Operation Christmas Child

One of the things we have done for the past couple years is fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. This year, again, we are, only this year Eliana has much more of a say in the matter. She has suggestions for what to put in the box, as well as an opinion on the gender of the child. (girl, ages 5-9) She wants to give it to someone she knows, but we have been talking about the kids around the world who do not get gifts every year like she and her friends do, and how they would really appreciate someone caring enough to send them something.

I keep a stash of gifts on hand so that I am not stressed when a birthday party comes up, so the first thing we did was raid the stash for things the little girl might like. So far she has...

* a hello kitty tote bag

* 2 washcloths

* a bouncy ball

* a squiggly straw

* Elmo "Go Fish" game

* Sunglasses

* Small kite

* Pink and purple rubber ducky

* Stencils

* Dental Floss

* Toothbrush (I keep those on hand for guests)

* Notepads

* Princess stickers

* Mints

Then Eliana and I went through and made a shopping list of things she thought the girl would like to have in her box. So far the list includes:

* Pencils

* Sharpener

* Crayons

* Stamps and Ink Pad

* Coloring book

* Picture book

* Dolls

* Stuffed animals

* Slinky

* Toothpaste

* Soap

* Comb / brush

* Play jewelry

* Hair clips

* Shirt

* Skirt

* Socks

I am not sure that we'll be able to get all those things, or fit all those things in the box, but it is nice to get Eliana to start thinking about what other people would like. Sometime later this week (probably Wednesday after gymnastics) we will head to Target and see what we can find to finish filling the shoebox.

Eliana also wants to make a Christmas card for the little girl, and I think that's a great idea! Perhaps we'll include a picture of Eliana so the little girl knows who it came from.

We are also going to take advantage of the EZGive online donation this year, including the shoebox tracker! So this year we actually get to know where our shoebox is going and can track it online. I am excited about that!