When is Operation Christmas Child National Collection week? This year, the dates are November 18 – 25, 2013. That’s plenty of time to get your box together before it’s time to take it to a collection site so it will be on its way to making a difference in a child’s life. Here are my top two tips for your Operation Christmas Child gift:
- The number one tip that I can offer you is to get a plastic shoe box with a lid. These are readily available for around $1 each at places like The Dollar Tree, Dollar General Store, and even Lowe’s (where they are usually sold in sets of around 8-10, still just around $1 each and sometimes less). In many countries, the children are just as delighted with the plastic, lidded box as the toys inside because it gives them something to carry water in.
- The next best tip I have is this: If you are going to put a pair of shoes in the box, flip flops are great, but if you possibly can, try to get a studier pair of shoes, like crocs (or a similar type of shoe). You can probably find these on sale right now. They are just a little sturdier and will last the child longer, plus they will remain in good enough shape to be passed down to a sibling.
Don’t forget to include a letter with your box! After experiencing the ministry firsthand, there are a lot of things that will make Operation Christmas Child different for me this year. After my trip to Ecuador, I realize even more how important that personal letter is to the children and their families.
Learn more about what Operation Christmas Child is HERE. You might also like these posts about OCC:
I have always used plastic boxes for the very reasons you stated and still love them, but after working a couple of years at a processing center – have found there is a huge difference in how many plastic boxes vs go boxes can fit in a big packing box to be shipped (12 vs 18 or so) – so I am back to go boxes, because more can be shipped. They pay by the shipping container. I want to serve as many kids as possible. Also we often see plastic shoeboxes broken before they get to the processing center – even before shipping overseas. But every box is a blessing. Love the crocs idea
when is collection date for 2014 and how much is needed for shipping each box