at Walmart

I saw Kecia post on the Official OCC Leader Forum about some Lego kits she found a deal on at Walmart.  When I looked at the Brickseek links and realized they were like 50% off, I thought I'd share the links-you know I like Lego!  Some are larger and may be good to split up among a number of shoeboxes, and any would make good gifts-or Lego brick stock building!

• LEGO Unikitty Unikingdom Creative Brick Box 41455 (433 Pieces)
• LEGO Minecraft The Polar Igloo 21142 Building Set (278 Pieces)
• LEGO Unikitty Unikitty Cloud Car 41451 Building Set
• LEGO Unikitty Prince Puppycorn Trike 41452 Building Set

Get 300 bonus SB when you sign up for Swagbucks in April

Disclosure:  Links to Swagbucks in this post are my referral links.  Thank you for using my links it helps me earn extra SB.  I also earned SB for sharing this promotion.

It's only 32 weeks until National Collection week, and if you're looking for a new way to come up with funds for shoebox items or shipping, why not try earning free gift cards through Swagbucks! All throughout April you can earn a nice bonus when sign up as my referral on Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a rewards site where you earn points (called SB) for things you're probably doing online already, like searching the web, watching videos, shopping, discovering deals, taking polls, playing games, and taking surveys. Then you take those points and exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Walmart, or PayPal cash.

When you sign up through me this month, you can earn a 300 SB bonus! Here's how:

1. Sign up using this referral link

2. Earn 300 SB total before May 1st, 2019. You'll get a 300 SB bonus for it!

3. That's it. It's easy, and Swagbucks is for real. I use it myself!!

Looking for some ideas of how to earn 300 SB, well here's ten ways to easily earn your first 300 SB from Swagbucks online to receive your sign up bonus:

1. Take the daily poll -- one SB per day -- found on homepage on left under "To Do List."

OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 4/6/2019

So, it's been a while since I've done a Stockpile Saturday, so here's an update-just look at all those goodies!!!

If you'd like to see details of the items, check out this video:

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $3

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox for 10-14 Year Old Boy- 2018

This is one of the boxes my Dad packed for a 10-14 year old boy.  The box is actually an envelope box-the bag and puzzle fit better that way, but it didn't take up more room than a shoebox-we figured the square area.

If you'd like ideas for other ages be sure to check out my posts on OCC shoeboxes from 2018 for: Girl 2-4, Boy 2-4, Girl 5-9, 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). 

We like to try to add something practical in this age that might help them help provide for their family or start on a career, as in these countries they often need to around this age.  Something like a fishing kit, small tool kits, hand gardening tools (but not seeds), etc. In addition to more advanced school supplies like compasses and protractors to help them stay in school as these are often required for higher grades.  Of course, if you follow this blog, you know all our boxes get at least basic hygiene and school/art supplies, a clothing item, a ball, a stuffed animal, and a couple other toys.

What went into the OCC shoebox gift:

• Hygiene Supplies:
• Toothbrush 
• Soap
• Soap case 
• Washcloth
• Comb  
• School Supplies:
• Pens
• 1-Red
• 1-Blue
• 3-Black 
• Pencils
• 4-regular
• 4-decorative 
• 1-mechanical with extra leads
• Sharpener 
• Erasers
• Block
• Pencil caps
• Spiral notebook 
• Compass
• Protractor
• Decorative Rulder
• Pencil Bag 
• Art/craft supplies Supplies:
• Colored pencils 
• Plain paper pad 
• Practical items: 
• Tool type bag
• Zip-ties
• Work gloves
• Sewing kit
• Scissors
• Fishing kit
• Clothes:
• Socks
• Tank Top
• Toys 
• To play noisily or others
• Ball
• Whistle
• Mini harmonica 
• Marbles 
• To play with quietly alone
• BB game
• Turtle Figure
• Prism viewer
• 3D Mantis Wooden Puzzle
• To "love"
• Stuffed lobster
• Personal correspondence (not pictured)
• Family photo  

Here's more posts with ideas on shoeboxes 10-14 year old boys.

