Se7en Do Christmas: Step 1 – Operation Christmas Box…

We blogged about Operation Christmas Box last year, and here I am sharing the details again. It is the very first event on our list of Christmas things to do. Just by placing this project first on our list is an indicator to our kids of how important it is to serve others. We have been doing this for a couple of years and it hasn’t yet become my job and neither is it yet another thing on my list of things to do. It is my kids project, I am there to enable them – not do it for them.

In the spirit of giving and sharing this is a great project that takes the focus off buying presents for friends and family who already have more than enough “stuff,” not to mention extending our wish lists and helps us to keep in mind those who really have nothing and yet need so much. I like this project, my kids spend a lot of energy on it and we gather up school stationary and little gifts throughout the year. It is not unheard of when out shopping to hear: “Can I get this for my Christmas Box?” And when it’s a bargain the answer is a resounding “yes!” We know it is coming it isn’t a sudden financial killer at the end of the year – a shoebox of goodies can add up quickly!

Here is the What, Why, When, Who and How for the project:

• What: Pack a shoebox with goodies: stationary, small toys, small books, little treats – ready to donate to a child who will be getting very little else for Christmas.
• Why: To serve folk in our local community who have so much less than we do, it is never hard to find poverty when you are living in Africa, and often because we are living in suburbia it is so easy to be blind to it, well here is a tangible way to provide a little bit of Christmas relief to a child who would otherwise get nothing.
• When: The closing date for local boxes is 20 November 2011 – they have to be in before our local schools close for the holidays.
• Who: Click through to this years information sheet for details and ideas for filling your box. And contact details and where to hand in your filled boxes.
• How: Grab a shoe box, cover it in Christmas gift wrap and pack it with goodies appropriate for a child in an age group you have selected off the information sheet. Print out the information sheet and attach it to your box and send it off.

At this stage it really is a quick job to put together shoeboxes. We decorate the boxes one day gather our goodies and pack them the next and deliver them the next. I do check them over at the last minute just in case a little private project has snuck in. We get those: “one man’s treasure is another man’s ….” Yup, little stones from the garden wrapped in scrap paper, carefully saved half packet of sweeties. So really my only part in the project is a discerning eye and delivery.

I challenge you to make a shoebox with your kids. If you cannot find a local Operation Christmas Child you will surely be able to find children less fortunate than your own. Donate to them. Make a shoebox with your kids, do it with a group of families and help to nurture a giving spirit.

This information is local for Capetonians who are interested in the project, if you would like more information then feel free contact niki (082 555 2556) If you live anywhere else in the world then follow the links in this post or Google “Operation Christmas Child” and see what you have in your area.

All the best, let me know how your shoe boxing goes…