Tag: Christmas

O Christmas Tree.. Love Beyond Your Branches

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The soft glow of twinkling lights filled the living room one last time as I stood before the Christmas tree, its slender branches adorned with shimmering white, red and silver ornaments. The bright red treble clefs I’d chosen this year, a nod to our love of music, seemed to hum silently in the stillness, their presence a joyful chorus of memories.

This tree had been more than a decoration—it had been the heartbeat of our holiday season. Friends and family had gathered around it, their laughter echoing through the house. Each visit felt like a precious gift, and I’d made a point to document the moments, snapping photos of every guest standing beside the tree. Each picture became a keepsake of the love and connection we shared, moments we wouldn’t soon forget.

But now, the season had come to an end. The time had come to take it all down. With every ornament I carefully removed, a wave of sadness washed over me. I remembered the sparkle in my daughter’s eyes as she admired the carefully wrapped packages under its branches, the stories shared late into the night beneath its glow, and the warmth that filled our home. It was as if I were packing away not just decorations, but pieces of joy and togetherness.

Yet, as the last ornament was tucked away and the tree dismantled, a quiet realization dawned on me. The beauty of the tree, the memories it held, and even the celebration of Christ’s birth—they weren’t confined to a season or an object. The love shared, the joy expressed, and the faith in my heart were not bound to the Christmas tree.

Jesus’s birth wasn’t a fleeting event, a story to be celebrated and forgotten. It was a beginning—a promise of hope, love, and constant presence. As I stood in the now-empty space where the tree once stood, I found comfort in knowing that the spirit of Christmas remained. Jesus is with me, always. His light doesn’t depend on a string of bulbs or a shimmering star atop a tree. It shines in my heart, in the love I give and receive, and in the memories my family and friends carry forward.

I took one last look at the photos I’d taken—smiling faces framed by the tree’s splendor—and smiled. The sadness of the moment was replaced by gratitude. Gratitude for the love of those around me, for the joy of the season, and for the reminder that Christmas wasn’t about the decorations but about a love that lasts long after the decorations are packed away.

Smiling faces framed by the Christmas tree’s splendor.

All is Well this Christmas

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Where is the Joy?- Throughout the season of Advent everything was harder then it needed to be. The gifts we ordered for my sister-in-law and her family were returned to sender. While writing our Christmas letter my computer keyboard stopped working, the labels printed incorrectly and FedEx couldn’t help me self print. I got the flu (knocking me out for days), the bottom strand of lights went out on our Christmas tree, we fell behind on our Christmas decorating, had winter weather, and I know someone was inadvertently left off our gift list. Have you ever had days or weeks like this where even the simplest task becomes frustrating and nothing seems to go smoothly? It appeared to be one thing after another and it kept coming, culminating with a pipe bursting at church on Christmas Eve leaving part of our sanctuary under water hours before worship services were to begin! Maneuvering through the missteps and obstacles sucked some of the joy out of what comes with the season of preparing. Although the moments were annoying, they were far from life altering and All is Well.

The First Christmas– Upon sharing my Advent obstacles I was reminded I was not alone. I heard from friends dealing with illnesses that set them back in their preparations and caused them to miss special celebrations. Others were spending the season navigating life without a loved one, making my inconveniences minor in comparison. My thoughts took me to the first Christmas where Mary and Joseph were faced with setbacks. No room at the inn, an unexpected birth in a stable surrounded by animals, and a manager for a bed! Throughout their journey they never lost hope and All is Well.

All Is Well This Christmas– Members of our Zion congregation band together with shop vacs in hand and cleaned up our sanctuary in a little over an hour and our Christmas Eve services commenced. All Is Well! On Christmas morning our cards had been sent, our halls were decked, presents wrapped, and we were ready to invite family and friends into our home to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All Is Well! And if you know St. Louis weather, in a few days the Arctic freeze melted away and it was 60 degrees! All Is Well!

Zion Lutheran Church Harvester before and after.
All is Well- spending time
with my family on Christmas Day 2022.

Looking Harder for the Joy- Sometimes we have to look harder to uncover the joy. It’s always there but we get distracted. This year the unexpected opened my eyes to what Christmas is truly about. Through the frustration of trying to get our Christmas letters printed I met Toya, a manager at the FedEx in Wal Mart. Toya was patient and kind and went out of her way to help me. After several visits to the store I felt we had made a connection and I asked her if she was a Christian. She said she was and with tears in her eyes shared this was the first Christmas without her son who had recently went to be with Jesus. I had a scripture ornament in my coat pocket, leftover from the Advent By Candlelight event at church, and I was moved to gift it to Toya. A sweet moment between two strangers in a world of chaos. All Is Well

My choir sang the song All Is Well on Christmas. I pray no matter what you are experiencing this Christmas you can find peace and love in the birth of our Lord and Savior, Emmanuel.