Simply Shoeboxes on Pinterest

Simply Shoeboxes can be found on Pinterest pinning everything and anything to do with packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  You will only find boards and pins on this subject.

We have boards including images, videos and stories from OCC distributions; tips and tricks for packing lots in a box; examples of all ages of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes; craft projects; and much more!  So  if you love packing OCC shoeboxes, stop by and follow Sarah at Simply Shoeboxes on Pinterest. 

You can also keep up with us on: Simply Shoeboxes Facebook, Simply Shoeboxes YouTube Channel and sign up for emails to keep up to date on the posts we publish here at Simply Shoeboxes.

OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ More Free Deals ~ 3/16/2019

I decided to just make a video of this week's additions to the shoebox stockpile instead of writing a post as it wasn't too many things, but didn't want to leave my blog readers out, so here it is.  If you're on YouTube you  might like to subscribe there, as sometimes I'll post things there instead of here.

 

Spent from gift cards earned or won online: $2 

DIY Crochet Granny Square Lovey and Purchased Stuffed Animal Combo

A crochet lovey attached to a purchased stuffed animal is perfect for my 2 to 4 year old Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  I include a stuffed animal and a lovey in every box, so combining them is fun and makes for a special, cute WOW item that can bring comfort to a child in crisis.

I have seen dozens of patterns online for loveys that included a crochet animal head.  Because of physical limitations, crocheting those causes much pain, but I was drawn to them just the same.  My solution was to design a lovey I could attach to the adorable stuffed animals I had in my shoebox stockpile.  I began by using the case of these that I purchased with birthday money.  The tags on them say for all

OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 3/9/2019 ~ No Money Laid Out

Didn't pick up much for our shoeboxes, but it sure is hard to beat the price...didn't spend anything from our shoebox packing budget.

If you have a CVS card, be sure you have it set up to get emails from them, and check EVERY email you get from them.  Of late, I've been getting ECBs to print or send to card in them...sometimes more than one a week!  So Sunday I sent one for $3 ECB to my card, and when I shopped on Tuesday I was able to get some Valentines items 90% off...these plus a few for a senior ministry-all free!

I also found this little lamb stuffed animal at Dollar Tree that "wanted to come home with me" haha!  So I used some of the money we've set aside from online earnings for impulse shoebox purchases. 

My mom also crocheted a lot of hats for the DIY Quick to Crochet Child's Beanie Hat Pattern out of yarn we had laying around, so no financial expense.

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $0

Spent from cash or gift cards earned or won online: $1 
Saved $19.00 or 100%

Saved thru clearance:  $16.20 
Saved through email ECB: $1.80
Saved through money earned online: $1 

DIY Quick to Crochet Child's Beanie Hat Pattern

When crafting for my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes I look for quality and speed (since I make over a hundred of each item each year).  This quick to crochet child's beanie hat was designed with ease and speed in mind.  I used simple stitches, double and single crochet, and a large hook with medium weight yarn [size 4].  Simply Soft yarn is a lighter weight size 4 yarn so it took more stitches to make each hat, but it is my favorite yarn to work with as it glides easily thru my fingers, is soft and has a nice sheen.

I also like Simply Soft made up with an I hook as it makes for a looser, more open finished design.  Since I don't know what countries my hats will be sent to, I like lighter weight, less "warm" hats.  That way if they go to a cold climate and the child has nothing, it will still provide more warmth than they had or they can wear it under a hooded coat for added warmth.  But in a warm climate with, what to the

Saving Money for Shoeboxes through Ebates

If you follow this blog, you know we like to find ways to save money on shoebox items to be able to pack more and better boxes.  One easy way we like to do that is through rebates when we're shopping anyways. By the way, this post contains affiliate links which I'd love you to use if you're going to give Ebates a try.  They won't cost you anything to but I may get a small commission if you act through them which gives me more time to dedicate to this blog.

