As promised, this week I want to share some ideas of things I collected throughout the year to put in my Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.
Today, we tackle the 10-14 year old boy box. I have no idea which group gets the least number of boxes, but I would assume this one might come close. So, this year I tried to do a little more thinking of boy gifts and came up with some cool stuff.
I’ll share the items I found and what my deals were involved with each one!
Ideas in the 10-14 year old BOY box:
- 1 subject spiral notebooks – bought at back to school time for $.25 each
- T-shirts – cleaned out some of my KCD supplies this summer and had a tub of shirts with tags still on them. Each boy got a new AR Razorbacks tshirt – free to me because I bought them 5 years ago. But, even when I purchased them they were $3 at Walgreens at an end of season sale
- Christmas ties – bought at 50% or 75% off at my local Dollar tree last year. $.50 each
- Paddle ball toys – $.48 – bought after Christmas at Walmart in the stocking stuffers section
- Mardi gras necklaces x2 – bright colors. Bought 2 for $.50 after new years sale at my local Dollar Tree
- Bar of soap – purchased 3 for $1 at the Dollar tree – put bar of soap in a snack size bag, this keeps everything in the box from being covered with soap
- 1 wash rag – purchased 3 for $1 at Dollar Tree or 18 for $2.47 at Walmart – they love colors if you can find them. This is useful in many ways for them.
- small box each of stickers, tattoos, and box of mini puzzle – 18 mini boxes $1.97 – 50% off after Christmas
- 1 pen – part of a 10 pk for less than $1 at back to school
- 2 pencils – every holiday you can find 10-12 pk at Walmart for $.97 (and half off) or Dollar Tree and Target similar pricing
- Mini notepads – part of Christmas stocking half off – I think 8-10 for ½ off $.97 or $1.97
- Buttons – found a great deal one day on my Walmart Clearance aisle – cards of buttons for $.25 all mixed colors
- Applique iron on letters – $.02 Walmart clearance aisle
- Glue sticks – $.25 each back to school sale
- Binder clips – came in my stocking that my mom got as teacher appreciation from Staples
- Puffy motivation stickers – $.10 for 2 sheets (reg $2.99 for 2 sheets) at the Dayspring Outlet store in Siloam Springs
That’s what I included this year. What did I miss? What other things could I keep my eye out for next year?
My Suggestions and General Rules for packing an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox
- keep it basic – your items don’t have to be extravagant
- try to find things $1 or less
- think about the kids receiving these – ethnic colored dolls might be appreciated and books in English may not be read
- anything is usable – the box is a gift, a cup is a gift, they may have never had a doll or a ball of their own
- give them new things, this is a gift
- cover all the categories – hygiene, school supplies, toys, clothing/accessories
- follow the “things to avoid” list
- always include a “wow” item
- include a personal note, make it special your words will mean so much
If you have not seen some of my other tips for packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, you might check out these posts.
- Why do I support Operation Christmas Child?
- General Tips for Packing an OCC Shoebox
- Shoebox Packing Items for a 5-9-year-old GIRL
- Shoebox Packing Items for a 10-14-year-old BOY
- Shoebox Packing Items for a 10-14-year-old GIRL
- Setting up and Hosting an OCC packing party
- How small businesses can participate in OCC