All Is Well All is well, all is well. Heaven and earth rejoice! For tonight darkness fell into the dawn of love’s light. Sing alle, sing alleluia!

All is well, all is well. Lift up your voice and sing. Born in now Emmanuel. Born is our Lord and Savior. Sing alleluia! All is well!

All is well. All is well. Let there be peace on Earth. Sing, for Christ is come, go and tell that He is in the manger. Sing alle, sing alleluia.

Born is now Emmanuel. Born is our Lord and Savior. Sing alleluia, alleluia!

Joy and Light For Christmas, During the Dark of Winter, and All Year Through

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Year 2022 from my family of three!

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Noteworthy Mommy! My family of three had a wonderful Advent season with beautiful concerts, lavish gatherings, meaningful church services and many wonderful memories made with family and friends. I celebrated my 50th birthday on Christmas Day (more about that in another post) and as I look back on the weeks leading up to our Savior’s birth, I am greeted with nothing but warm, happy memories.

But my family of three has had a rough start to the new year and as I sit here writing this greatly overdo message, I’m recovering from COVID and the overwhelming feeling of joy I felt during that time has faded. When I pass by our tired Christmas tree and see other decorations still decking our halls (I’ve been too exhausted to take them down), the once festive décor has lost its magical glow and now stands sadly forgotten in the shadows; eagerly waiting to be attended to, packed up and forgotten until next year.

Then I am taken back to some of those wonderful memories and am reminded how everywhere I looked throughout the season of Advent and during the season of Christmas, I saw or heard the word JOY. Not unusual since JOY is the word assigned to the third week in Advent and the song “Joy to the World” is in the top ten most beloved Christmas carols of all time. Or perhaps, after living in a COVID world for two years, we are all simply looking for some JOY.

And thanks to YouTube (click on the highlighted links below) I listened once again to the sermons my pastor gave regarding JOY on the third Sunday of Advent and again on Christmas Eve. I can hear Pastor Rouland say, “Joy is not just a synonym for happiness because happiness is fleeting, something that happens to us or wells up inside of us.” Like the feeling I get when I think of the fun I had celebrating with friends and family, the excitement I have playing music and singing in my church choir or the thrill of giving and receiving Christmas gifts this year. The feelings are real but fleeting, as the sins of this world bring us from highs to lows like a roller coaster of emotion. That is not joy. For JOY is different, a much deeper thing. Pastor Rouland continues, “JOY comes where faith, and difficulty and life connect. JOY is realizing that the struggle of following God in this life is worth it. That’s JOY that comes from Christ to you.”

So as I write this message I am certainly not as happy as I was in those memories, a mere month ago. My house is a mess, I’m not feeling 100% and my mini me is driving me crazy as she is literally bouncing off the walls but guess what…I have JOY. Pastor Rouland reminded me that JOY is not just the culmination of what is happening to me or how I feel. I have JOY because I know what Jesus has done for me. I have JOY knowing that He died for me and I have JOY because one day I will experience unimaginable, everlasting JOY in Heaven with Him. And because of that JOY I also have thanksgiving. I am thankful for God and all He has given me, the good and the bad. For the deep days make me stronger and help me see the tiny glimmers of light that come in the form of hope, peace, joy, and love. And through this dark time of being sick and helping my husband recover from surgery, there are waves of light that come in the form of friends and family who are praying, bringing food, and sending daily texts. And all of this light is created by God. For He has placed these beautiful people in my life. He is the light of the world, the center of my world, and He is JOY.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice! PHILIPPIANS 4:4

Even though this message is late, I hope you take the time to listen. My daughter’s talented teacher, Amy Bernhardt, gives the children’s message in both services and if you watch the entire Christmas Eve service you will see and hear me singing in the treble choir. “Mary Did You Know,” one of my favorite contemporary Christmas songs, is the selection my choir sings during communion.

Christmas Eve Service 2021- 3:00- Zion Lutheran Church

Christmas Card Prayers

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What do you do with all of the delightful Christmas cards friends and family send you? This year we got some beautiful cards, including many photo cards, and it would be a shame to throw them away or put them in a box in the basement without doing something special.