Often we do this through Swagbucks (you can read more about that on my other blog: How to start saving at Swagbucks).  But another way that is easy and often you get more back is Ebates.  And now is a great time to try it as you can join free and get a $10 gift card after your first purchase of $25 or more.!!  And with how we shoebox shoppers like to hit clearance, etc-imagine what we could get with say a $10 Walmart Giftcard?  If you're unfamiliar with Ebates, here's how it works online

• Sign Up is Free
• Shop as usual but first stop at Ebates and click thru the link to the store you want to shop at.
• Check Ebates for coupons for your order, too.
• A percentage of your order total will be added to your Ebates account 
• Then when it builds up to enough in your account they'll mail you a check.

So, if this interests you, why not try it out?  Join free and get a $10 gift card after your first purchase of $25 or more.

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox for 5-9 Year Old Boy- 2018

I enjoy packing sheoboxes for kids around the world through Operation Christmas Child and I like looking at photos of shoeboxes others have packed, so I'm sharing some of mine.  This is one I packed for a 5-9 year old boy.  OCC requests that we use normal sized shoeboxes, this one is right around the size of the old GO box-about 300 cubic inches.  I was happily surprised at how much I could fit in with the large stuffed animal!

If you'd like ideas for other ages be sure to check out my posts on OCC shoeboxes from 2018 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 shoeboxes due to customs. 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 Toothbrush 
• Soap
• Soap case 
• Washcloth
• Comb 
• School Supplies:
• Pens
• 1-Red
• 1-Blue
• 1-Black
• Pencils
• 3-regular
• 5-decorative 
• Sharpener
• Eraser  
• Spiral notebook 
• Mini composition book
• Ruler
• Kids Answers Magazine
• Magnifying glass
• Art Supplies:
• Crayons
• Multi colored pencil
• Stickers
• Large coloring book
• Pad of plain paper 
• Cars Maze
• Practical items: 
• Pencil bag
• Whistle
• Clothes:
• Hat
• Socks
• Bandanna
• Toys 
• To play noisily or others
• Frog hopper game
• Marbles
• Card game
• Ball  
• Frisbees
• Jump Rope
• Flute
• To play with quietly alone
• Hotwheels type car
• Prism viewer
• Top
• Animal figurines
• Lenticular card
• To "love"
• Stuffed dog** 
• Personal correspondence (not pictured)
• Family photo 
• Letter

I know sometimes one of the hard things of packing shoeboxes is making things fit, and people have found it helpful to see how I've packed in the past, so here's a video of me un-packing it to show how it fit.

DIY Ribbon & Bead Necklaces for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

Upcycling items into quality crafts for Operation Christmas Child is a great way to pack shoeboxes on a budget while enjoying the creativity of crafting.  Suzanne, from Sew Delightful, creates simple necklaces for shoeboxes from costume jewelry and ribbon.  She shops estate sales and thrift stores for deals on the jewelry as well as bulk beads and makes hundreds of unique, one of a kind, necklaces.  She also uses purchased pony and other beads she finds on clearance.  Suzanne is very generous and ships many of them to us to use in our shoeboxes each year.

We shared an unboxing video on Simply Shoeboxes YouTube when two of Suzanne's boxes arrived in the mail; and interest was sparked in the necklaces.  I decided to share a quick overview here and on YouTube (see video below--it shows more of Suzanne's designs) so others could enjoy seeing them and making some of their own.  This is a great project for groups to do together -- even good for children to be a part of.

Add brightly colored new beads to duller upcycled ones.

Ribbon Necklaces Using Upcycled Costume Jewelry and Plastic Beads Tutorial

OCC Shoebox Stockpile Saturday ~ 3/2/2019 ~ Donations plus saved 82% on Deals

Finally getting back to posting my Stockpile Saturdays.  And what a busy week to get back at it!!  We received donations, birthday gift orders, and got some great deals/clearance finds-check it all out below:

We hit a few Dollar Generals to see what we could find on 90% off clearance-lots of goodies for shoeoboxes, also some fun items to use next year in our ministries to seniors.

