What to Pack

Fill shoeboxes with quality, new items that will last. Think about the kids in your life – pack items you feel they would enjoy. Remember that each box represents the free gift of God’s love so be sure to send gifts that will bring a smile. Check out our suggestions below.

  • Doll
  • Stuffed animal
  • Balls (Make sure to include a manual air pump so that the ball can be reinflated)
  • Outfit of clothing to wear
  • Small musical instrument
  • Skipping rope
  • Blanket
  • Toothbrush
  • Washcloth
  • Bar soap (must be packaged)
  • Comb or brush
  • Adhesive bandages (non-medicated)
  • Reusable plastic containers: cup, water bottle, plate, bowl, blunt-edged utensils (consider filling any empty containers with non-liquid items to maximise space.)
  • Wet wipes
  • Dress/t-shirt/top/pants
  • Hat/scarf/mittens
  • Socks/shoes
  • Underwear
  • Tote-bag/purse
  • Sunglasses
  • Hair accessories (bows, ribbons, elastics etc.)
  • Friendship bracelets
  • Pencils, coloured pencils, pens, markers, pencil case
  • Colouring books, exercise books
  • Safety scissors
  • Watercolour set
  • Board or cloth books
  • Small manual sharpener
  • Small adhesive tape
  • Make-it-yourself craft kit
  • Stickers
  • Play dough (store bought)
  • Crayons
  • Glue stick (not liquid)
  • Cars, trucks, boats
  • Interactive toys that include push buttons, lights, noise (include extra prepackaged batteries.)
  • Building blocks
  • Finger puppets
  • Plastic tools
  • Slinky
  • Etch a sketch
  • Plastic toys and figurines

You may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself, your family, or group.

*Samaritan’s Purse encourages Operation Christmas Child shoebox donors to include a personal note in each shoebox gift.

  • Doll/doll accessories
  • Stuffed animal
  • Dress ups – crown, fairy wands etc.
  • Balls (tennis balls, bouncy balls, hackey sack, football, soccer ball, beach ball, etc.) with a pump if necessary
  • Outfit of clothing to wear
  • Backpack/bag/tote-bag/purse
  • Small musical instrument
  • Skipping rope
  • Blanket
  • Toothbrush
  • Washcloth
  • Bar soap (must be packaged)
  • Comb or brush
  • Adhesive bandages (non-medicated)
  • Reusable plastic containers: cup, water bottle, plate, bowl, blunt-edged utensils (consider filling any empty containers with non-liquid items to maximise space.)
  • Flashlight (solar-powered or hand-crank; if battery operated, include extra prepackaged batteries)
  • Wet wipes
  • Lip balm (non-medicated)
  • Pencils, coloured pencils, pens, markers, pencil case
  • Exercise books
  • Safety scissors, ruler, protractor
  • Blank index cards
  • Solar powered calculator
  • Small manual sharpener
  • Erasers
  • Glue stick (not liquid)
  • Dress/t-shirt/top/pants
  • Hat/scarf/mittens
  • Socks/shoes/flip flops
  • Underwear
  • Sunglasses
  • Hair accessories (bows, ribbons, elastics etc.)
  • Friendship bracelets
  • Small adhesive tape
  • Make-it-yourself craft kit
  • Stickers
  • Puzzles
  • Chalkboard and chalk
  • Binoculars
  • Watercolour set
  • Illustrated books, colouring books
  • Play dough (store bought)
  • Crayons
  • Ribbon wands
  • Lego
  • Hand puppets
  • Plastic toys and toy figures
  • Yo-yo
  • Small frisbee
  • Small kite
  • Etch a sketch
  • Marbles
  • Water guns (that don’t look like real guns)
  • Playing cards

You may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself, your family, or group.

*Samaritan’s Purse encourages Operation Christmas Child shoebox donors to include a personal note in each shoebox gift. 

  • Doll/doll accessories
  • Stuffed animal
  • Balls (tennis balls, bouncy balls, hackey sack, football, soccer ball, beach ball, etc.) with a pump if necessary
  • Outfit of clothing to wear
  • Backpack/bag/tote-bag/purse
  • Small musical instrument
  • Skipping rope
  • Blanket
  • Toothbrush
  • Washcloth
  • Bar soap (packaged and/or in a container)
  • Comb or brush
  • Adhesive bandages (non-medicated)
  • Reusable plastic containers: cup, water bottle, plate, bowl, blunt-edged utensils (consider filling any empty containers with non-liquid items to maximise space.)
  • Flashlight (solar-powered or hand-crank; if battery operated, include extra prepackaged batteries)
  • Compact mirror
  • Nail clipper and file
  • Wet wipes
  • Reusable or disposable feminine hygiene products
  • Deodorant (solid stick, no liquids)
  • Lip balm (non-medicated)
  • Pencils, coloured pencils, pens, texters, pencil case
  • Exercise books, books
  • Safety scissors, ruler, protractor
  • Blank index cards
  • Solar powered calculator
  • Small manual sharpener
  • Small adhesive tape
  • Erasers
  • Glue stick (not liquid)
  • Dress/t-shirt/top/pants
  • Hat/scarf/mittens
  • Socks/shoes/flip flops
  • Underwear
  • Sunglasses
  • Hair accessories (bows, ribbons, elastics etc.)
  • Friendship bracelets
  • Wristwatch
  • Bead jewellery/bead kit
  • Colouring books
  • Watercolour set
  • Puzzles
  • Chalkboard and chalk
  • Binoculars
  • Sewing kit (fabric 1-2 yards and ribbon)
  • Gardening kit/gloves (do not include gardening seeds)
  • Card games
  • Play dough (store bought)
  • Crayons
  • Yo-yo
  • Small frisbee
  • Small kite
  • Etch a sketch
  • Marbles
  • Kaleidoscope
  • Playing cards
  • Water guns (that don’t look like real guns)

You may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself, your family, or group.

*Samaritan’s Purse encourages Operation Christmas Child shoebox donors to include a personal note in each shoebox gift.

  • Stuffed animal
  • Balls (Make sure to include a manual air pump so that the ball can be reinflated)
  • Outfit of clothing to wear
  • Small musical instrument
  • Skipping rope
  • Blanket
  • Toothbrush
  • Washcloth
  • Bar soap (packaged and/or in a container)
  • Comb or brush
  • Adhesive bandages (non-medicated)
  • Reusable plastic containers: cup, water bottle, plate, bowl, blunt-edged utensils (consider filling any empty containers with non-liquid items to maximise space.)
  • Wet wipes
  • T-shirt/pants
  • Hat/scarf/mittens
  • Socks/shoes
  • Underwear
  • Tote-bag
  • Sunglasses
  • Pencils, coloured pencils, pens, texters, pencil case
  • Colouring books, exercise books
  • Safety scissors
  • Watercolour set
  • Board or cloth books
  • Small manual sharpener
  • Small adhesive tape
  • Make-it-yourself craft kit
  • Stickers
  • Play dough (store bought)
  • Crayons
  • Glue stick (not liquid)
  • Cars, trucks, boats
  • Interactive toys that include push buttons, lights, noise (include extra prepackaged prepackaged batteries.)
  • Building blocks
  • Finger puppets
  • Plastic tools
  • Plastic dinosaurs
  • Duplo
  • Slinky
  • Etch a sketch
  • Plastic toys and figurines

You may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself, your family, or group.

*Samaritan’s Purse encourages Operation Christmas Child shoebox donors to include a personal note in each shoebox gift.

