Christmas Shoebox Appeals

1235715

Comments

  • Remember that the boxes have to be the ones where the lids are seperate and that the lid and box have to be wrapped seperately. For the customs people .... or to make it easier to put the booklets in !
  • I did four boxes last year and plan to do the same again this year. Hopefully my little boy will be able to get involved as he will be that bit older. I have loads of party prize type stuff that I have been collecting through the year and some of that will go towards the shoe boxes.

    Keep an eye on Wilkinsons - last year they reduced hat/glove/scarf sets to 50p at the end of the sale - four of them went into the shoe boxes. Plan to do older children this year as I think the little ones are much easier.
  • play2day
    play2day Posts: 409 Forumite
    Remember that the boxes have to be the ones where the lids are seperate and that the lid and box have to be wrapped seperately. For the customs people .... or to make it easier to put the booklets in !

    This is true for the operation Christmas Child boxes,
    http://www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC.asp?MPGID=1
    but for those doing family boxes to Romania the boxes are wrapped with the lids on and a customs declaration put on the outside. No religous booklets are added to the boxes.
    http://www.linkromania.co.uk/filling_a_box.htm
  • play2day
    play2day Posts: 409 Forumite
    Keep an eye on Wilkinsons - last year they reduced hat/glove/scarf sets to 50p at the end of the sale - four of them went into the shoe boxes. Plan to do older children this year as I think the little ones are much easier.

    Thanks for this BargainJunky - please let me know if you see some... I will make a special trip to town!
  • play2day
    play2day Posts: 409 Forumite
    Ikea had reels of cotton for 1p each today; I bought some for my 'family' boxes and will put a needle in each one. (They have large packs of needles at the £1 shop)
    Ikea also had soft toys at 49p each; I didn't get any as I have already bought enough in Tesco's sale.
  • play2day
    play2day Posts: 409 Forumite
    From Boots today:

    Winnie the Pooh 'puzzle twist tin' with a money box slit in the top and filled with jellies (sweets). Best before date 07/08. Was £3.50 now 87p

    Mindbenders puzzles (perspex cubes with little metal balls in a puzzle) Was £2 now 50p

    Lots of other gift set bargains. Have bought a few toiletry ones to split as the contents work out cheaper than buying individually.

    Whilst in Boots watch out for the Botanics offer. Buy any botanics product and get a moisturising product free. Eg buy the soap (body bar) for 99p and get the moisuriser (£5.99) free! I wanted lots of the moisturising products myself and so now have a stack of soaps for my boxes.
  • jamtart6
    jamtart6 Posts: 8,302 Forumite
    Argh! forgot to look for my family!!! how could i forget!!!

    Boots offer : Natural collection eyeshadow (usually £1.69) now 99p for a single plus 50 free advantage points...so effectively costing you 49p - very nice for teenagers in the box!

    :ABeing Thrifty Gifty again this year:A

  • play2day wrote:
    Sally, that is a lovely way to get kids interested. I will suggest a 'shoe box' challenge to all my friends with young (and not so young) kids. We already do the boxes and enjoy doing so but the 'competition' could add an extra element of fun... Thanks!
    I hope yours enjoy the challenge as much as we all do.

    I didnt think that the older boys would still wish to make up theirs and I had brought items to fill up another couple of boxes.

    When my eldest son (20 years old) came home on leave he had his box already made up :) and then I'd found out that his brother had finished his too....so its definitely a part of our christmas now.

    It really made me smile when he walked through the door with his para uniform on grasping his christmas shoe box. ...(aarrgghhh thats mums for you, always proud :))
  • Debbie_S
    Debbie_S Posts: 239
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I am roping in everyone I know to do a shoe box. I have felt very humbled after reading about the children receiving their gifts:

    "A six year old boy called Mehi took his box outside and sat in a quite corner to see what was inside. He really had no idea what to expect, as this was probably the first wrapped gift he'd ever received. They don't have toilet paper in this village never mind festive gift wrap, and it was a treat to see his eyes light up. He punched the air with adulation and jumped up and down! I had to go and find out what made him so exited; expecting it to be a flashy toy car, but it was pens, pencils and a note pad.

    I was told by our interpreter that he said "I have the best box in the village" and he then went on to explain that he could now start school. Apparently Gypsy children aren't allowed to go to the local school unless they can provide their own stationery, and his parents couldn't afford it. In fact Mehi's Mum collected some of the cardboard cartons that the shoe boxes were packed in to use as a floor covering, as they have no carpets."

    Some also use the Christmas paper as wallpaper in their homes.
    Think of happiness as a kind of mental gardening.
  • play2day
    play2day Posts: 409 Forumite
    I have just used the boots glitch to buy some No 7 shimmering lip & eye screen for my 'family' boxes. They are usually £5.50 each.
    http://www.boots.com/brandtreatment/product_details_brand_treatment.jsp?productid=1060693&classificationid=1031599
    No7 suncare is on BOGOF but there is also 3 for 2 on No7. Both offers kick in at the tills so you buy 6 to get 5 free! I then used the No7 voucher* from a previous purchase to get £5 off and ended up paying just 50p for 6. :T
    I repeated the process twice with the lipscreens for my boxes and then twice again with sun lotions & potions for my family. So if you only do one or twoo boxes don't be put off as I am sure there will be a few goodies you can use yourself to make the offer work for you! http://www.boots.com/brandtreatment/flexible_brand_treatment.jsp?classificationid=1031599
    Check out the boots thread in grabbit for more details and many thanks to the OP there!
    (*If you spend £5 or more in boots you recieve a £5 No7 voucher and a £3 haircare voucher)

    I also went to Wilkinsons where I bought wooden jigsaws for 25p down from a pound, Christmas stickers at 12p from 50p and mens thinsulate gloves at 74p a pair. Its worth a look in there if you get time.
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