CVS was only 75% off, so still pretty high, but I had $4 in ECBs, plus, I had a $10 off $40, and was already buying about $20 for our household.  So, I added some items on (some in the picture above, some for senior ministry) and got them like half off 75% off, so like 87% off, plus $4 off for ECBs.

 Also picked up some Irish Spring on sale plus scanner coupon so worked out to about $0.25 a bar (old photo, didn't see the point of taking another photo packages of soap-LOL).

I found some new wrapping paper and a new coloring book at a thrift store.

We also found some more of the chunky pencils we like to put in 2-4 shoeboxes at Dollar General's 50% off clearance sale.

So that was the items from our shoebox packing budget, here's a couple things....well, more than a couple! ;)  

My mother chose to get some stuffed animals for shoeboxes for her birthday, you can see a review of them here and a video unboxing and look at their quality.

We received a donation in the mail from Sew Delightful.  So many goodies, the photo just doesn't do it justice, so here's a link to our unboxing video:

Spent from shoebox packing budget: $15.54  
Saved $70.80  or  82% 

Lego Deal at Walmart

Mallory let me know she found the Lego Classic Color boxes on clearance and WalMart and I looked it up, and those that still have them in stock mostly show $1 a box...normally $4-$5!!  I know Brickseek isn't 100% right, but you might want to check it out or look in store!  Lego make great additions to shoeboxes!

LEGO¨ Classic Blue Creativity Box 10706 (78 Pieces)

LEGO Classic Creativity Box, Green 10708 (66 Pieces)

LEGO Classic Creativity Box, Orange 10709 (60 Pieces)

LEGO Classic Creativity Box, Red 10707 (55 Pieces)

Hope this helps someone!!  I don't always have times to share all deals, but I really like Lego, and wish I could pick these up myself, but my store seems out-maybe some of you will be able to get some!




We like to pair our Lego and Lego type bricks with these base plates from Dollar Tree:

If you're interested in the base plates and would like to buy a lot, would love for you to use my affiliate link - http://shrsl.com/1edo6  - to check them out-it won't cost you anything, but if you buy something through it I'll get a small commission which gives me more time to spend writing this blog, recording YouTube videos, and keep up the Facebook page and Pinterest boards. 

Quality Crafts for Operation Christmas Child March Item of the Month

We like to include quality crafts in our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes and are glad to see it included in the OCC Item of the Month list for March.  Over the years we have included sewn, crocheted, knit, upcycled, no-sew, paper crafts and more.  We work to make them quality items the children receiving them can enjoy.

These are items I crafted for a shoebox a while ago.

We often share crafting ideas and patterns through this site and on social media.  You can follow us on the following sites to keep up with all of our shoebox packing including sharing crafts:

• Simply Shoeboxes Facebook
• Simply Shoeboxes YouTube
• Simply Shoeboxes Pinterest

We have written dozens of craft tutorials for items perfect to pack in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift.  You can find all of them by clicking the image below.

We offer tutorials in the following categories if you would rather just check them out individually:

• Crochet DIY
• Sewing DIY
• No-Sew DIY
• Upcycling DIY

You may also like to check out more things I've made for my OCC shoeboxes here:  Made by Cheryl.

Two other places we like to check for OCC Shoebox craft ideas:

• Crafting for Shoeboxes Facebook page
• Crafting for Shoeboxes Pinterest

We also receive handcrafted items from friends at opposite ends of the country:

Chelle & Vicki, from Chelle's Caybees in NC
Suzanne, from Sew Delightful in WA

If you've never considered handcrafted items to pack in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox, you may want to check into it this year.  It's a great excuse to get a group of friends together to craft.

You can also donate handcrafted items directly to OCC as fillers.  So if you find yourself crafting more than you can pack, find out more thru this link: Five Ways to Donate Fillers to Operation Christmas Child.

Plush Animal Review for OCC Shoeboxes from Dollar Tree

I (Cheryl) enjoy receiving Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing items for my birthday.  This year I had gift money to spend and since I can't get out to shop much so I decided to order some plush stuffed animals from Dollar Tree since we include a stuffed animal in every shoebox.  I also was able to pay with Paypal and use a $5 coupon they had sent for my birthday.  Disclosure:  I will be including Sarah's affiliate links in my review below--if you shop thru them she'll be compensated, so you will help keep Simply Shoeboxes online at no extra cost to yourself.

Below are my thoughts on quality, cuteness and appropriateness for including in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.  At the end of the post is also a video of our unboxing them and we show them in an OCC shoebox if you are interested.

I never considered Dollar Tree stuffed animals much until last Easter when Sarah packed a shoebox from Dollar Tree's Easter section.  We normally buy more expensive ones on clearance.  She said in her post, "I have to say-I totally fell in love with these stuffed animals, often $1 stuffed animals are not that nice, but Dollar Tree often seems to have some nice ones, and these-especially the lamb-was SO CUTE!!!"  I just had to buy more of those this year, too as I also fell in love with them and was very satisfied with the quality.

This image is from last year's stuffies, this year's have embroidered eyes instead.

Ordering them online (Easter Floppy Plush Animals SKU: 284202 ) would mean I would get two styles of bunnies also (as they come in a case), and since we seem to always have an abundance of bunnies Sarah finds on clearance, I decided to just have her pick up some of the ducks and lambs when she picked up my order at our local Dollar Tree (free shipping to store).  I would definitely buy these again.  They seem sturdy, have embroidered faces and are adorable.

My online order included Fuzzy Friends Plush Hanging Sloth SKU: 279941.  From the image online I thought these would be perfect for the 10 to 14 year old boys, except for the lightest one which I thought would be sweet for the 10 to 14 year old girl shoeboxes.  Being 14 inches long I knew they would need to fold over to fit in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox which should be no problem.  They were, indeed, long but very narrow so they fit with lots of room left over.  They are very soft with the exception of the felt feet & hands.  They have cute smiles tho a few faces were not stuffed full.  I think they are okay, but I personally would not choose to buy them again.  My husband packs our 10 to 14 year old boy boxes so I will need to see what he thinks.  He may like to buy them again.

I also ordered a case of Fuzzy Friends Plush Sea Animals SKU: 243944.  I fell in love with the fish and the turtle.  I also thought the shark would be great for the older boys.  I think these are made well enough, but I was disappointed with the stiffness of the felt fins on the fish (not so cuddly), otherwise they are nice and soft. And I love the bright colors. The shark was also not as cute as I expected so I may not choose to order another case of these but I will need the opinions of the other packers in my family.  They are a good choice for the boy boxes.

My last case was for Fuzzy Friends Plush Baby Animals SKU: 243946.  The giraffe just kept calling my name -- I couldn't resist.  He did not disappoint -- I think he was mine and Sarah's favorite.  This set of four animals were well made and all passed the cuteness test.  This is another set that I would be happy to order another case of when I need more animals.  I think they all would be great for either boy or girl Operation Christmas shoeboxes.

When Sarah went to pick up the order at Dollar Tree she found another adorable duck.  I think this little guy is by far the best quality and the highest cuteness score, but unfortunately I have not been able to find him online.  Perhaps they will soon carry him online, too.

I found the easiest way to find their full selection of stuffed animals was to search for "plush" on the Dollar Tree website.  Here is a direct link if you are interested:  Plush Search on Dollar Tree.

To order online you need to order by the case (either 24 or 36 depending on style), or you can order less and pay a handling fee. Shipping to your local Dollar Tree store is free.  Dollar Tree often runs shipping deals, like currently shipping via UPS is just $1.00 (valid through 02/28/2019 at 12:50am ET).  Final disclosure:  links in this post to Dollar Tree are affiliate links-meaning Sarah makes a small commission when an order is placed thru one of them.

I definitely plan on ordering more plush animals from Dollar Tree for filling our future Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.