Shoebox Time Again

It's that time of year when Operation Christmas Child has come around again.  I wasn't going to get involved this year, as a couple of years ago, when I paid online in order to trace my box, they told me that they couldn't tell me where it went, which I found very disappointing and which put me off sending another one.

Anyway, after watching a few videos on YouTube about them and having a rethink, I decided to send one again. It doesn't really matter where it goes, but it is good to hear that someone somewhere has received it.

Before heading out and spending money on lots of stuff, I decided to shop our house for new things that hadn't been used that I could send off. We all have so much stuff these days, that there's always brand new things kicking around that have never been used for one reason. We really are much more fortunate than we realise.

Watching some of the videos, it seemed that many children cannot go to school unless they have the necessary stationery available to them, which is absolutely ludicrous. We buy such things so cheaply here from pound shops and other places and often keep stockpiles of it just waiting to be used in our homes.

After having a conversation with a volunteer at work, whose family lives in a war torn country, she told me that even simple ballpoint pens cost the earth when little reaches their country. Having difficulty affording something so small, that we take for granted everyday, must make it difficult to even write a list/letter or fill out a form.

With all this in mind, I decided to create a box for a 10-14 year old girl, as this was the closest age to LB and I was led to believe from the videos, that fewer boxes get sent for the older children.  On scouring the house, I actually found quite a lot that was suitable to send.  Here's a list and a photo.

1 - A bar of soap - it has to be individually wrapped.
2 - A pink poncho.
3 - A small sewing kit and fabric to make a small bag. I think this came with a magazine or book and I added a few extras to it from my sewing room.
4 - A small pack of coloured paper straws.
5 - A pretty pair of ankle socks with a sparkly bow - I'd bought these as an Xmas gift for someone else, but decided they could be spared.
6 - One small tin of unused  hair ties.
7 - One new pink scrunchie.
8 - A pack of Trump like playing cards - Normal playing cards are not allowed.
9 - A pair of black leather ballet shoes - I bought these for me, but to be honest they were a little small and I can't honestly see myself donning leotard and tights until I lose a couple of stone. Besides, what if they could inspire a girl somewhere to dance or even to wear them as slippers.
10 - Three small unused wooden stamps with a new sealed ink pad.
11 - Two small notebooks, one lined, one plain paper.
12 - Four new pencils, two with erasers on the end.
13 - Eight pretty note cards with envelopes.
14 - One roll of unused washi tape.
15 - One small pot of stick on jewels and googly eyes for crafts.
16 - One small origami set.
17 - Three pretty bulldog clips.

Crazy isn't it, how much you can find, if you actually bother to shop your own home first.

I added quite a few more items, mostly bought from Home Bargains, to make the box a little more appealing, such as a pencil case, water bottle, pens, ruler, pencil sharpener, large notebook, glue stick, sweets, a ball, soft toy, hair band, necklace, harmonica and a cute fluffy face mask amongst others. A couple of these things were bought new from the CS.

It's amazing just how much you can get in a shoe box. It kind of reminded me of a scaled up version of competitions we used to have at school, to see how many things we could fit into a matchbox.  I loved doing this when I was a child.

Hopefully, the recipient will enjoy the contents of this box. I wrapped up the box in Christmas paper, popped in a hand written card, said a little prayer and then took it to a local drop off point and sent it on it's way.