Giving on Black Friday & Cyber Monday (with Samaritan's Purse)

Looking for a good deal on a holiday gift for someone?  Samaritan's Purse offers you the chance to change lives, give a gift, and all without leaving your cozy home to fight the crowds!

This nondenominational Christian organization has been serving since the 70's.  You can shop their "gift catalog" to find unique gifts for people.  

For example, one year for my son's preschool teachers, instead of giving them yet another body lotion or candle...I contributed to the Samaritan's Purse campaign to help a child in another country have access to school.  

There are lots of gifts $15 or under that you can choose from and you'll have the chance at checkout to get a card announcing the gift that you can wrap up and give to your recipient or you could create your own card.

Some of my favorite gift options from Samaritan's Purse:

Supply a family with baby chicks---that will grow up to be hens and produce eggs for the family's own nutrition and that they can sell and create a source of income.  #17 in the gift catalog.  $14.

Who could you "give" this to?  Friends, teachers, grandparents.


Sports gear---soccer balls or other playground recreational equipment.  #22 in the gift catalog.  $8.

Who could you "give" this to?  Coaches, PE Teacher, in-laws, adult men, brothers, pastors

Clean water---Share the cost of a filtration system that will serve over 3,000 people.  #4 in the gift catalog.  $15.  So many people die DAILY from diseases caused by dirty water.  It is heartbreaking.

Who could you give this to as a gift?  Doctor, friends, neighbors, caterers, teachers, pastors, parents, cousins, grandparents.

To see all gifts available through Samaritan's Purse, and learn more about how they help the lives of our fellow man, click here.

Photos provided by Samaritan's Purse. I was not compensated in any way for this post.

Packing Joy (in a Shoebox)--Girl's Edition

Christmas is coming.

We don't spend a lot on gifts for our kids (see this post for how we did 4 gifts last year).  But they get gifts.  Grandparents get them gifts, they get birthday gifts.

Imagine a child not having ever been given a gift.  Nothing. Nada.  That's the sad reality for millions in our world.

Samaritan's Purse runs a super cool program aimed at giving kids a gift. Operation Christmas Child asks you to pack a shoe box with items for a boy or girl.  Then they deliver these all around the world.  Shoe boxes aren't just about toys, they include school supplies, often making the difference for a child being able to go to school or not.  Did you know that in Uganda, a box of crayon costs the equivalent of a week's salary!?  No wonder kids don't have the supplies they need for school.

This year we've done 6 boxes in our family.
They are on a storage shelf in our room and I can add to them as I purchase stuff. I find that the easiest way to keep organized and keep an eye on what is still needed.

I spelled "hygiene" incorrectly in this picture.  Oops.  Don't send hate mail.

Today, I will show you what our girl boxes contain.  There are lots of photos of each of the 3 boxes so you can get a detailed look at what's inside!

Our Dial soap is double bagged so the scent doesn't permeate every item in the boxes.

First, the box for the youngest age category of girls: 2-4 yr olds

Here's a list of everything stuffed into the box!  I've never sent silverware before but this year all my boxes include  forks.  They were a great deal at my grocery store during back-to-school season and I thought many of the children getting boxes may not have enough forks for each member of the house, so this would help them.

Girl box ages 5-9

List of everything in our box for the girl in the 5-9 yr old age group.  For some reason the headbands really excite me about this box.  I hope the girl who gets it was HOPING for headbands!  She also will get two stuffed animals.  Everyone needs something cuddly!

The box for the oldest girl age group:

I was lucky to find some water bottles on clearance at a craft store after the summer.  You'll see some again when I get to the boys' boxes!  To make everything fit in the box, that is another washcloth stuffed into the bottle.

Do you pack boxes?  You can join the OCC Virtual Packing Party!  I just love seeing what creative ideas people have for putting things in the boxes!

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Related Post: Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes for Boys!