Packing Party- Tips and Lessons Learned.

Plan a Packing Party!
I was so excited a beautiful young lady in church mentioned she was heading up a packing party at her school.  And she wanted more information:) Which reminded me I had never posted this yet.

I am heading up our Packing Party at our church again.  We are planning on packing 250+ boxes.

Here are a few things I have learned from previous experience.  And ideas to help it run smooth.

1. Pick a date, time and location.
This year I sent home invitations to the party! I saw this on pinterest and thought it was a fun idea that would cause some excitement.

There are lots of great Operation Christmas Child Videos out th

2.Decide if you will have people bring money to buy a box, items, or everyone brings a specific item and specific amount of that item.

For our Packing Party at church we have a donation box, that we have out most of the year.  And we also accept monetary donations.  This year we have received more monetary donations, opposed to actual items.  So I have done more shopping this year.

3. Boxes are needed to make this party happen.  Decide if you will use boxes from OCC or shoe boxes.  This year, a wonderful lady who works at Walmart, has been collecting for us. We will have about 1/2 regular shoe boxes and 1/2 OCC boxes.  We wanted larger boxes as we are adding a pair of shoes to every box.

4. Labels. Again make sure that you have enough labels for each box.
A lesson learned from last year.  We are cutting out all our labels ahead of time.  With so many little preschoolers, this was time consuming and added stress.  This year having them all cut ahead of time and tapping them onto the boxes should make things run smoother.

Also make sure you place the label in the middle of the box as pictured.

This is very important because after the box has gone through the processing center it gets taped shut as pictured.  So it is important the label is in the correct position so they can tell what age and gender when handing out the boxes.

5. Shop. Shop. Shop.  I find regularly shopping helps to find deals.  You never know when a store is going to mark down an item.

Shop in the Party Section of your chain store or dollar store. You can often buy multiple items for $1.00 or $2.00.  ( See my Multiple Mondays for more Multiple ideas)

Shop at a Party Store. You can find Multiple packs of erasers, balls, skipping ropes and other neat little things.  I love these items I found at Party City!  These came individual or in multi packs.  But the individual ones were on sale.  I think for .19 cents each. 

Shop at the Dollar Store.  There are so many great things that you can find there!!

*Have a good variety of items. 
Hygiene -toothbrush, soap (in a ziploc bag) wash cloth, comb, nail clipper, file.
School Supplies- pencils, pencil sharpener, pens, crayons/pencil crayons/markers/gel pens, scissors, ruler and don't forget the paper!
Often children can not go to school because they do not have school supplies. School supplies are a huge answer to prayer for these children.
Toys- balls, marbles, cars, yo-yos, etch a sketch, music makers, dolls, stickers, beads, hair accessories, jewelry.
Clothing- underwear, shirt, footwear. Shoes can mean the difference between a child attending school and not being able to attend school.
Something to Love- Add a stuffed animal, to all ages of boxes!
Hard Candy- Candy is a huge treat for kids.  Stock up after halloween.  Remember it needs to be hard, so that it won't melt and ruin the items in the box.
Note and Picture-Download and print the About Me paper, if you have younger kids.  It's a fun way to get your kids involved.  Or write a note.  Be sure to add a picture of yourself/family.  Children loving seeing who sent them their box.
We sent our About Me papers for the kids to fill out with their parents ahead of time.  We found there wasn't enough time to do it during the party.  So we're hoping this helps.

*Remember each child will only receive one shoe box in their life time so please pack good quality items.

6.It is a Party. Have fun!
Decorate. Did you know that you can get a Packing Party Kit from OCC? It includes balloons, pens and other cool stuff.
Have Christmas Music to set the tone.
Ask a few people to bring Snacks.
Don't forget to buy ziploc bags for candy and soap.

You will also need sissors to cut the labels and tape to tape the labels on to the top of the box.

The day of the Party,Start the Party with a prayer.

And then let the fun of packing begin!

Don't forget to take pictures through out the event!! We'd love it if you posted them on my facebook or the OCC Canada page!
End with a prayer and drop off your boxes during collection week November 19-25th

To find a collection center click here.