A few years ago I threw a Gingerbread Party for all Lydia’s friends. It was kind of a playdate/Christmas Party. I really liked the idea and wanted to do it again…but instead of a Christmas-theme, I wanted to do an Operation Christmas Child Party! My kids love packing shoeboxes and I knew they’d love to do it with some of their friends, too!
INVITATIONS
I sent out a facebook invite to over 100 people, sent a paper invite to Lydia’s class and did an email-invite for all the people I work with at church. I was hoping we could pack 100 boxes! I even went to the Operation Christmas Child office in Atlanta to pick up 100 empty boxes! (Don’t worry, they were all flat! Can you imagine 100 shoeboxes in your car! Ack!)
FOOD
I planned for the party to be a drop-in after church on Sunday. So, we had it set from 1-6pm. That makes for a long day but I figured everyone would be able to come for either lunch or dinner. I made chili (two crockpots full with more canned beans and tomatoes ready to dump into a pot), some cornbread muffins and cupcakes. We had cider, coffee, crackers and even candy canes. (And that “c” alliteration was totally by accident, but pretty cool, huh?!)
AMBIANCE
I did the table with Christmas linens and china. We played Christmas music and had Veggie Tales’ Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving playing silently on the TV. I even made some bunting out of scrapbook paper to decorate the kitchen!
ACTIVITIES
I spread out all the gifts my kids and I have collected all year on tables. Plus the gifts my friends and family had donated in quantities of 100. Then, when everyone arrived (clutching their own gifts in a plastic bag) they could use our extras to fill their boxes to overflowing or even pack an additional box.
I also provided labels so we could correctly identify if the box was for a boy or girl. After filling their box, they headed over to the kitchen table where they could write a note to the recipient of their box. I had fill-in-the-blank coloring sheets for the kids and blank cards for the grown-ups and creatives who wanted to write their own words.
Then everyone slipped $7 in their box (or nicely handed me a little extra cash!) so these boxes could be handled and shipped to a needy child somewhere else in the world!
Next time you’re thinking of a Christmas party, try an Operation Christmas Child Party! You’ll have fun, honor your guests and do good for someone else. It was the perfect way to start off a holiday season.
{Oh, we didn’t pack 100 boxes. More like 40. I’m going to donate the leftovers to my friend Kathy who is having an Operation Christmas Child BIRTHDAY party next weekend!}
PARTY PLANNING
Does planning a party like this make you nervous? Someone asked me yesterday, “How are you hosting this big party and remaining so calm?” I just shrugged because I honestly love big events! I think planning and executing a great party is an adventure!
Love your pics and it makes me even more excited about my party.
Music! I need to get the hubby to make a play list and figure out how to play it through the office. Whoop! Thanks for that reminder.
And, thanks for donating your leftovers. We gotta figure out a way to meet!
yes! just emailed you!!
Love this idea. I just forwarded it to my Sunday School teacher and my Good Morning Girls group. Maybe I can get one together before the boxes are due. I want to find out how to get the official boxes, most people here buy tuperware boxes to fill and that money could go toward more stuff inside the box.
That’s true! Just contact OCC and see if they have a local office near you!
omg how fun! yay, it’s that time of year again!
Thanks so much for reminding me! I have the shoe boxes in my car, but November is flying by quicker than expected! lol
-Samantha