This year, I am the Operation Christmas Child coordinator for my church. Essentially, it's my job to make announcements, answer questions, and get all the church's shoeboxes to the local collection site. How they're all going to fit in my adorable, but small car, I've no idea yet. I normally make one box for a girl, but since I wanted to have examples in the sanctuary, I put together one for a girl and a boy. And I had a blast shopping for the stuff.
After picking up the basic hygiene items, I had more fun than I can remember while dragging that cart through the toy department of the Havelock Walmart. I strolled through the aisles and referred to my list as I ooh'd and aah'd at all the adorable stuffage. And a few times, I may have been guilty of a loud "OHMAHGOSH THAT'S SO CUTE!!!" Fortunately, the store wasn't busy at all at the time, so I got no weird looks around the corner. So after an hour of non-stop cute shopping, I checked out with $60 worth of adorableness. Here's what my girl box looks like:
Now I want to talk about a few of the things I absolutely loved!!
1. The girl's teddy bear. I almost didn't see this lonely critter hiding on the top shelf in the decidedly pink section of the department. But I knew as soon as I touched it that it would end up in my box. It was so ridiculously soft, I had to fight the urge not to massage it like a cat on a comfy blanket. Thinking back on it, I don't even think I looked at the price tag. I just threw it into the cart and went skipping down the aisle.
2. The boy's t-shirt. I did not intend to buy this at all. I was going from one department to another when I passed the little boy's clothes. And then it grabbed my attention - a Buzz Lightyear glow-in-the-dark t-shirt! Excited, I found the size I thought would best fit a boy age 5-9, and it was on clearance for $3! The lucky boy that gets the shirt is gonna be so thrilled when he wears his shirt to bed the night after opening his box and sees the glowing silhouettes of Buzz's ninja-like moves.
3. Coloring books!!! What kid doesn't like to color, right? Heck, I'm almost 22 and I still like to color on occasion! I got a Lisa Frank book full of cats and butterflies for the girl, and then a Disney heroes book complete with Robin Hood and Hercules for the boy. I also got 24-packs of Crayola crayons and some colored pencils in addition to sharpeners for both boxes.
4. The girl's hair accessories. It doesn't matter what country you live in, little girls love playing with hair. I don't know what kind of hair my little girl will have, but she'll have a pretty pink brush along with sparkly butterfly clips and soft hair ties accessorize with! I can just imagine her getting together with all her little girlfriends and getting all prettied up!
5. The boy's toy cars. I know nothing about cars, but I picked up two little Matchbox ones. One is yellow and looks like an old Camaro, and the other is a sleek blue Porche-looking thing. Again, I know nothing about cars, so I may be totally off. But anyways, they look awesome and I'm sure he'll have them speeding down the walkway within an hour of receiving his box. Although I hope his neighbor didn't get a police car in his box, or he could have some unwanted citations...
I got so many other cutesy things like a tiny plush elephant and a sketchbook for the girl, and a ball for the boy. I'm so super excited for the kids who get my boxes! While I may not know the recipients of my boxes, I will be using a new feature that allows to find out where my boxes end up, and I'm so looking forward to that!
Much more important than the tradition of Christmas gift-giving is the meaning behind Christmas itself. God sent Jesus to earth so that He could take our punishment, giving us a way to have a real relationship with the God who made us and loves us dearly. And that's why Samaritan's Purse and I do this. The gifts are awesome and put big smiles on these kid's faces, but while volunteers are handing out the boxes, they're telling these children about God. These shoeboxes can make kid's day, week, or month, but what they could hear from God through this program could change their lives. And I hope and pray that it does!
Yay!!! I really want to do this this year... me and my sister have done it a few times and its always a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteBTW... I used to be absolutely obsessed with Lisa Frank when I was little. When I saw the coloring book in the picture I got all excited, so I can't say I've completely grown out of that obsession!
I always loved those too!!! I nearly bought myself one while I was purchasing all this. And I may still pick one up later!
ReplyDeleteWe bought similar hair clips too! I love to color!!! =p Stopping by from the OCC link up.
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