10.27
It’s almost time to get out the lights, decorations, and Christmas trees. That’s right, the holidays are right around the corner. What better time of year to help out someone in need? This year we took part in Operation Christmas Child, a charity that helps make Christmas a little brighter for kids in developing countries. As you can see from the pictures, even our cat Himmery got involved!
SHE SAID:
I really enjoyed taking the time with Brad to give back in some small way. Sometimes we can lose sight of how privileged we are, so it was nice to take the time to refocus. I liked the charity we chose, particularly because we got to shop for Christmas presents for a little boy, which means we had an excuse to raid the toy aisles! I think it’s the first time Brad actually volunteered to go shopping.
For our charity, Operation Christmas Child, the idea is to shop for Christmas presents for a boy or girl from one of the three age groups (2-4, 5-9, 10-14). You fill a shoebox with various items such as school supplies, hygiene items, and of course toys. You put $7 in an envelope to cover shipping costs along with a little note if you wish. Then, you take it to one of the drop off locations in your area (which can be found on their website) where it is processed and shipped to a developing nation. Countries in the past have included Bosnia, Mozambique, Armenia, and Liberia.
I had so much fun combing the toy aisles, looking for toys I thought our unknown boy might enjoy. It was funny how we both thought we knew the boy we were shopping for and would get into little arguments over what he would enjoy more. The fun for me in this was definitely in the process and not the packing of the shoebox. As I suspected while we were shopping, we bought too much. However, Brad and his packing skills managed to cram 4 t-shirts, 6 pairs of socks, a sticker book, 4 toothbrushes, a sketchpad, markers, coloured pencils, bandaids, lego, 3 hot wheels cars and a ball into a tiny shoebox.
Whether or not you support the charity we did is irrelevant. The point is to pick a charity that is near and dear to you and find a way to give back to it, either by participating in one of their events (many charities have Christmas events) or holding an event of your own to raise funds for it. Have a game night with friends and charge a seat fee or hold a silent auction. For more ideas like this visit: celebrations.com/charity-events
HE SAID:
We made a choice to change our focus for Christmas this year. Instead of getting caught up in spending too much money on people who already have too much stuff (although we still love them) and on ourselves, we are going to focus on what really matters. Don’t worry, we’re not turning into Scrooges, we’re still giving gifts to people we love, but spending time with our family and friends and giving to those in need are more important than gifts.
I had heard about Operation Christmas Child many times over the years but I had never personally participated. I was unsure of how the whole process works and what we were actually going to do. As it turns out, it’s really easy and quite fun.
I’m the kind of person who will avoid shopping in an actual store at any cost. If there is any possible way to buy a product online instead of having to deal with parking lots and lineups, I’m there. So I can’t say I was super excited to go to a store and shop. I was so wrong.
We chose to shop for a little boy in the age range of 5-9, and it was awesome. I had completely forgotten the joys of walking down the toy aisles (it was just one aisle when I was a kid!) and seeing all the fun things available. It was really hard not to grab one of everything. I just kept picturing this little guy with a smile on his face as he opened up the gifts we chose and it made me want to go a little crazy.
Once we got home we had to deal with packing the gifts in a shoebox. I know Susan gives me the credit for this, but it was more her than me. My idea of strategically packing the shoebox was to jam everything in it and then force the box shut. She packed and re-packed it until everything fit just right.
I’m so excited to wake up on Christmas morning and know that in some small way, we made a difference for a little boy in another part of the world. It’s easy to get down sometimes when we compare our lives to other people, but in reality even the average person in Canada or the U.S. is wealthy beyond imagination in comparison to some other places in the world. We have a lot to be thankful for so giving back in some way is the least any of us can do.
You obviously don’t have to choose the same charity we did, but I hope this inspires you to help someone who needs it however you see fit. We had a lot of fun taking part in Operation Christmas Child together and making a date out of it. I can safely say we’ll be doing something similar next year.
If you’re not sure what charity you’d like to support, the link below is a great resource. It is broken down into categories of giving, such as medical and human rights, and as well as by geographical location (Canada, USA, UK, Australia). We’ve also included links to some specific charities you might want to take a look at:
charity-charities.org/charities/index.html
- Feed Nova Scotia (stuff a bus, canstruction, etc.)
- IWK/QEII hospitals
- Canadian Cancer Society (relay for life)
- Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (Run for the Cure) or Bust a Move
- Adsum House
- Habitat for Humanity
- Bide Awhile or SPCA (animal rescue)
Great idea guys! I can’t believe you fit all of that in one shoebox! That’s going to be one happy little fellow!
Just an FYI, I was on the Operation Christmas Child website the other day & you can donate your money online rather than putting a cheque in the box…and when you do that they can track where you box is and where it goes to…kind of neat! It’s called EZ Give.
Another great idea, you two! Not to be a downer, but I thought I’d let you know (and your blog readers) that Operation Christmas Child actually goes into each and every box before it gets to the kids to ensure that each box has the same amount of goodies. Unfortunately, this likely means that your unknown little boy won’t be receiving all of this gifts (it does get better), but instead, you’ll more likely be putting a smile on more than one boys face! The good news, there’s not really any need to argue over what he’ll like more or less because you’re likely blessing his entire sibling family by filling a box full! :) Way to go! I too, have done this before & agree that the pre-shopping is the most fun, as you picture the look on the children’s faces.
One more thing, there are also opportunities to hand-deliver these gifts to the children overseas!
Or, if you’re looking for something based more in your community, there are “Angel Trees” that you can get involved in. What you do is you become involved in the life of a child who has a parent in prison during the Christmas Season… The father or mother of the child goes to their prison minister and writes down his children’s genders, ages, and gifts they’d like to receive from that parent for Christmas. You then buy that gift, and can choose whether or not to be part of the team to deliver these gifts to the child’s home. This can mean going to very dirty areas around town to view a few minutes into the lives of these families and share some love! It’s a great experience.
Just a thought! :)
Thanks for letting us know. As long as someone gets the gifts, that’s all that really matters in the end. I hadn’t heard of Angel Trees, sounds like a good idea. There are so many possibilities for helping people out, especially this time of year.
One year when there was a warehouse in my area, I volunteered for Operation Christmas Child. I worked at checking boxes and then taped them shut afterwards so it was known at the borders that they had been officially checked. We weren’t allowed to remove anything from the boxes unless it was glass, war items, used items (seriously!), chocolate etc… Everything placed in the box by the person who filled it was kept in that specific box. Even if the age checked seemed incorrect to us based on the items inside we were supposed to honour the person’s original wishes and keep it as it was.
But, we could ADD additional items to emptier boxes to make them full. The year I volunteered Ty Beanie Babies had donated tons of beanie babies. An empty box would have a couple beanie babies added to it. A box that was full to the max didn’t need anything else added!
It was amazing to see first hand how things were done. I only wish there was still a warehouse location near me. Now the nearest is a couple days drive away! Each year my kids, 4 and 6 yrs old now, each get to fill a box for a child who is just their age. They love it (and I do too)! Thanks for spreading the word about his great organization!