Operation Christmas Child boxes

[vonfirmath]

I want to be ready for this Christmas, so I'm starting to shop the sales now. I have a goal of filling 5 boxes for children ages 2-4.

The problem I am having: Is finding fun things (preferably stuff that is NOT electronic) that fit in a shoebox! SO many toys for this age seem to be LARGE.

Ideas?

[ourbabygirl]

books
Play doh & little accessories to go with it
maybe play jewelry for the girls?
balls- bouncy, whatever
small puzzle(s)
dolls/ stuffed animals
little animal figures (like animals in a toob from Michael's)
musical instruments like egg shakers, etc.
little snacks

[bubbaray]

We do very basic boxes -- we do them through our church and also our daycare. For daycare, we just buy a set number of a particular item (ie., I bought 6 sets of pencils/erasers/sharpeners b/c they were doing 6 boxes).

For the church boxes (which we do ourselves), we do pencils/erasers/sharpeners; crayons; paper; toothbrush; hair brush;hair comb; hair elastics & barettes, etc. I try to include a small toy -- ball, jump rope, etc.

I think the first year, we included soap and lipbalm, but I think they asked that those things NOT be included anymore.

IIRC, they have a website with suggested items. Also, don't forget money for postage.

ETA: Here is the list we use: http://www.samaritanspurse.ca/occ/PackaBox.aspx

Boy or Girl?

Determine whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl, and the child’s age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14.

http://www.samaritanspurse.ca/images/occ/contentimages/Other-Gifts_web.jpg Fill your shoe box

Fill your shoe box with a well-balanced variety of items from the following categories:

School Supplies - Items such as pencils, pens, pencil crayons, note pads, and picture books
Toys & Other Gifts - Items such as stuffed animals, small musical instruments, hair clips, toy jewelry, t-shirts, socks, and candy (loose, individually wrapped hard candy in a sealable bag)
Hygiene Items - Please place soap in a sealable bag
Personal Note - Include a personal note and/or a photo in your shoe box (not inside the donation envelope)
DO NOT INCLUDE:

Toothpaste (due to customs regulations)
Food and any chewy, crumbly, or soft candy: Including gum (due to customs regulations)
Used items (due to customs regulations)
Playing cards
Liquids or items that could leak, melt, freeze, or break – Shampoo, creams, lip balm, bath gels, mirrors, or glass, etc. (these can damage other items in the shoe box).
Items that can scare or harm a child – War-related toys, knives, and toy guns, etc.

[gatorsmom]

I want to be ready for this Christmas, so I'm starting to shop the sales now. I have a goal of filling 5 boxes for children ages 2-4.

The problem I am having: Is finding fun things (preferably stuff that is NOT electronic) that fit in a shoebox! SO many toys for this age seem to be LARGE.

Ideas?

ugh, that's tough because small things are choking hazards for that age range. Ok, I'm thinking of the things Greenbean and Sisi like and they are about 27 months...


Zhu Zhu pets (they've come down in price considerably)
Thomas the Tank Engine metal toy trains (they had some at Target for about $6 or $7 that lit up and spoke. They were the same size as the Take Along Thomas trains and actually fit on the same tracks
Toys for the bathtub or for outside like small shovel and pail, squirt guns, animal, squeezable water squirters
Duplos or Large Legos
Smaller wooden puzzles (I've been told Melissa and Doug make them, tho I've never seen them
Stuffed toy animals. I really liked the animals last year that folded over and strapped into place. They looked like a pillow with an animal head that pj's could be stuffed into. The reason I loved them is because a friend who worked at the Red Cross said they gave out pillow ponies in care packages for the kids in disaster areas. The pillow ponies could be played with or slept on if no pillow was available. Ok, I'm rambling but everytime I see a stuffed toy that could be used as a pillow too, I think of the pillow ponies.
Pretend food and pretend serving utensils
Playclothes, silly hats, etc.

[ett]

small magnadoodles
stickers
matchbox cars

[hellokitty]

When I did this back in college, happy meal toys were a big hit for this. One of my nursing professors would gather up all of her kids' happy meal toys and then we would disperse it among all of the boxes.

[Corie]

My church in Texas always liked unopened kids' meal toys.

[Melaine]

I love the idea of magnadoodles. The other LOVED toy lately is the Oball and I'm thinking you could stuff something else inside, like a pair of socks maybe?

[vonfirmath]

Thank you Thank you! Especially you gatorsmom. You made me think of things I had forgotten!

The problem, for me, with Happy Meal Toys -- those are cheap disposable stuff. I really am aiming to make some shoeboxes that I would be happy for my own son to receive. (making sure to include basics like socks, toothbrushes, and such). Especially because this is the only box these kids will ever receive, likely. I don't want to pack stuff that break after a couple of times playing with it! My problem with Operation Christian Child at our collection point this year is that the stuff people sent seemed like junk -- and they were filling so many boxes that they just were NOT stuffed full the way that they always seem to be in the videos, etc. So I want to do my own this year and not just take a dozen *somethings* to the collection point to be distributed.

[JBaxter]

I never put anything that needs batteries in the box ( I usually do about 6 every year)

FYI they are always short on boy 10-14 age boxes because everyone wants to do toddler or girls
So I do
inexpensive crank flash lights
baseball or knit cap
tooth brush & comb
t-shirt ( I think I got a bunch for 1.24 on a sale rack at target)
pencils
solar calculator
mini lego/ magentic set

or some variation

[egoldber]

FYI they are always short on boy 10-14 age boxes because everyone wants to do toddler or girls

:yeahthat:

Our Girl Scout troop does these. We ALWAYS need stuff for older boys.

[aa2mama]

I never put anything that needs batteries in the box ( I usually do about 6 every year)

FYI they are always short on boy 10-14 age boxes because everyone wants to do toddler or girls
So I do
inexpensive crank flash lights
baseball or knit cap
tooth brush & comb
t-shirt ( I think I got a bunch for 1.24 on a sale rack at target)
pencils
solar calculator
mini lego/ magentic set

or some variation

Thanks for the suggestions! In past years I have considered doing boxes for older kids but wasn't really sure what to put in them since my kids aren't to that age yet.

[vonfirmath]

Any thoughts about putting picture books with English text into the boxes?

[ett]

Any thoughts about putting picture books with English text into the boxes?

I would do a wordless book instead.

[JBaxter]

small kalidascopes, bounceable balls, socks, flip flops wallet/coin purse, jacks, magnify glass markers rulers chalk magnets ( sets), slinky, marbles