Necessity for Gender Neutrality in OCC

Hello Packers!

     I was planning on making a post about this for a while now and also realized that I, myself, haven't been following my own guidelines in regards to gender neutrality in my shoe boxes. (i.e. The Pink Theme and Baking Themes) I have reevaluated my box inclusions and have figured out that it is necessary for us as packers to include gender neutral items as well as colors. Let me give you my reasoning before you blast me for being that "Millennial Packer".

1. GIRLS ARE NOT THE ONLY GENDER THAT GETS GIRL BOXES

     That's right. When there is a surplus of children and not enough boxes to go to the 10-14 year old boys, the boys either end up with 5-9 boy boxes or sometimes boxes that should go to a 10-14 year old girl. I know I mentioned it before but I want to mention it again, I think it would be a bit of a downfall for a boy to receive a box full of dolls and pink sparkles. But then again, that's just my opinion. That is why we need to include a box filled with gender neutral items that can be good for both genders on the off chance that one of those girl boxes lands in a boy's hands.

2. TIMES ARE CHANGING FOR GIRLS

     There are programs all around the world that are helping girls become strong and independent women. This could be anywhere along the lines of getting a business underway, going to school, wearing pants in a dress-oriented village or simply not allowing themselves to be married at such a young age. Times are changing and that also means that opportunities are changing. Putting a ball in a box shows girls that they CAN go out and play and that they CAN do what the boys do. There are girls out there that still don't know their value and yes, although a ball can't do everything in showing a girl that: it can be a start. 

     Another thing that I noticed in some distributors' stories are how girls have found little matchbox cars in their boxes as well and play with them just like the boys do. I think that is something that we need to consider while packing our boxes because what better thing to send than something that both genders can enjoy? 

3. ADVANCE THE AMOUNT OF BOY BOXES (IN A WAY)

     With gender neutral boxes we are able to increase the amount of boy boxes or even girl boxes when it comes to distributions. Like I said in the top reasoning, a boy can be stuck with a girl's box but when it is a gender neutral box, although marked girl, we are still able to send a boy box because it is meant for both genders. So, if at a distribution there is a lack of boy boxes but they give him one of our gender neutral girl boxes, it will be like giving him his own boy box although it is marked for a girl. The same can go on the off chance there are more boy boxes than girl boxes at a distribution as well.

GENDER NEUTRAL IDEAS!!!!

     As you can tell, I'm relatively passionate about thinking of some gender neutral ideas so that both sides win with our boxes. So, here are some ideas that I'll show you in some photos. I recently bought these items and I believe they are pretty relevant in my post today. So, here we go:

So, this is an excellent example. This is a dream lite that can be put in either box as it is a rainbow colored teddy bear but lacks the color pink in its pattern. This is perfect for either gender and can be used for any age along the lines. This was found at the 99 cent store for only 99 cents and it lights up! Super fun and recommended. 

If you are considering getting a gender-neutral Dream Lite, I circled the ones that would be perfectly fine for any gender. I didn't circle the dinosaur mainly because I feel that is more along the lines of boyish rather than neutral but that is just my opinion. I wouldn't choose any pink items or any items that resemble fairy land (unicorn). But a puppy dog, teddy bear and a nice little penguin are all gender neutral and can be great choices for those non gender specific items that you want.

Erasers tend to be far too down the boy side or far too down the girl side. Basic erasers like this with no gender specific shape or color is a perfect purchase for your shoe boxes. Another thing that I think is pretty nice is a set of playing cards like these or like the ones you see at Poker games. Whichever you choose, both genders can enjoy a nice game of cards as they are usually family friendly games that are not gender specific.

Bouncy balls of all sorts are great for a boy or girl shoe box. I like these balls specifically because they are large enough to throw and catch and they also have some weight to them. They are also gender neutral colors of green, black, yellow and red.
As for the toothbrush cases, I have seen tons of cute pink cases and some really cool race car ones but for general purposes, try going for basic colors for the cases because I know the guys might not think too much about it when they get it but there might be a possibility of them getting made fun of by associates if he's the only one with a Hello Kitty Toothbrush and Case.

I know I haven't been following my own rules when it comes to gender neutrality but it is something that I want to get out there for ideas. For pencil sharpeners, I like to steer clear of any floral or heart shaped pencil sharpeners mainly because some boys might be a little bit embarrassed if they receive that (the flowers more than the hearts). Also, if you are going out for notebooks, I like to find gender neutral colors (think of all colors of the rainbow and you're fine *Yes, even purple.) If you're still a bit iffy on colors, go for a neutral legal pad or a black notebook.

Now, one of the things that I found myself concerned with was clothing. If you pack a shoe box for a girl, more likely than not you will include a pair of socks and maybe a shirt. With socks, I have no way around that as socks are pretty gender specific unless you guys are able to find non-gender specific socks. (If you have, contact me over the comments) But shirts are a lot easier to get for gender neutral colors. I found these shirts at the Dollar Tree. One is Fruit of the Loom, one is Gildan and one is Jerseez. They are all durable fabric and all are also gender neutral colors. Like I said earlier about colors of the rainbow, just go for any color you can find on a basic rainbow set. Pink might be showing up more in our boys' attire but in other countries, pink might still be considered a strictly girl color so try to get colors that would be suitable for both genders. A tactic I've used is imagining a girl wearing it first and then a boy wearing it second. If it doesn't look right on the boy, DON'T BUY IT.