When my friend Kristin shared this idea with my Moms in Prayer group, it was simply too good not to pass along to my Noteworthy Mommy readers! Kristen and her family put all of their cards in a basket. Each day they pull a card from the basket and then, as a family, they pray for the people who sent them the card. I simply love this idea! It’s a great way to enjoy your cards one last time before tossing them or packing them away and it allows you to connect with family and friends through prayer. Since most of our cards were photo cards, my mini me will see a picture of the people we are praying for. And what a lovely way to incorporate prayer and praying for others into the home. This will be the start of another fabulous Christmas tradition. Thank you Kristin for this brilliant idea! If you have additional ideas of things to do with Christmas cards, please post a comment and share.

“Christmas Is”…A 2020 Christmas in Quarantine

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Christmas certainly looks and feels different for everyone this year. My daughter and her sweet kindergarten class are quarantined for Christmas. It will be the very first Christmas that I won’t be celebrating with my parents. And the second Christmas birthday, in forty-nine years, that won’t be spent gathered around the dining room table in my childhood home.

So many Christmas traditions have been lost in 2020 and many of you may be feeling a bit down. But maybe it’s time to take a look at which traditions are truly important and focus on those? My daughter’s former preschool teacher told me she is beginning to dislike the word “tradition.” Her young adult children show no interest in them. It got me to thinking how many times I got caught up in doing something because it was a “tradition” and in the process completely lost sight of why it was even significant. Maybe some traditions are meant to be short term, to make way for something new.

After a rough year, where so many have experienced great loss, we all need to take a moment to count our blessings. We won’t be following our familiar traditions this year and our family Christmas celebration with grandparents will be delayed. But instead of mourning the usual tradition, I’m going to focus on quality time with my family of three and look with excitement at the fact that we get to extend our celebrating! A dear friend lost her father to COVID this month. I know she would gladly delay her family celebration by two weeks if it meant she had just one more day with her father.

A quieter Christmas has allowed me to focus on living generously and thinking of others. Instead of giving presents out of expectation or tradition, I reveled in surprising friends and loved ones, even strangers, by leaving mystery bags on their doorsteps. Seeing their appreciative smiles and receiving messages of gratitude from the little tokens given, was one of the best gifts I have ever received!

COVID may have kept you from going to face to face church on Christmas Eve but isn’t it amazing that through the power of technology we could worship with our families safely at home and even wear our pajamas if we chose! If COVID has changed your Christmas plans think of that first Christmas. Mary and Joseph weren’t surrounded by their families. They weren’t even in the comfort of home but in a lowly manager with animals when Mary gave birth to the Christ child. I’m sure this wasn’t their plan. But it was God’s plan. And what an amazing plan He has for each and everyone of us!

This year some of our Christmas traditions didn’t happen but that’s ok. In fact it’s more than ok because celebrating the birth of Jesus is the only Christmas tradition that is important. Jesus is the tradition that we need. And Jesus is the only tradition I care about passing down to my mini me.

Many of you will be surprised to see that Noteworthy Mommy’s Christmas post ends with lyrics written by Dolly Parton. I have a new fascination with Dolly and the words she penned for this song resinated with me because they truly capture what Christmas is.

Christmas Is by: Dolly Parton Christmas is a time for caring
Being at your best
Christmas is a time for sharing
Knowing you’ve been blessed
Christmas is a time for giving
Love is made of this
That’s what Christmas is. Christmas is a joyful time
If you’re the lucky ones
Some are blessed with gifts and trinkets
Others havin’ none
Some have feasts up on the table
Others havin’ crumbs
There are the haves and the have-nots
And you could be either one
It’s all about kindness
Love and compassion
Better to give than receive
That is a true fact
But those who don’t know that
Well, they are the poorest indeed
And I hope you remember every December
That bright shining light from above
The promise from God’s lips
The greatest of all gifts
Wrapped up in His wondrous love
So rejoice in His glory
The great Christmas story
And to all that you’re sharing it with
You go tell it with passion
Of love everlasting
‘Cause that’s what Christmas is

The Sweet Smells of Christmas

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Christmas is almost here and for two generations this sweet book has helped my family of three get ready. Originally published in 1970, The Sweet Smells of Christmas, by Patricia Scarry, was one of my favorite childhood secular Christmas books. I discovered a few years ago that my husband had a copy of the book as a child and enjoyed it just as much as I had. When my daughter was a toddler my mother-in-law bought her a copy so she could have one of her own and it quickly became one of her favorite Christmas books.

