The Gift of Giving - Operation Christmas Child

One tradition that our family started last year is giving to Operation Christmas Child.  National collection week is going on now, from November 17th - 24th, so you still have time to participate if you want!!  I know that Samaritan's Purse does the national collection week early to make sure to get the gifts to the children in time for Christmas, but I also love that the collection occurs right before Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent.  I think it can be so hard in a world of materialism to teach our children to give and to think of others first, but it is SO important! This is the perfect time to be thinking about giving to others and for being thankful for what we have.

So off to Target we went to get some shoe box sized totes and pick out gifts!  I had a talk with the boys before we got to the store about what Operation Christmas Child is and that there are children in the world who do not have as many toys and important things like food, toothpaste/toothbrushes as we do.  We discussed that it is important to have a generous heart and to give to others.  Our oldest child Ryan (almost 5 years old) remembered doing this activity last year and asked if he was sending a gift to the same boy that he did last year.  This was a great question to be able to discuss how many boys and girls there are in the world for us to help and that we always want to do our little part and always keep all of them in our prayers!

Picking out gifts for Operation Christmas Child

I told them to pick out some fun toys and things that they thought little boys would want to play with.  You pick what age range you want to give to so we picked Boys age 2-4 years old, just like our kids.  It was so much fun to set them loose and see what they picked!  Our oldest son picked a dinosaur game, a Tonka helicopter, a fire truck book and a few matchbox cars!  We also added to this box toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and socks. 



 

 

Our middle son, who is 3 years old, immediately picked out the Dusty airplane from Disney Planes Fire & Rescue that he has been wishing for (I knew that when he was picking it out we were probably going to have a problem, but I still let him choose it.)  He also picked some blocks, Mickey mouse stamps, a school bus book and a sports game.  We also added toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and socks to this box!

 

 

We went to the checkout line and everything was going well, the boys were chatting to each other about all of the fun things that they were purchasing and then our oldest said "those boys are going to love these toys so much!"  At this moment I was so excited about how they are really getting this, they are understanding how important it is to give to others!

 

Enter meltdown from our 3 year old.  "No, the Dusty plane is MINE"!  Thankfully we were finished checking out and on our way to the van but the meltdown continued.  Part of me was initially frustrated thinking about how this isn't even worth it!  Taking three little boys out on a cold day, making the effort doing these things parenting with little kids...but then thankfully I paused for a moment, said a prayer and got some much needed clarity. 

 

Thank you God for this meltdown!  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach my children about the importance of giving and not just receiving.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach my children that it is ok for their every wish not to be granted immediately and it is good to give to others, even those things that they REALLY want. 

 

We stopped in our van, and right there we said a prayer together "Dear Jesus, please watch over the boys and girls in this world who are in need.  Please show them your love and please let them feel our love for them.  Please pray for each of us, that we learn how to love like you and give of ourselves and our gifts to others.  In your name we pray.  Amen".   

 

My child dried his tears, put down the coveted toy and said "Mommy, I think the boy who gets Dusty (the plane) is going to think it's really cool".  Now, I know this won't be the last meltdown, or the last time we have to talk about letting go of materialism and giving to others, but I do know today was a good step.  A step forward in teaching my children the importance of giving to others.  Plus there is the added bonus that teaching these lessons to my children are a fantastic reminder of these virtues for myself! 

 

Yes, he REALLY loves this Dusty plane.  He gave it a kiss before putting it in the box!

Thank you God for giving me this moment with our children.  May their hearts continue to grow to love and give to others like you.  We pray for all of those involved with Operation Christmas Child and for all those in need, especially during this season of Thanksgiving and Christmas.