Operation Christmas Child is almost here!
It’s *almost* the MOST wonderful time of the year, and I’m not just talking about Christmas! This is about Operation Christmas Child! It’s one of my favorite traditions this time of the year! You get to pack a shoebox or plastic box FILLED with toys, hygiene items & more to bless a child in a part of the world where there’s great need. YOU could be the reason a child gets their first Christmas gift and learns about the love of Jesus!
For some kids, Operation Christmas Child is their first gift EVER. What a gift we have to be able to do this for kids around the world!
I’ve been a fan of Operation Christmas Child for YEARS! It started back when I worked at my first radio station in Puerto Rico (WBMJ – The Rock Radio Network!) We did a drive to collect shoeboxes at my old church with the radio station and I think that was the first time I got hooked. Years later, I got married, we had kids and this became one of our favorite family traditions. I love helping my kids pick toys & things for a child their age! It’s so fun! So now I’m sharing these 5 reasons to LOVE Operation Christmas Child and I hope you’ll get involved and pack a shoebox for a child (or more) this year!
5 Reasons to LOVE Operation Christmas Child
1. The JOY you can give to a child!
Have you SEEN Operation Christmas Child videos? Oh. my. goodness. They’ll make you cry! Imagine the JOY, the huge smiles on kids’ faces, when they have someone walk up to them with one of the shoebox gifts. They’re like, “What?! It’s not my birthday, why am I getting a gift?” And that’s the whole point! Operation Christmas Child is a great way to show a child that they matter and they are loved! It’s a clear, tangible, exciting expression of God’s love (see “Reason #2” for more on this!)
2. It’s a beautiful way to share God’s love!
God loves people so much He sent Jesus to die for us on the cross BEFORE we ever knew Him or heard about Him. He LOVES us! We don’t have to do anything to earn his love, or win his approval. He already did it all! And that’s something that children around the world have never heard before! They don’t know there’s a God who loves them unconditionally and has blessings in store for them. How cool that we have the opportunity to share His love with children through a Christmas gift with Operation Christmas Child!
3. It teaches your kids generosity!
As you can tell from the 101 Days till Christmas Countdown happening here on my blog, I’m ALL ABOUT CHRISTMAS! But it’s very easy to make Christmas all about wishes and letters to Santa. I’m super thankful that Operation Christmas Child is a way to share my love of Christmas with my kids, and also teach them that we are BLESSED to have everything we have. And we are blessed to be a blessing! So, as much fun as it is to put together a Christmas wish list, we’ve had fun picking out toys and other things to bless a child around the world!
4. It’s a fun family tradition!
When I was a young mom with a preschooler and a baby, I dreamed about what family traditions we’d grow into! I worked at K-LOVE and Air 1 in California at the time, and some of the DJs went out to an Operation Christmas Child packing party. There, right in front of our eyes, I think we began our family tradition! It was SO fun to gather with a group of people, listen to Christams music and pack shoeboxes, I couldn’t wait to do it again the following year!
5. It doesn’t have to be expensive to be special!
If you’re thinking this is all fantastic, but our budget is super tight. I get it. We’re actually pretty tight this year, as I write this. But putting together a shoebox doesn’t have to be expensive! You can find a lot of the little toys and items to fill up a shoebox at the dollar store or Walmart! You could volunteer at a church that needs help packing items into shoeboxes! Whether you have a big or small budget, or can give your time, Operation Christmas is doable.
I hope this inspires and encourages you to find out more about this special project! Your shoebox gift could change a child’s life, fill it with joy, point them to Jesus and make a greater impact than you could imagine!
Laughing thru life,
Coppelia
