Free

Last week we went away for a few days.

And I came back with a few extra fillers for my box.

Pens and pads of paper. Great for boxes. 

I was hoping to score a sewing kit.  But there was none in the room.

 I'll probably put both bars of soap in 1 box as they're small.

When we went for supper my boys each received a box of crayons.

I made them share and put the other one in my purse to add to a box;)

Free stuff is all around us.  Take it and use it to bless a child.

Multi-colored pens.

I remember having these when I was growing up.  I loved all the colored ink options, all in one pen.
I found these at Superstore for $1.00.  Last year I managed to score some in their after school clearance.  But they had hardly any left, so scooped some up.  I think it is money well spent.

A few deals- edited

I found this week.
Superstore.

There are a lot of toys on sale.

Here are 2 that caught my eye.

Stuffed animals.  Regular $3.99 now .94 cents.

Mini puzzles .44 cents.

.19 cent loose leaf continues.
2 scissors for $1.24.
These have been repleneshed at my Superstore.

They also marked down their shoes/sandals/socks and hats.

Walmart

Fruit of the Loom 9 pack of  girls underwear.

$7.00
I haven't been there in a while to check out other sales.
Not stated in their flyers.

Staples
12 pack of bic pens .96 cents.
24 staples brand pencil crayons .96 cents.
They still have the 4 pack of hilroy notebooks
for .24 cents.

School supplies are dwindling but there are still a lot of good deals to be had. 

Be sure to stock up now for your boxes.

The simple gift of a toothbrush

A toothbrush is something I take for granted.
But check out this boys reaction to receiving a toothbrush.
I wish my kids would get so excited over the simple things in life.

Remember that these children only receive 1 box in their lifetime.
So pack good quality items, that will last them a long time.

More toothbrushes

I found these at Dollarama a few weeks ago.

And stocked up on them.

They are out of them at my location.

But I would suggest keeping an eye for them.

My boys thought they were cool and each took a brush.

And I was impressed with the quality.

And 5 for $1.00 is a great price.

And they're so cute.

Yesterday I saw that they had hairbrushes to match the toothbrushes.

Clip With A Purpose

Have you checked out Clip With a Purpose?

It's an American site but she has lots of great ideas.

I especially liked this article about including a bag.

Ask your kids what to add.

Have you ever gone to the store and asked your kids what they think you should buy to fill the box?
They often have many different ideas.
Often God appointed ideas, I may add.
I took my son and he right away said. "Mom, you have to buy these bungee cords."
I had never thought of buying bungee cords. 
But we use them quite often.
I'll add them to a 10-14 boys box.
And I'm sure they'll come in handy.

Anyone else have their child come up with a great suggestion to buy for a box?

Soap

$2.99 for a 10 pack of soap at Superstore

4 pkgs of pencil crayons + 1 pkg of pencil sharpeners= 8 happy kids

4 packages of  24 pencil crayons with pencil sharpener

at Walmart or Superstore.

4 x $1.25 = $5.00

1 package of pencil sharpeners.

$1.00 at Dollarama.

Divide each package of 24 pencil crayons in 1/2.

Now you have enough pencil crayons for 8 boxes.

Plus 8 pencil sharpeners.

(4 free pencil sharpeners which come on the box and the pack of 4 from Dollarama)

All for $6.00 or .75 cents a box.

Coupons on Honeycombs box.

Did anyone pick up this box of Honeycombs?

Use the $1.00 off coupon to buy ziploc bags to use to put your candy and soap in.

Tennis Balls

Superstore marked down their 18 pack of tennis balls.

Regular over $10.  Now $2.94.

That's .16 cents per ball.

Imagine all the fun that will be had!

It looks like most of Supstores back to school deals

continue this week.

They have loose leaf  for .19 cents.

Divided 5 ways thats only 4 cents per box.

Sale on t-shirts-Edited

Superstore marked down some of their childrens t-shirts to $1.94.

I found quite a few boys ones.  For all age groups.

I did find girls t-shirts they were just in a different area.

Waterbottles

I love a glass of cold water especially on a hot summer day.

I can not imagine having a haul water. 

We are so blessed and I know I often take things like clean, running water for granted.

I read on a blog (sorry I can't find the link) that someone packed a waterbottle.

And thought what a great idea!

Maybe the child can now take some water to school, or wherever he or she is going.

I was recently at a garage sale and found this new water bottle for .5 cents.

You can take the cap off and put some items into the bottle as it takes up quite a bit of room.

Repurposing

Does anyone recognize this package?

Childrens underwear comes packaged inside it.

Keep it and use it as a pencil case!

Thrift Store Finds- Stuffed Animals

Garage Sales and Thrift Stores are great places to find stuffed animals for your boxes.

I bought these for .25 cents each.

I just imagine some child opening up their box and hugging these.

Well worth .25 cents!

Loose Leaf.

Flipping through the back to school flyer's I noticed they're advertising loose leaf at amazing prices!

Superstore and Walmart have 150 sheets for .25 cents.

(Sorry my picture has Staples on it.  I bought when they had it on sale too.)

Have you ever thought of buying a pack and dividing it and putting it in your box.

If you divide it by 5 each box receives 30 sheets.

