Learning To Serve: Operation Christmas Child

This year, LittleBear put together his first box for Operation Christmas Child and boy, did we have a good time.  We will definitely be making this an annual tradition!  We watched a few videos of kids opening their boxes from previous years and then talked about how this would be the only Christmas presents this little boy who receives our box would have. 

LittleBear seemed game for it, so we headed off to a couple stores shopping for a little boy ages 2-4.  He really enjoyed it and insisted on carrying the basket through the store, even once it was full.  He picked out a lot of his favorites: a bag of dum dum lollipops, a small basketball, a magna-doodle, an ambulance, and an adorable stuffed monkey with really long legs and arms with hands that velcro together.

Here is a list of what we included in our shoe box:
- our letter/coloring page with picture of LittleBear
- sheet of shiny transportation themed stickers
- coloring book of favorite Bible stories
- 24 pack of Crayola crayons
- comb
- toothbrush
- toothpaste
- soap in a plastic travel soap container
- ladybug wash mitt (I tried to heavily suggest he get the frog instead of the ladybug, but there was no changing his mind...ladybug it is)
- basketball
- magna doodle
- wooden ambulance
- wooden ice cream truck
- 4 pack of simple jigsaw puzzles (3 pc, 4 pc, 5 pc and 6 pc)
- stuffed monkey
- six punch balloons
- two of those rolled up party favors that you blow open (not explaining that well at all)
- one bag of dum dum lollipops
- plastic slinky
- strawberry that folds out into a large nylon tote bag (in case the shoe box doesn't last long)

I am told each child also receives a Bible in their own language.   We bought a plastic shoe box from the Dollar Store thinking it would last longer for the recipient than a regular shoe box, but there was no way once it was packed so we resorted to a regular shoe box instead (Yes, I own a pair of purple bowling sneakers).  Next year I think we'll just go with the boxes that Operation Christmas Child provides.

I wish I had taken a picture of the box all packed!  There was no way we could have fit one more thing in there :)  Hopefully our little boy will like everything we picked out.  Next year, I think we'll also do a box for a 10-14 year old boy as I've heard there aren't usually enough of those to go around and I saw a ton of things this year that I think would have been good for a 10-14 yr old boy.

We finally got our box all packed (minus a horse and a cow that wouldn't fit) and stopped off at Chick-Fil-A this afternoon to turn in our box.  LittleBear was so proud.  They gave him a sticker and a coupon for a free chicken sandwich!  One of the ladies at the drop-off said that most of the boxes they pick up at this location end up in Central America, but we'll find out what country it goes to when it gets there.  LittleBear and Mommy are both excited to find out where it goes!