Those of you who know me understand that I am not of the Christian persuasion. Having said that, it certainly doesn’t mean that I avoid Christmas like the plague. In fact, I embrace the spirit of Christmas that seems to bring out the best in people, especially where generosity is concerned.

One project which has attracted my attention is Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child (these are the international links, Canadian links at the bottom of this post). Every year, Samaritan’s Purse collects shoe boxes filled with goodies so they can be distributed worldwide to children with next-to-no possessions.

Some of my friends and acquaintances have been doing this for years and I feel that this would be a great tradition to begin with my own children.

The idea is to take a shoe box and fill it with treats and goodies for a child of a specific gender and age-range. You choose items for either a boy or girl, with age-ranges of either 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14.

There are restrictions as to what may, or may not go into the boxes:

TOYS
small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky®, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES
pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.

HYGIENE ITEMS
toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc.

OTHER
Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries)

A PERSONAL NOTE
In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child may write back.)

DO NOT INCLUDE:
Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers; aerosol cans

(For those of you in Canada, please consult the Canadian site as there are more restrictions as to what can be included in the box.)

Once your box (or boxes) is ready, please include a minimum $7 donation per box to cover shipping and processing charges. You may either include a cheque, or pay online. Then find one of the MANY drop off locations where you can drop off your shoe boxes.

This year, boxes are being collected November 15-22.

Are you going to join the movement? Add your blog post about your family’s shoe-box experience below. Mr. Linky is waiting to hear from you! =)

Canadian Links:

Samaritan’s Purse Canada
Operation Christmas Child Canada
Canadian Drop-Off Centres

Related posts:

1. Pink Level: Object Boxes
2. How To Start An Advent Exchange With Other Local Homeschoolers
3. On Boxes and Oatmeal Cookies (recipe)

This is for those of you living here in Edmonton and surrounding areas…

If you’re looking for a field-tripish outing with your children, why not go out and pick from fruit? Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton just started up a few weeks ago and is a wonderful idea to get some fruit that would otherwise be wasted.

Every so often (usually a weekend), a location is established in a certain neighborhood where several residents have fruit waiting to be picked, but no one to pick it. Fruit ranges from apples, to rhubarb and berries. Half of the fruit is given to the food banks, while the remainder is divided among the volunteers. Many take the fruit home, while others decide to pool it (like with apples, perhaps), to process at a later time.

This is great for children for so many different reasons. First, it re-enforces the concept that fruit comes from a tree or bush, and not from a grocery shelf. Secondly, children learn the value of volunteer work to help those in need. Third, they get a taste of cooperative living where people work together for a common goal (picking and dividing fruit)…it’s a work of the whole group that will determine the success or failure of the even…not just the efforts of a single person.

They are now picking fruit in the North end. Look for them on their blog and sign up either through the comments or ‘contact us’ link.

Related posts:

1. 101 Reasons to Homeschool: an Introduction
2. How 5 Truths About the Future Encourage Unschooling
3. Lazy Wife Syndrome