Boy, 10-14.

We have the least amount of 10-14 year old boy boxes. Cause they are harder to pack. But, heres what Ive put in a box for that age group!

What on earth do you pack for a 10-14 year old boy!?
-A watch, with battery
-A toothbrush, 2 things of smaller toothpaste
-A flashlight with 4 extra batteries
-A pack of glow-stick bracelets
-A Waterbottle with hard candy in it (the candy still needs to be put in a zip bag...whoops)
-A washcloth and bar of soap
-Pencils and pencil sharpener
-A 50 piece puzzle
-Balloons
-A pair of sunglasses (from the dollar store. Can you imagine living in africa or south america and NOT having a pair of sunglassesa? What a great idea to include these!)
-Neosporin lip balm


The box all packed up. You can kind see under the flashlight all the light blue/teal. I wrapped the sunglasses in two pieces of tissue paper. You have to remember that 90% of these boxes are going to rural areas...and after traveling by boat and or plane, they travel by tiny boats, on top of camels or elephants, or on a persons bicycle to reach these children...and Im sure many of them are dropped on the way. Thats one important thing to remember when you pack your box...make sure things fit well, and are NOT breakable. And if they are, make sure that you wrap them in tissue paper or the like to keep them from braking!

Boy, 5-9.

(Above) The box is already to be shipped off!

Okay..what does a 5-9 year old boy want in his box?
-Socks,
-Turtle stuffed animal
-Avatar action figure
-iQ "study putty" (like a silly putty)
-Soap and washclothes
-Bat of candy
-Pencils, pencil sharpener, and erasers.
-Bouncy Ball
-School Scissors
-Threads of Hope bracelet
-Balloons
-Deck of Playing cards.
-Flip Flops

Something you might notice is that this shoebox is packed in a sterlite plastic container...there are pros and cons to that fact. The pro is that the child now also has a reusable bucket...for carrying water, storing food, toys, etc. The con is that when these are packed into the larger boxes at the warehouse, they can crack, and are harder to fit...either way, it doesnt matter :)

Boy, 2-4

Here's a box that I've packed for a 2-4 year old boy.

1. The box, all packed and ready to be shipped off the the Minnesota processing center, where it will be checked, categorized, scanned, and packed into a larger box containing at least 14 boxes...then sent of to meet it's new friend :)

2. Here is the box as it appears when it will be first opened. All packed up with the CUTE stuffie on top...I love these little lizzard stuffies-the light blue ones are my favorite!

3. The contents of the box all spread out for you to see...
-A coloring book with crayons on sale, 2/$1.00, so 50 cents.
-A jar of blue playdough, 88 cents at walmart with a 50 cents off coupon: 38 cents.
-A hat and mitten set, bought each for 50 cents on target clearance
-The lizzard stuffie, dollar store
-Toothbrush (25 cents, came in pack of 4)
-Toothpaste (50 cents, came in 2 pack at dollar store)
-Bundle of q-tips
-Monster truck car toy (on sale at walmart I believe, 2/$1.00)
-Packet of tissues, 25 cents, 4/$1.00 sale at Walmart
-3-pack of socks, dollar store
-Washcloth(8 pack for $2 so 25 cents) and bar of soap-3/$1.00 at dollar store, so 33 cents)

So, there you have it-a box for a 2-4 year old boy. Every box is different-I dont think any other 2-4 year old boy box I've packed before or will pack will have the exact same things-and thats what makes the box so special!

Why We Pack Candy...

....in a SEPARATE bag.


See that blue goop? Yeah, look below. Thats a half-empty jolly rancher. That decided to melt. All over the rest of the candy in the bag.


This is why I pack all the candy in a SEALED bag. Luckily, the jolly rancher only melted on the candy, not onto the toys. Can you imagine opening the first Christmas present you've ever received in your life, only to find that the stuffed animal and the coloring book are covered in melted, sticky, goop? It'd be sad :(

So, thats why we need zip-lock bags!

(I discovered this bag of candy in a box I packed about a month ago, just opened it today to take pictures...yikes! Before I bring my boxes to church to drop-off late October/early November, I will once again go through every box to make sure they are 100% ready to meet their new friend!)

Biggest Needs

Thank you to EVERYONE who has had interest in helping me by donating supplies to pack these boxes!! It is so exciting to see how many different people are becoming involved!

Today I ordered 25 free coloring books called "You Can Be a Nurse" from the nurses hotline or something online (: Yay-free!!

Here is a list of our greatest needs right now:
-Toothpaste (sometimes you can get 2 packs at the dollar store or use coupons and get them super-cheep at walmart/target. Yesterday I got a box of full size toothpaste for 24 cents with tax!)

-Washclothes (every box we pack we include soap and washclothes...we have LOTS of soap...but only 3 washclothes left! You can get a huge pack-like 22-of these at Walmart for about 4 bucks or something crazy cheap like that!)

