Operation Christmas Child

It has become our tradition over the past few years to buy gifts for needy children at Christmastime. Braden is often so focused on all the STUFF he "needs", and doing something nice for someone else is a good way to get your mind off of yourself and put others first. In the past, we've done the Salvation Army's Angel Tree and the Marines' Toys for Tots. This year, we did Operation Christmas Child. We had fun shopping, and I wasn't sure if we were going to get everything to fit in the boxes!



On our way to Walmart, I told Braden what kinds of things were listed on SamaritansPurse.org to include in the boxes (toiletries, small toys, etc.), and I also told him that the website said the most important thing to do was to pray for the child who would receive your box. So we did. In the car on the way to Walmart. :)
We did one box for a 2-4 year old boy and one for a 5-9 year old boy. I always try to buy for a boy of the same age as my boys so they can help pick out the items and possibly feel more of a connection to the child who will receive the gifts.

We included a copy of this photo in each of the boxes (everything fit!)


Braden also drew a picture for each boy, and left some space in the "sky" for me to write a short message. We paid for the shipping online, so we'll get an email letting us know where our boxes actually went! I'm excited about that. I know one of the places they'll be delivering to this year is Haiti, but they choose different countries all over the world. Here's a video about the program: