Operation Shoebox

Two years ago (I think), I purchased items for a Operation Christmas Child Shoebox.  Last  year we didn't do it so this year I remembered early and talked with Stella. I told her what we were going to do and why and then asked her if she wanted to pick out stuff for a girl or a boy. She said she wanted to one for both. 

After school one day we went to The Dollar Tree and picked out 1.4 million items for our girl and boy. Seriously, I spent the most money I've ever spent at The Dollar Tree-$75 and some change. I originally thought "My Lord, that means I had 75 items. How is this even possible?!" But then I got home and looked at the receipt. It was $71 and then with tax it equalled the $75. But then I started weeding through things and realized about 20-25 of those items weren't for the shoebox, they were for the house or personal items. In the end, each shoebox got between 20-25 items and it was slam full. I mean, I could barely squeeze a Q-tip in after we packed them full.  The best part? Stella was super excited to help pick out stuff for each girl and boy and she never once asked for a single item for herself. When we got home she was tired and took a nap. I got a little emotional looking through everything and thinking about how selflessly she selected each item and the thought she put into selecting each item. She picked out stuff she liked and knew that someone else would like it too. I couldn't ask for more.

Girl on the left, boy on the right.

Girl

6 pencils

3 pens

4 erasers-farm animal themed

Fish Pencil sharpener

Notepad

Beach ball

Paddleboard

3-D train puzzle

Hairbrush

Ponytails

Headband

Hello Kitty toothbrush

Toothpaste

Flossers 

Mermaid doll

Purple water bottle

Elsa washcloth

Finding Dory tissues

Pink Flashlight with 4 batteries

Orange Harmonica

Purple Jump rope

Orange Yo-yo

Sun catcher paint set-fox

Elsa puzzle

Pink drawstring bag

Boy:

6 pencils

3 pens

4 erasers-took themed

Fish Pencil sharpener

Notepad

Beach ball

Paddleboard

3-D dump truck puzzle

Small 4-wheeler

Spiderman Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Flossers
6 pack of combs

Green water bottle

Spiderman washcloth

Finding Dory tissues

Red Flashlight with 4 batteries

Green Harmonica

Green Jump rope

Green Yo-yo

Sun catcher paint set-fish

The Lion Guard puzzle

Green drawstring bag

We dropped off our shoeboxes yesterday at Smyrna FUMC. 

The lady accepting them thanked Stella and explained that because of her, a little girl and boy would be getting gifts for Christmas. She gave Stella a sticker that read "I packed a shoebox" and then gave her a bag of a candy/cereal mix. I think its called Muddy Buddies or White Trash, Puppy Chow, they have different names but it's cereal, red & green M&M's, powdered sugar, and peanut butter. She loved it.

As I said above, Stella really enjoyed this and gave so selflessly. I look forward to doing this again year after year with her. 'Tis the season!