With the holidays coming up, I'd like to tell you about Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child is an organization that my family has donated to for several years through our church.

It's easy to help! All you have to do is fill a shoe box with little toys and treats. When packing your box, you choose whether you want to pack for a boy or girl – and the age range of the child.

As you can see to the left, here is the box I made. Our church is collecting boxes through Nov.14th, so I picked up some dollar items at Target to fill the boxes. They also need health and beauty items. A good place to look is the travel section for the trial-size items.

I am going to be making 6 boxes for girls and 6 boxes for boys! My son Cam helps me too, pick out items for the boxes and package them. He's helped me since he was really little with this project!

Here is a great list of what to include:

Hard candy, gum
Pencils, colored pencils, and sharpener
Erasers
Pencil case
Crayons
Pens
A personal letter and photo
About Me page
Ruler
Glue stick
Safety scissors
Coloring book
Markers
Notepads
Stickers
Self-inking stamp
Tennis shoes
Socks
Water shoes
Flip flops
Hand held toys
Plush small animals
Balls: Tennis balls, bouncy balls, Wiffle balls
Jigsaw puzzle
Finger puppets
Silly Putty
Silly Bands
Sunglasses
Scarves
Bandanas
Gloves
Small flannel throw (Roll it up! It will fit!)
Necklace
Watch
Hat
Shoelaces
Bean bag
Hacky sack
Small dry erase board and markers
Teddy bear
Unopened Happy Meal toy
Toy binoculars
Inflatable balls
Legos
Solar-powered flashlight
Harmonicas
Recorder
Tambourine
Jump rope
Paddle ball
Yo yo’s
Handheld Etch A Sketch
Small board books
Slinky
Flash cards
Miniature checkerboard and checkers
T-shirts
Plastic poncho in packet
Drawstring bag
Balloons
Crafting kit (beads, etc)
Toy toolkit set (Thanks, Jenia!)
Plastic eating utensils
Sippy cup/cup with a lid

Health and Beauty Items:

Comb
Brush
Dental floss
Mild soap (Please put in plastic bag or travel container.)
Toothpaste (This too! Be sure it’s in a plastic bag.)
Toothbrush
Colorful bandages
Hand wipes
Small pack colorful tissues
Lip balm
Emery board/nail clippers

Operation Christmas Child Ideas for Girls

Package of multi-colored Sharpies
Travel sewing kit (10-14 girl)
Fat Quarter bundles (10-14 girl)
Hair ribbons
Ponytail holders
Barrettes
Small pots/pans with spatula
Bangle bracelets
Clip-on earrings
Doll
Pom poms
Purse
Hand mirror (unbreakable)

Operation Christmas Child Box Ideas for Boys

Ball cap
Soccer ball with pump
Cars
Trucks
Kazoos
Compass
Screwdriver (10-14 boy, must be in original packaging)
Screws (10-14 boy, must be in original packaging + zipper bag)
LED keychain (10-14 boy)
Duct tape (10-14 boy)
Tape measure (10-14 boy)

===

Here it is in printable form, so you can print off and take to the store!

Also, you'll want to print this letter to include in your boxes.

===

This holiday season build a box with your family to teach kindness, compassion, and generosity.

Operation Christmas Child and influencer marketing platform BlogFrog have teamed up with 200 bloggers like me to spread the word about this great cause.

BlogFrog will match the first 200 boxes that are built. Pledge your commitment below to build a box today on Facebook or Twitter!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Operation Christmas Child. The opinions and text are all mine.