FTV Christmas Shoe(box)s

FROM THE VAULT

I have updated the information here for the 2022 Christmas season. I'm hoping this answers a lot of questions & makes it easier for people who want to pack shoeboxes & helps us all avoid the crisis of not realizing you need to donate $10 per box to cover shipping costs, over buying and filling 8 shoeboxes instead of the 4 you originally signed up for, and then being cashless (and just poor in general) and sheepishly asking your parents for $80 because you're an idiot. A common problem, I'm sure.

National Collection Week is next week! November 14th-21st. Next week there will be over 4,500 drop-off locations around the country and you can even BUILD A SHOEBOX ONLINE now!

And even better...you can mail finished shoeboxes to the Boone & Charlotte offices. And I just read on the website that you can take products out of their original packaging to make them fit better...score! This just keeps getting better and better.

If it's your first (or fifth) time packing a shoebox, it can be hard to keep track of all the "rules" and suggestions. So I made visual aids! Let's start with the no-gos.

I gotta say they nailed it on the drink mixes. Gross.

Now. A WOW item is recommended for each box. This is like your centerpiece. What you build the gift around. The main character.

Personal care items are obviously important as well. A suggestion I wish someone had given me last year...blankets take up A LOT of space. Especially anything in the fleece family.

Clothes. Honestly you can never have too much underwear.

This is where I really shine. Crafts, crafts, crafts. Friendship bracelet kits were all the rage for a while there. I realized in the reread that I have NO IDEA what the difference between a while and awhile is. I googled it and that didn't really help so. Fingers crossed. Hobby Lobby has A TON of DIY kits for kids.

Ahhh toys. A classic. The marbles do seem a bit of a bummer after Squid Game, but finger puppets are fun for the whole family.

Ooooooh my other favorite category! I LOVE a school supply. I literally lock away the InkJoys when I have a substitute. Not because of the sub, because of the kids, but you can really never be too careful.

I made a cheat sheet in Spanish too, but my espanol is muy limited. Luckily the vocabulary is good I just like to keep everything in the present tense just to be safe. So Spanish speakers, use this sheet cuando you comprando.