I got lost in the pages with Little Bear and his parents and scratched the fragrance labels so many times that bare paper was revealed. My favorite smells were the hot chocolate and the orange. My daughter’s favorite smell is the candy cane and like me she fell in love with the scratch and sniff pages.

Like Little Bear, my childhood Christmases were magical. As an adult they still are! You easily could have replaced me with Little Bear as my house smelled of cookies lovingly baked by my mother and grandmother and I accompanied my dad each year as we carefully selected and cut down a fresh pine tree. Our tree, along with our entire home, was decked from top to bottom with Christmas cheer! There were years that carolers visited our home and filled our hearts with their angelic voices. And like Little Bear, Santa Claus always brought me more than a little girl could possibly wish for!

Now as parents, my husband and I get the joy of seeing and smelling Christmas with our mini me. There were Christmases where we yearned for a little one to hold so dear so even though we are spending a Christmas in quarantine, away from the rest of our family, we know we have been blessed! It will be different from past Christmases and we will dearly miss being with grandparents but we rejoice knowing that everyone will be healthy and safe. Like the bear family in the book our family of three will have a Christmas filled with love. And the best part will be celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, the greatest gift any of us could ever imagine!

Advent Traditions…Preparing The Way

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This past Sunday marked the beginning of Advent, the liturgical season where Christians prepare and anticipate the coming of Christ by celebrating His birth on Christmas and looking forward to the day we will see Him again. This year Advent is going to look a bit different and I’m going to dearly miss some favorite church traditions like Advent By Candlelight, Family Advent Night and Advent services led by school children. As the pandemic continues, our traditions are forced to be altered and a little bit of sadness creeps into a season usually filled with cheer.

Instead of concentrating on what is missing this year, I am focusing on the gifts God has given me. More quality time with my family of three has allowed us to try new activities and as a result, the beginning of new traditions. Without the parties and added distractions, I am taking more time to study God’s word, beginning each day with an Advent devotional that is deepening my relationship with God. And the extra time I’ve gained from cancelled events has allowed me to slow down and clearly see the many blessings God has given. And that fills by heart with hope and joy, which is truly what Advent represents.

Advent Wreath– Christians have adopted the tradition of lighting candles during Advent to observe this as the time of the coming of Christ who is the light of the world. One tradition is lighting an Advent wreath at church and at home to mark each Sunday in Advent. This Advent tradition dates back to Germany and the Lutheran Church following the Reformation. Today Advent wreaths are made out of evergreen and are shaped like a circle to represent eternal life. The Advent wreath we use at church and at home has five candles with three of the candles being blue or purple in color to match the liturgical colors. The candle lit on the first week is blue and represents hope. The candle lit on the second week is blue and represents peace. The candle lit on the third Sunday is pink and represents joy. On the last Sunday of Advent a blue candle representing love is lit. The candle in the center is white and is know as the Christ candle. It is lit on Christmas or Christmas Eve.

Advent Family Devotionals– This year my family of three are doing two different Advent devotionals, “The Way in the Manger” and “Jesus’ Family Tree” (Praying through Advent with the Jesse Tree). We begin our devotional by lighting our Advent wreath and singing the following song..

“Light One Candle”– Light one candle for hope, One bright candle for hope. He brings hope to every heart He comes! He comes! **For verses 2-4, replace hope with peace, joy, and love.

The tiny Advent wreath above was created by my mini me during her first year of preschool. Carefully crafted out of clay and decorated with green paint and birthday candles it is very special to us.

Advent Calendar With Pastor Rouland and Rupert the Dog– Our senior pastor is making daily Advent videos where he leads viewers in singing “Light One Candle,” reads a scripture verse and reveals a new ornament for his Advent tree. My daughter squealed with delight when Rupert the Dog makes a special appearance. Search for Zion Lutheran Church St. Charles on You Tube or click here for a video link.

Chocolate Advent Calendar– When I was little I always had a chocolate German Advent calendar. In fact, the German Club at my high school sold them. The tradition continues with my daughter and everyday we guess what shape the chocolate will be, hunt for the number and then rip open the little window and enjoy the sweet treat hiding inside.

Advent Tree– We’ve had this Melissa and Doug wooden Advent tree since my daughter was a toddler. My daughter loves adding a magnetic ornament to her tree everyday. It’s the perfect countdown to Christmas

The Greatest Gift… Emmanuel, God With Us

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On this Christmas morning Noteworthy Mommy wishes you and your family a very Merry Christmas and love, joy and happiness in the new year.

As I pass on family traditions like reading Santa Mouse, hiding a pickle in the Christmas tree and watching The Snowman, I also enjoy starting new traditions like Angel on Assignment. I hope you are enjoying Christmas as much as we are.

But in twelve short days Christmas will come to an end. The tree will be taken down and the ornaments will safely be packed away for another year. The stores will discount anything associated with Christmas to make way for chocolate and Valentines. After all of the gifts have been opened, some may be exchanged and many will be long forgotten. There is one gift, however, that is constant. That remarkable gift is Jesus and His love is forgiving and everlasting.

In church last night I was reminded how God can use us to show Jesus’s love to others. He shines through when we perform a good deed, share a kind gesture or tell others about God’s greatest gift. By sharing God’s love we remind others that the gift of Jesus is always there for us even when the sparkling lights and nativity scenes are packed away. Jesus loves us through those dark times too. Even when it seems impossible to see the light, He is there.

The lyrics from a favorite Christmas song by Point of Grace, “Emmanuel, God With Us/O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” reminds me how the Holy Spirit can work in us, not only during the Christmas season but each and every day.

“Oh Emmanuel, God with us
Spirit revealed in us
That we may be your hope to the world
Oh Emmanuel, God with us
With a light to break the darkness
That we may show your hope to the world
Emmanuel, God with us
Be God in us”

So on this Christmas Day and every day after…”Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”

2 Corinthians 9:15

Angel on Assignment…An Angelic Tradition

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Angels are the highlight of our Advent celebrations this year. From the angels that adorned the tables at the Advent By Candlelight events I participated in to the messages from the angels that changed everything to the lovely book and plush angel doll that showed up in our mailbox.

The book “Angel on Assignment, An Angelic Tradition,” beautifully written by Wanda Carter Roush has instantly become a family favorite! Written in rhyme, the book shares the heavenly messages delivered by angels to Mary and Joseph, to the shepherds and to the wise men regarding the birth of a baby who would change the world! The book teaches children that angels were present from the birth to the grave to the resurrection…”From a poor simple stable and a bed made of hay, To the cross on a hill, in a borrowed tomb He lay. Angels were there from the star to the stone, When the greatest gift to the world was made known.”

“Angles on Assignment, An Angelic Tradition”, has another message. The book teaches boys and girls that angels are sent from Heaven above and show God’s love by performing special missions. From sending comfort when we are scared to guarding and protecting, angels are all around us. The delightful illustrations by Mike Motz and Alicia Young engage the reader. Angels are hiding on every page and my daughter loved studying the book, shouting with excitement when she located an angel!

An Angelic Tradition– As an “Elf on a Shelf” alternative, our book came with a sweet plush doll that mirrors the little angel hiding in the book. The book explains that angels do much more than just sit on a shelf and suggests starting a new Christmas tradition with your family by assigning an angel to your house. Give your angel a name and use your angel to remind your family of God’s love. While other Christmas traditions center around receiving instead of giving. I like how the book encourages children to be “angels on assignment” looking for people in need and lending a helping hand by giving unto others and sharing kind words. This year our “Angel on Assignment” projects included purchasing gifts off of the angel tree at our church, packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, donating outgrown dance shoes to Traveling Tutus and purchasing cat beds and toys for Five Acres Animal Shelter, a no kill shelter in our community.

The angel my daughter and I made together.

Creating an Angel- You can purchase an angel or make one of your own. Just look in the back of the book, “Angels on Assignment, An Angelic Tradition,” and you will find pages filled with ideas on how to make an angel. There are many creative ideas like making the body out of an old paperback book or using coffee filters for wings. The possibilities are endless.! I look forward to starting a new tradition of making an angel with my daughter every Christmas. As she gets older I envision the angels will get more intricate. There are patterns in the book if you want to make an angel out of paper. My daughter and I chose that option this year, tracing her little hands to use as the angel’s wings. We placed our angel by her Advent calendar to remind us of God’s love. We made a few additional angels to gift to others so they too can be reminded of God’s love and the message of showing kindness. The author, Wanda Carter Roush, encourages individuals to post pictures of their angels on the “Angels on Assignment, An Angelic Tradition” Facebook page.

I shared “Angels on Assignment, An Angelic Tradition” with the students in my daughter’s preschool class at their Christmas party and helped the boys and girls make angels so they can start this angelic tradition with their families. Through kind words or doing a good deed, sometimes it’s the little things that remind us of angel’s wings.

You can purchase this beautiful book on the author’s website at http://wandacarterroush.com or on Amazon. Amazon also has a digital version available. Make sure to check out other books and journals by Wanda Carter Roush. They make perfect gifts!

 

 

Operation Christmas Child…It’s Time to Pack Shoeboxes

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Every year my daughter and I participate in Operation Christmas Child. We collect items throughout the year and pack them into shoeboxes for the good people at Samaritan’s Purse to deliver to boys and girls in need who live all over the world. Operation Christmas Child began in 1993 with the mission of demonstrating God’s love in a tangible way and sharing the Good News of Jesus.

I began packing shoeboxes when my daughter was a year old and with each passing year she has become more involved. My daughter just turned five so this year we packed five shoeboxes (in honor of her 5th birthday). She even used some of her birthday money to buy Barbie dolls for the boxes. I am happy she has been called to care and is growing up sharing her blessings with others.

Sorting out items for the shoeboxes.

How to Pack a Shoebox- Samaritan’s Purse has a step by step guide on how to pack a shoebox. I’ll outline a few tips I’ve picked up over the years.

Step 1- Find a Shoebox- Although any cardboard shoebox will work, I’ve read that the children often view the physical shoebox as a treasured gift. This year I used plastic shoeboxes. Three of our shoeboxes came from Hobby Lobby and are specially designed with the Operation Christmas Child logo printed on inviting red and green plastic boxes. I also used two clear plastic shoeboxes that I purchased elsewhere. Last year I picked up some complimentary cardboard shoeboxes with the Operation Christmas Child logo and branding at our local Chick-fil-a.

Having fun shopping for items to include in our shoeboxes.

Step 2- Girl or Boy?-  Although many of the items we pack can be enjoyed by all children, Samaritan’s Purse will ask you to identify if the shoebox was packed for a boy or a girl and what age category. The age categories are: 2-4, 5-9 and 10-14; with the oldest group typically being the one to receive the least donations. We pack boxes that correspond with my daughter’s current age so this year we are packing boxes targeted at the 5-9 age group.

Step 3- What To Pack in a Shoebox?- I keep a big box in our basement labeled “Shoebox Items” and go bargain shopping throughout the year. I scored school supplies for 75% off at Wal Mart, got discounted playground balls at the end of the summer from Walgreens and often pick up discounted items in Target’s dollar area when they change seasons. You can locate some outstanding items during after Christmas sales at all stores.

Samaritan’s Purse recommends packing a WOW item in each box. This could be a doll, stuffed animal, soccer ball with pump or a new outfit. Older children enjoy simple tool sets and expandable shoes. Click here to view  gift suggestions by age. Amazon has a nice list of shoebox items as does Hobby Lobby. Besides toys we always pack self care items (a bar of soap, washcloths, combs, brushes, colorful band-aids, socks, hair clips and or bows, and toothbrushes.) Liquids and edible items are not allowed so you have to leave out toothpaste, candy and bubbles! We also include crafts and activities (crayons, pencils with a pencil sharpener, markers, pads of paper, coloring books, puzzles, and stickers.) You can also write a letter to include in your box. My daughter enjoys drawing a special picture and writing a note telling the children that Jesus loves them!

Step 4- Pray- Perhaps the easiest thing to do is pray for the children who will be receiving the boxes you prepared. Pray that the boxes will bring them joy and that by hearing the Gospel they will be filled with hope and encouragement.

Step 5- Follow-Your Box Labels- The cost to ship a box is $9 and you can click here to pay for labels that will track your box. Last year a few months after Christmas we received an email informing us that our boxes went to Mexico. We located Mexico on the map so my daughter could see where our shoeboxes had traveled to.

Step 6- Drop Off Your Box- Collection week is always the third week in November. Several churches and other organizations volunteer to be drop off facilities. This year collection week is November 18-25, so you still have plenty of time to pack a few shoeboxes! The Samaritan Purse’s website has a place where you can search for the drop off location closest to you!

Other Ways to Help?- If you would like to help but don’t have time to gather items and pack a shoebox you can save time and pack one online by clicking here or donate money to cover the $9 shipping. People will often pack shoeboxes but not include the money for shipping.

Whether you pack a few shoeboxes, volunteer at a processing center (like my in-laws), pray for the children receiving the shoeboxes or donate money for shipping, I hope you will make Operation Christmas Child a family tradition. For many of the children, the gift-filled shoebox is the first gift they have ever received. In addition to the shoeboxes all of the children will hear about the greatest gift of all…Jesus!