And it's only 5 cents a box for paper!  And what a precious commodity paper is in developing countries.

Will you even notice the .25 cents on your bill?  How can you not buy it;)

Wash Cloths

Wash cloths are a staple in my boxes.  So I'm always on the look out.  Dollarama always has them 2 for $1.00 but I'm always looking to stretch my dollar as far as it will go.  I found these at Giant Tiger.  They were 3 for $1.00.  And the quality is about the same as the Dollarama ones.

We are lucky enough to live close to the border.  So we hit Target and Walmart down there a few times a year.  These I found at Walmart in the States.  And they were 18 for $4.00.  That's the best price I've found yet.  That comes out to .22 cents per cloth.

Anyone else found good deals of wash cloths?

Free Toothbrush with coupon.

While looking for toothpaste at Superstore.  I saw that they had Oral B toothbrushes on sale for $1.00. 
This in itself is a good price.  But I then remembered I had received a $1.00 off coupon in the mail a few weeks back.  (I think it's from the P&G brandSAVER website) So it was free!
If you have coupons, check your stash.  You too may be able to pick up a free toothbrush.

Parades

This weekend is our local festival.  And with it comes the parade.

A great time to collect OCC items.

Often times they are throwing out items, caps, small frisbees, water bottles  and of course hard candy.

All great items to add to your box.

School supplies

Did you know often times children can not go to school because they do not have the school supplies they need.  But by adding them to your box you can help a child attend school.

Right now is a great time to stock up on school supplies!

Here are some of the best deals I have found for the week of August 12-18th.
(prices may vary depending on your location)

Superstore:
Pencils 10 pack for .25 cents
Crayola pencil crayons 24 for $1.25.  and it includes a pencil sharpener!
Crayola Crayons .80 cents
Bic pens 10 pack .99 cents
4 pack of notebooks .25 cents
coil notebook .15 cents
5 pack of erasers .94 cents
150 pack of loose leaf .25 cents.


Staples
10 pack of pencils  .25 cents
Hilroy notebooks 4 for .25 cents
150 loose leaf for .19 cents
limit 6 per customer.
Saturday only 200 hilroy loose leaf 10 cents.

Walmart
4 notebooks for .25 cents
Crayola Crayons .75 cents
Crayola 24 pencil crayons plus bonus sharpener $1.25
Bic 8 -10 pack of pens $1.00
200 Hilroy loose leaf .25 cents
Coil Notebook .15 cents
4 pack of erasers .75 cents

Sewing Kits

I always like packing items which could help the recipient.

I try to include a sewing kit in all my 10-14 boxes.

The top sewing kit I found at Giant Tiger for $4.00.

The scissor seems like really good quality.

The bottom kit I found at walmart.

They are normally $5.00 but at my walmart they are clearing them out for $3.00.

They both have a variety of items: scissor, measuring tape, pin cushion, needles, thread, etc.

I also found a huge bag of buttons on sale at Walmart for $1.50.

I bought that and I added more buttons to each kit.

I will probably have enough buttons for this year and next from this bag.

I am also planning on adding more safety pins to each kit.

As they only came with a few.

And safety pins always come in handy.

Another idea is to take the sewing kits from hotels.

Not all hotels have them. 

But if you happen to luck out, take it along and put it in your box.

I have a few friends who travel often who are

 collecting for our packing party this Christmas season.

Impact Story

I love hearing impact stories.  How a simple box can change the life of the child who receives it.  But often it affects the whole family.  Like this story.

Christian Silva of La Carbonera, Nicaragua, can still remember the day, eight

years ago, when her son and daughter received Operation Christmas Child shoe

box gifts. “My kids were full of joy with the boxes,” she remembers. Her threeyear-

old daughter Chrisada fell in love with a pink stuffed bear from her shoe box

and snuggled it every night while she slept.

Christian’s family had not been going to church, but she and her husband were

so overjoyed with the gift-filled shoe boxes that they soon began to attend the

church that had hosted the shoe box distribution event. Eight years later, they

still attend the church and everyone in family has grown in their faith in the Lord.

“Through the discipleship lessons I have learned to love Jesus,” says Chrisada,

now 11 years old.

As their relationship with Christ grew, their family life also changed. “There used

to be strife in our home,” Christian laments, “but [Jesus] changed everything. We

are no longer how we were before.”

The family is grateful for the Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts that led

them to the church and to salvation in Christ. “We thank the Lord and

Samaritan’s Purse and Canada for having love in your hearts for the poor

children of Nicaragua.”
Source OCC Canada

Thrift Store Finds

I am always on the hunt for OCC items. 

And one of the places I often look are thrift stores. 

There are so many new items people give away.

Treasures just waiting to be found.

 This week I found this for .50 cents.  

I figure it will be good for 2 older girl boxes.

Did you Know...

640,714 boxes were sent from Canada last year.
They were sent to:

·         Argentina

·         Chile

·         Costa Rica

·         Guatemala

·         Haiti

·         Nicaragua

·         Paraguay

·         Uruguay

·         Venezuela

·         Equitorial Guinea

·         Guinea Bissau

·         Senegal

·         Sierra Leone

Shoe boxes are sent to over 100 countries worldwide (from all Operation Christmas Childs international offices).

Source: OCC Canada