I'm filling a couple of shoeboxes for the Samaritan's Purse Christmas project for the older kids, a boy and a girl. I thought I'd add some FSL bookmarks, but do you Cuties have any other ideas of things I can make and add? I got some colored pencils and thought I could make a nice zippered bag with Jesus loves me.. but what else????

My mom always puts in a large draw string bag so they can keep all their goodies together (the shoebox won't last long) and a t-shirt & shorts/skirt and a pair of underwear (jocks or knickers). I'd say tennis balls & skipping ropes would be great for older children too. :) xXx

This link takes you to ideas of what to pack in the shoe boxes. Samaritan's Purse is located around 20 miles from where I live and each year we make up several of these boxes. Have fun putting the boxes together and don't forget the soap. Hygiene is lacking in areas these boxes are sent to.

Have you ever done a project with them before? I did. Afterwards, I was absolutely bombarded by junk mail and phone calls. They will stop if you call them though.
I'm sure that the kids will enjoy just about anything that you send. How about a pillowcase with a nice embroidery on it? That way they can keep using it beyond Christmas. And perhaps a pencil pouch, either zippered or roll-up with individual spaces for each pencil. Flat things like that ship well and then you can add more to the box. Enjoy!!

This is a wonderful fulfilling thing to do. I filled my boxes with ITH pencil case, embroided a cap(did a patch and then handstitched it onto front of cap)& embroidered a handtowel & facecloth, made a bookbag, bookmark then added soaps, combs hair brushes, toothbrushes, pencils, exercise books, tennis balls, beads & thread for making bracelets etc, skipping ropes, socks, hairbands & hairclips
hugs & sparkles & God Bless all Cuties from minicow

Tried to answer but lost the message.
For older girls we make sewing kits with an embroidered needle case and needles, a pin cushion, safety pins and straight pins, fabric, scissors and scissor holder, a tape measurer, etc. all wrapped in more fabric or a bag or case. Or a crochet hook and yarn?
Toiletry items like soap, (double wrapped in zippered plastic bags), wash cloths, toothbrush and paste or tooth powder, and emory boards, all in an embroidered bag.
We include items like flashlights with extra batteries, or solar powered items like calculators.
You could make a cover for a journal or notebook which has ruled or unruled paper. We add fun pencils, erasers, sharpeners, triangles, compasses, etc.
Hair brushes, combs, hair accessories.
Hard candies (double bagged in zipper plastic bags.)
High bounce balls, jacks games, yo-yos are good if the children are not too old.
Dry powders (double bagged).
We remove all store packaging to make more items fit into the shoe box and shop at back to school sales and buy T-shirts, sandles and shorts at end of summer sales. At winters end you can find mittens, hats or scarves on sale also.
Colorful bandanas can line a plastic shoe box.
We get together with a group to wrap the cardboard shoe boxes and share a lunch. It makes it lots of fun.
We read that the shoe boxes are sorted, so a child from a warm climate would not get mittens, etc.
Did I mention yo-yos and high bounce balls which most children like? We found small slates with chalk at the Oriental Trading company, as well.
Have fun!
Hugs,
Jacqueline

Maybe your can fix such socks animals or those farm animals of Julieke ? I'm sure they would like these !

Our church is also filling shoe boxes for the SP Christmas project, may have to work on some of these little bears for next year, they are due to be turned in a couple of weeks from now.

My daughter does something similar to this - she puts little soaps, what we call Foo-Foo(which is shower gels)note pads, pencils. She also is always searching for the little puzzles, and some activity things, hair bows, etc for the girls, and things like that. I think that it is a little harder for the bigger boys. Go hit your Dollar Tree and see what they have for them.

It is Joy designs. Go to the home page, link below, & scroll down til you see a bear with his arms out wide. Click on it & that will take you to the file. There's also bookmarks to match the bear. I'm doing a box too! We do every year, as do my grand daughters. They each do one for a child their age. Be sure & put a small pencil sharpener in with the pencils. Something a missionary in Africa told me when we were on a trip over there was not to put in the fancy soaps. The kids sometimes think they are candy & try to eat them! Use the bar soap. Love the zippered bag idea! May "steal" it from you! Oh! You have to click on "designs" before you can get to the bear!

3 comments

by hightechgrammy 01 Nov 2011

Thanks so much, but for some reason this old lady can't find the bear with the arms out wide. I see JOY in flowers. I did remember to get a pencil sharpener - whew! I have a cute stuffed cat, of course. I'm thinking of making a bookmark with a glowin the dark cross prayer reminder.....
Thanks for the ideas!

by danababes 02 Nov 2011

http://joydesigns.org/TeddyBear.h...
is the page with the teddy :) xXx

by danababes 02 Nov 2011

hrm, cut off.. copy & paste then add tml (as in html) after TeddyBear. :) Or scroll all the way to the bottom of Joy's home page for the link

There is a file to make a God love me bear on Joy designs. let me go get the site address. They actually were created for the Samaritians boxes! Be right back!