-Hard Candies (Gum, lollipops, etc...no chocolate, tootsie rolls or food items (ie fruit snacks, granola bars, etc.)

-Socks, ages 2-14 boys and girls

-Toothbrushes for teen boys (ie big ones-we have lots of pink and purple, nothing else)

-Filler items for boys and girls. Stuffed animals, small puzzles, small balls, dolls, card games (numbers, not letters), crayons, notebooks, floss, pencils, pencil sharpeners, markers, flashlights with extra batteries, small tools (screwdrivers, hammers, bungee ties), hair pretties...anything that your 2-14 year old boy or girl would like!

-Zip lock bags, sandwich size (to put candies in...who wants a melted candy on their notebook and hair pretties?)

Things we can't pack: Any guns (includes water guns :( but we don't know if these boxes are going to a child who lives in a war-ridden country) army toys, and chocolate, used items, any food items, used items, liquids, lotions, nail polishes, no aerosol cans, glass containers, etc. (Deoderant can be solid, toothpaste is accepted)

Here is the list on Operation Christmas Child:
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Pack_A_Shoe_Box/
Anything that is included on this list can also be included :)


Thank you again to everyone who is wanting to help-it means SO much to me to get so much support!!


(stay tuned for an update with PICTURES of all the boxes packed so far!)

Update!

Sorry to all who follow that I havent updated in so long. Going to Latvia in June, I took a small break from packing OCC boxes.

Now that I'm back at it, we are in need of A LOT! We are only 1/3 of the way to the goal of 365 boxes....which means we are way behind in packing!

How can you help?

Sponsor a Box
-Be a Half Box Sponsor: $7 will go to either shipping of one box or the purchasing of filler items for one box.
-Be a Box Sponsor: $15 sponsors one full box-it covers the shipping cost and also purchases supplies for one box.

Collect and Donate Supplies
Have your family, friend, youth group or Bible study group collect supplies! I will include a list of needed supplies at the bottom of this post. This is a great way to get involved and help those in need! I can even come to your youth group, etc. to share a little bit about Operation Christmas Child/Samaritan's Purse and why I decided to pack so many boxes!

Thank you to Kimberly T and Diana G for their donations of supplies, as well as everyone else! It couldn't be done with out your help!


Supply List
(this is the most current list we have...if something isnt on the list-feel free to ask! We can use just about anything!)

Packing Needs:
-2 Rolls Scotch Tape
-200 Large Rubberbands (large enough to wrap around the box)
-300 lunch sized zip lock bags

Filler Items:
-Full sized toothpaste
-Toothbrushes (kids and adults)
-Floss
-Chapstick/lipbalm
-Nail sets for girls
-Deoderants for boys and girls (must be a solid-no liquid or gels)
-Q tips
-Bars of soap
-Washclothes
-Socks, ages 2-18 boy and girl
-Hard Candy (lollipops/dumdums, mints, tictacs, sprees, smarties, etc.)
-Gum (any flavors!)
-Toys for children ages 2-18

• Small Puzzles
• Toy cars
• Bouncy balls
• dress up toys
• play dough
• decks of cards
• Baby dolls
• stuffed animals
  
• spinning tops
• kids purses, wallets, etc.
• hair pretties for girls
  

Other Items:
-spiral bound or smaller notebooks (no composition books-they dont fit, but the spirals curve enough)
-Pens, pencils
-Pencil shapreners
-Crayons, markers
-Coloring books
-Small blanets
-Plates, Cups, Silverware
-Small tools for teen boys
-Flashlights
-AA Batteries

Do NOT purchase:
-Toy snakes
-Army men toys, guns, airplanes, etc.
-Any liquids (deoderants, snow globes, lip gloss, nail polish, etc.)
-Any food items (crackers, fruit snacks, etc.)
-Any chocolate (hersheys, tootsie rolls, reeses, etc.)

If you are interested in donating supplies, sponsoring a box (or more!), having me share with your group about OCC, don't hesitate to contact me at: jenn_anderson@hotmail.com

Behind.

Very, very behind in packing boxes. I'm like 70 boxes behind! Yikes!
We are in SUPER NEED of bars of soap, toothpaste and socks for ages 2-14, boys and girls in order to keep packing these boxes!! We can't do it without your help!

Thank you to Thom J. for sponsoring 2 boxes:)

Deals and Steals:

-Walmart has those Miley Cyrus Max Juniors T-Shirts on clearance for $1.00!! I think I've bought about 10 or so, I just grab a few every time that I'm at Walmart!

-Walmart also has the Granimals babies/toddlers shirts on clearance, I've been buying 4T shirts there (boys and girls) for $2.00 a piece.

-The dollar store under Walmart in Delafield has AIM toothpaste for a dollar (obviously) but it comes with a free travel size, which is actually big enough to just use for a whole seperate box! So you get a 2-for-1 deal!!


If you are able to voulenteer to help fold, pack, and organize boxes one day, please let me know! Also if you are interested in donating supplies, let me know!

Thanks!!