On Christmas Eve night all of the Elves will be picked up by Santa to help him deliver the toys and they will return to the North Pole for a much needed rest! Although it is sad to see the Elf go, this special friend will magically return each year to celebrate Christmas again. However, since a whole year is so long for some Elves to stay away, they occasionally drop back in briefly for birthdays and other special occasions, with parents’ permission of course! Taken from Elf Magic
The Cafe Breakaway OCC Packing Party Great job with the Cafe Breakaway ladies - we did over 40 boxes!!!
The HOPE OCC Packing Party SPECIAL THANKS TO PAPA JOHN'S for feeding the HOPE group!!! This is just SOME of the items were collected to pack into the boxes... They all did a great job building the boxes and packing them with special gifts! Our littlest "helper"! The HOPE group did an AWESOME job packing 30 boxes!!! Thanks to EVERYONE who participated!!!
This year OCC anticipates reaching an important milestone in the history of Operation Christmas Child - 100 million gift-filled boxes since 1993! Your shoe boxes represent more than smiles and laughter; they become Gospel opportunities that open doors to share the love of Jesus Christ with children and their families around the world. We give God all the praise and look forward to the best Operation Christmas Child season ever!
~ Franklin Graham - President Samaritan's Purse
Use an empty shoe box (standard size, please) or a small plastic container. You can wrap the box (lid separately), but wrapping is not required. Most importantly, pray for the child who will receive your gift.
Determine whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl, and the child’s age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Print out the appropriate boy/girl label by downloading the artwork to the right. Mark the correct age category on the label, and tape the label to the top of your box.
Fill the box with a variety of gifts that will bring delight to a child. Use the gift ideas provided on the bottom of this page.
Please donate $7 or more for each shoe box you prepare to help cover shipping and other project costs. You can give online by using our “Follow Your Box Donation” option, or you can write a check to Samaritan’s Purse (note “OCC” on memo line) and place it in an envelope on top of the gift items inside your box. If you or your family are preparing more than one shoe box, please make one combined donation.
Place a rubber band around each closed shoe box and drop it off at the
collection center nearest you during our collection week, November 12-19, 2012.
For locations and hours of collection visit our Drop-Off Locations page where you can find the nearest place to take your shoe box by entering your ZIP Code or you can call 1-800-353-5949.
You can also send your shoe box gift to:
Samaritan’s Purse
Operation Christmas Child
801 Bamboo Road
Boone, NC 28607
School Supplies
pens, pencils & sharpeners, crayons or markers, stamps & ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring or picture books, etc
Toys
small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch, Slinkys, etc
Hygiene Items
toothbrushes, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc
Other
t-shirts, socks, hats, sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries), hard candy
A personal note
You may enclose a note to the child
DO NOT INCLUDE
used or damaged items, war-related items such as a toy gun, knife or military figures, chocolate or food, out of date candy, liquids or lotions, medications or vitamins, breakable items such as snow-globes or glass containers, aerosol cans
Now gas hovers somewhere between $3 & $4 per gallon.
How in the world can we save $ on gas???
About a year ago I stumbled on a website called Gas Buddy. It's pretty cool - you can go to the site & see how much gas is pretty much anywhere.
Good but not very convenient when you are already out & about. I also don't really remember to go online before I walk out the door.
A little over 6 months ago I found out they now have an app - a GREAT FREE app! Search for Gas Buddy on your smart phone & get the free app - then no matter where you are you will always know where the least expensive gas is!
With the app you can search for gas buy price or location.
You can also update gas prices without having to log in.
