2008 Christmas Shoeboxes

piratess

If i do the box for romania do they need to be family orientated or do i do them for a child ? The leaflet i had was for "love in a box" which after googling is samaritans purse (i think) so not doing it! ..

I want to do the one for romania ... but not sure on how to theme the boxes the website just gives ideas on what to fill them with but then on another page it says they are for a family!? ..

Any ideas?? i dont want to get it wrong and leave anyone out

Siren137

I will definitely be doing this for our troops who won't be home for Christmas. My OH has just left the Army and he would have been out in Afghan last Christmas if not for him then having to stay for personal reasons. I don't know how I would have coped knowing he was out there and I really feel for those who are out there instead of at home with their family.
Even if you can't make up a box for £5 they will make one up and you get a lot put in there for that fiver. Thankfully (what with living in an area heavy with forces) there is a pick up area near here so I will show the OH the site tonight and get the ball rolling.

logan

how would i go about enrolling the school into doing this?

ive read up on google and dont want any other information on Operation Christmas Child (no offence meant) or the Samaritans Purse
Any help would be greatfully recieved

spendingmad

Tesco do small soft dolls for £2 - would make a lovely 'main' filler in a box - my little girl loves hers so one is going into some of my boxes.

emg

ashli wrote: »

PLEASE do not donate to Operation Christmas Child without looking into the origin of the scheme, Samaritan's Purse are a hardline evangelical Christian fundamental group who use your donations to try to convert vunerable children. Their leader, Franklin Graham, is openly bigotted and preaches hate.


Not at all in the spirit of Christmas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Graham

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Samaritan's_Purse

Thanks for these links, does anyone know whether there are any other box schemes that are not linked to a religious organisation?

Thanks also to the person who gave info on the boxes for our troops. To be away from my family at xmas would be a huge sacrifice, to be away somewhere so dangerous is unthinkable. There's a collection point near me so I will definitely be contributing.

savingholmes

I'm afraid I find some of these posts offensive. Operation Christmas Child and Samaritans post do a great job... We will be doing some boxes...

pennyfrog

Many of these organisations are Christian, so of course there will be a Christian bias. We have always supported Operation Christian Child, via our church and will continue to do so.
I fully appreciate that not everyone is comfortable with that, though- and I know there are several secular organisations. I'll have a scout round and see what I can track down.
Meantime, I wonder if something like this may be worth thinking about? It's not exactly the same as the shoebox idea- but a great chance to give to a child who really deserves something good coming their way. There's no mention that I can see of a specific Christmas scheme here- but you can send a gift to a specific child- and I don't see why it can't be a Christmas present. The children on this site are in the UK.
Just a thought, anyhow.

http://www.postpals.co.uk/

Glpark01

we're doing one bay and one girl for occ, i don't care if they talk about god etc maybe these kids need something to believe in and if we can make 2 children happy on xmas day then i don't care, if everyone boycotted them then these children would get nothing.

Lizbeth

I'm putting together some family shoeboxes for http://www.linkromania.co.uk - the deadline for getting them to an area collector is 7 November. Unfortunately I haven't been hunting around throughout the year, but this is what I've found this week - hope it give someone ideas for what to get and where to look...

Asda
- 40 plasters - 47p
- Pencil case - 31p
- Hardback notebook - 50p
- Slide puzzle - 16p (£1.25 for 8)
- Princess stickers - 31p (£1.25 for 4)

Tesco
- Bouncy balls - 13p (50p for 4)
- Jelly beans - 33p (£1 for 3)

Wilkinsons
- Hair brush - 49p
- Comb - 29p
- Toothpaste - 21p
- Flannel - 19p (95p for 5)
- Soap - 15p
- Scissors - 27p (80p for 3)
- 4 pencils - 10p (26p for 10)
- 5 coloured pencils - 15p
- 6 felt tips - 15p
- Wooden sharpener - 30p
- Noisemaker instruments - 34p (£2.75 for 8 sets)
- Girls’ jewellery - 35p (£2.79 for 8 sets)
- 4 jumping frogs - 10p (99p for 40)
- Spinner - 7p (79p for 12)
- Caterpillar balloons - 9p (89p for 10)
- Foil star stickers - 8p (39p for 5 sheets)
- Heart stickers - 8p (39p for 5 sheets)

Woolworths
- Women’s scarf - 99p
- Men’s hat - 50p
- 24 coloured pencils - 75p

Pound World
- 2 toothbrushes - 33p (£1 for 6)

Poundland
- Sewing kit - £1 (Link Romania has said this is fine as long as it's safe for a child when opening)
- Tennis ball - 25p (£1 for 4)
- Magnetic travel snakes & ladders - £1
- Three juggling balls - £1
- Rubix cube - £1

99p Stores
- 2in1 shampoo/conditioner (under 200ml) - 33p (99p for 3)
- 10 disposable razors - 33p (99p for 30)
- Kids' magic gloves - 33p (99p for 3)
- Exercise book - 8p (99p for 12)
- String - 25p (99p for 4)
- 20 bobbles - 11p (99p for 180)
- Eraser - 8p (99p for 12)
- Wooden animal dominoes - 99p

Au Natural
- 3 small cars - 29p (£3.99 for 42)

Home Bargains
- Playing cards - 19p

https://www.bakerross.co.uk
- 4-in-a-row game - 95p (£5.70 for 6)
- Mini biff bats - 40p (£4.80 for 12)
- Magic slates - 30p (£3.60 for 12)
- Memo pads - 30p (£3.60 for 12)
- Glider plane - 28p (£3.36 for 12)
- Snake wriggler - 40p (£3.20 for 8)

I also had promotional pens, balloons and unused women’s jewellery lying around at home and will be printing off colouring sheets from the internet.

Remember to wrap any liquids so that if they leak they won't spoil the other items. Socks/tights and drawstring PE bags would also be good to include. I've tried to put some items in jewellery bags/tins so these can also be reused.

Has anyone seen any small soft toys for under £1?

Angie100

i've got a few stationary bits for my mum to do some boxes. They are either for Romania or Africa, not sure now! We were told not to put felt pens, biros in the boxes in case they leak. I managed to get some stationary items in the sale at Asda recently- notepads, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, stickers. We were told that in Africa the children are not allowed to go to school if they don't have the basics.