Operation Christmas Child

Last Saturday, one of my Girl Scout Leader friends invited my Girl Scout Brownie troop to help pack shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  In the end, only my 7 year old daughter and I went, but boy was it an amazing experience.  The woman who hosts the packing at her home has been doing this for about 10 years now and her organization level is amazing!

When we arrived, we were given the packing tour and then got to select a wrapped shoe box from a growing pile, thanks to some wonderful wrappers stationed at the dining room table.

• #1 priority was hygiene products - a toothbrush, toothpaste, a bar of soap and a washcloth, and a hairbrush or comb.  There was also deodorant, small packs of Kleenex, and dental floss depending on the child's age you'd chosen.
  

•  #2 priority was a stuffed animal.  Every box gets one and my 7 year old had a blast choosing just the right one for each of her boxes.

• #3 priority was a double wrapped bag of hard candy.

After that, it was up to us to fill the box with presents and goodies - school supplies like pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, ruler, notepad, stapler, tape, etc.  Then age appropriate gifts like Poly Pockets, a Slinky, wind up toys, a book, mini board games, socks, a shirt, stickers, crayons or pens, etc.

It was truly amazing how many things we could pack into a shoe box and it was wonderful to see my 7 year old say, "Just one more item, Mommy, please, we can make it fit." or "Can we pack one more shoe box?  I have this one here and we can leave yet until it's filled, please?"

We wound up staying an extra hour as it was so fulfilling and we lost track of the time.  We're already on board for next year and I hope to get more people involved.

My 10 year old couldn't attend the event as her Girl Scout Junior troop was camping for the weekend.  However, she was sad to miss out so I saved her an OCC flat box (what an awesome idea they have!) from a bunch that I'd been given at the Family Christian Store, and she spent Sunday afternoon packing it up with items we'd purchased.  She also filled out a "sender's questionnaire" filled with questions to answer about her and her family.  She's hoping to get a response from the recipient and maybe even start a pen pal friendship.  I'm so very proud of her - and her sister too!