  • Stuffed animal
  • Balls (tennis balls, bouncy balls, hackey sack, football, soccer ball, beach ball, etc.) with a pump if necessary
  • Toy cars, truck or boat
  • Outfit of clothing to wear
  • Backpack/bag/tote-bag
  • Small musical instrument
  • Skipping rope
  • Blanket
  • Toothbrush
  • Washcloth
  • Bar soap (packaged and/or in a container)
  • Comb or brush
  • Adhesive bandages (non-medicated)
  • Reusable plastic containers: cup, water bottle, plate, bowl, blunt-edged utensils (consider filling any empty containers with non-liquid items to maximise space.)
  • Flashlight (solar-powered or hand-crank; if battery operated, include extra prepackaged batteries)
  • Wet wipes
  • Lip balm (non-medicated)
  • Pencils, coloured pencils, pens, texters, pencil case
  • Exercise books,
  • Safety scissors, ruler, protractor
  • Blank index cards
  • Solar powered calculator
  • Small manual sharpener
  • Erasers
  • Glue stick (not liquid)
  • T-shirt/top/pants
  • Hat/scarf/mittens
  • Socks/shoes/flip flops
  • Underwear
  • Sunglasses
  • Wristwatch
  • Colouring books, illustrated books
  • Watercolour set
  • Small adhesive tape
  • Make-it-yourself craft kit
  • Stickers
  • Puzzles
  • Chalkboard and chalk
  • Binoculars
  • Play dough
  • Crayons (store bought)
  • Building blocks
  • Tool set
  • Plastic dinosaurs, animals, action figures
    (nothing war-related)
  • Lego
  • Yo-yo
  • Small frisbee
  • Small kite
  • Etch a sketch
  • Marbles
  • Water guns (that don’t look like real guns)
  • Playing cards

You may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself, your family, or group.

*Samaritan’s Purse encourages Operation Christmas Child shoebox donors to include a personal note in each shoebox gift.

  • Stuffed animal
  • Balls (tennis balls, bouncy balls, hackey sack, football, soccer ball, beach ball, etc.) with a pump if necessary
  • Outfit of clothing to wear
  • Backpack/bag/tote-bag
  • Small musical instrument
  • Skipping rope
  • Blanket
  • Toothbrush
  • Washcloth
  • Bar soap (packaged and/or in a container)
  • Comb or brush
  • Adhesive bandages (non-medicated)
  • Reusable plastic containers: cup, water bottle, plate, bowl, blunt-edged utensils (consider filling any empty containers with non-liquid items to maximise space.)
  • Flashlight (solar-powered or hand-crank; if battery operated, include extra prepackaged batteries)
  • Nail clipper and file
  • Wet wipes
  • Deodorant (solid stick)
  • Lip balm (non-medicated)
  • Pencils, coloured pencils, pens, markers, pencil case
  • Exercise books
  • Safety scissors, ruler, protractor
  • Blank index cards
  • Solar powered calculator
  • Small manual sharpener
  • Erasers
  • Glue stick (not liquid)
  • T-shirt/top/pants
  • Hat/scarf/mittens
  • Socks/shoes/flip flops
  • Underwear
  • Sunglasses
  • Wristwatch
  • Bandana
  • Colouring books, books
  • Watercolour set
  • Small adhesive tape
  • Puzzles
  • Chalkboard and chalk
  • Binoculars
  • Tool set with work gloves
  • Fishing kit
  • Brightly coloured rope or twine
  • Gardening kit/gloves (no gardening seeds)
  • Magnets
  • Card games
  • Play dough (store bought)
  • Crayons
  • Yo-yo
  • Baseball and mitt
  • Small frisbee
  • Small kite
  • Marbles
  • Kaleidoscope
  • Playing cards
  • Water guns (that don’t look like real guns)

You may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself, your family, or group.

*Samaritan’s Purse encourages Operation Christmas Child shoebox donors to include a personal note in each shoebox gift.

Do Not Include

Lollies; chocolate or food; fruit rolls or other fruit snacks; drink mixes (powdered or liquid); liquid paint; toothpaste; shampoo; aerosol cans; bubbles; medicine; vitamins; used clothes; old toys; glass; porcelain; war-related items; toy guns, knives; military figures; skull and crossbones; Halloween items; play money; tracts and Bibles (children are given an Operation Christmas Child The Greatest Gift book at an outreach event).

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