I have not been following these little guidelines whatsoever but when it comes to drink ware, try to go for, again, gender neutral colors. I have had many bottles and containers that aren't gender neutral and I plan on changing that for some of my boxes as well as for next year, but try to go for some basic color bottles or cups for your shoe boxes because again, I know they are "happy to get anything" but we should also make that "anything" pretty OK for their gender.

Last but not least, Character type things for your boxes. We all love to include media in our boxes with funny characters and movie-related things. If we are going to include things like that, I try to go for things that are gender neutral. Minions are pretty neutral as long as they aren't on pink or floral designs. Other gender neutral character ideas are: Any Mickey Mouse theme, Shrek, Paw Patrol, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George, Despicable Me, Legos, Spider man (yes, that works for girls), Limited Marvel merchandise, Finding Nemo, The Croods, The Flintstones, Peanuts, Barney and Friends, Winnie the Pooh, Looney Toons, Scooby Doo, Adventure Time (Although I don't think that's appropriate for children), Spongebob and many more!

     So, in my last few words of this post, we as packers should want all children to be able to get their boxes and be super happy and rather excited to get these boxes but when a 10-14 year old boy gets a girl's box, it can render the excitement at a low bar. When we include gender neutral items, we are then able to keep his excitement at a nice high which is what we are striving for along with the chance to open up their world to Christ.

Happy Packing!

The Two Child Box

Hello Packers!

     Well, it is the day before finals and after getting a lot of my online school work done I figured it was time to make a shoe box to reward myself. I came across the idea of a two child shoe box when I saw a post of it on Pinterest. I thought it was a tad weird because that is an amount of stuff that can make a box on its own...that's two boxes worth of stuff! But I have been reading the Operation Christmas Child Journey book by Franklin Graham and I was reminded that I have no idea where this shoe box is going. I don't know this child's situation and I don't know his family's situation. I don't know how is friend is doing at home and what really spoke to me to make this box is that children have a natural desire to make others happy. There was a story about a boy who got a girl's box because there weren't enough boy boxes but he had a little sister who was too young to receive a box. We don't know the situation they are in and who knows, this box can end up in the hands of a boy who has a brother or a sick neighbor that couldn't attend the distribution. Only God knows.

As you can see, this box is full of sweet amazing things for these boys. Each boy gets:

-Soap

-Toothpaste

-Toothbrush

-5 Eraser Toppers

-Comb

-Washcloth 

-Crayons

-Socks

-Tissue

-Candy Cane

-Coloring Book

-T-shirt

-Tic-tac-toe Game

-Tote Bag

-Pencil Pouch

-Whistle

-Bouncy Ball

-Knit hat with 3 ply yarn

-5 pens

-5 pencils

-Batman Cup

-Notebook

-Dinosaur Eraser

-Pencil Sharpener

     Wow, I was able to include a lot of stuff. Now, let's see if I can pack it all into the box!

I was at the 99 cent store the other day and decided that I just had to buy some nice notebooks for this box. These have 80 pages each, college ruled so they can write more and they fit perfectly in the box! Underneath them are the coloring books.

Alright, so here come the flat items. I then put down the pencil pouches and then folded the tote bags into squares. I then kept the wash cloths in their square fold and placed them on top. Woohoo! Perfect Fit!

So that nice section between the notebooks and the box looked like the perfect place to include the pens, pencils and eraser toppers. I was right!

I folded the t-shirts up to rectangles and they fit in the section between the wash cloths and the box perfectly! I then stuffed the tic-tac-toe games underneath the tote bags somewhat to make sure they fit. So far, so good.

Like any packer would tell you, we need to fill in as much space as possible so fill those water bottles and cups! The cups are stacked on top of each other and they hold the: soap, dinosaur erasers, bouncy balls and the whistles.

So in goes the cup filled with goodies and then I originally tried to put the hats in there flat but they interfered with the t-shirts so I folded them up and put rubber bands around them. They fit perfectly above the wash cloths. 

After the hats it was a real free for all as I started putting the remaining items in the box. The crayons went in first and then the socks and if you look at the right side, the toothpaste got in there as well. Everything looks perfect!

This is something that you should do if you include photos with your boxes. I figured that if two boys are going to benefit from the box's contents then it is only appropriate that the other boy knows of the kind little lady that sent them too. Hehe!

Finally, after finishing up a nice letter and placing the photos in, this box is ready to go to some sweet boy in a needy country. This was a very fun box to fill but I think I might stick to the one child per box idea. Still, it was a nice change of pace.

Box 56!

Happy Packing!

Small Box with Big Blessings

Hello Packers!

     I know. I know. Two posts in one day: I'm a madwoman but I just couldn't let my mom's small shoe box go to waste and it has been eating at me for days to fill it. Because the box is smaller, I decided to fill it for a 2-4 year old boy and I think that this box is by far the cutest and most jam-packed box I've had in quite a while. So, here we go:

Obviously my box is smaller than any of the other shoe boxes I have because they were meant to just hold a pair of slip on flats. It is small but made out of some great cardboard and is a pull off lid rather than an attached one.

So, this is all that I was able to include in the shoe box:

-Toothpaste

=Toothbrush

-Candy

-Small Notebooks

-Flashlight Wand

-Water Cup

-Tissues

-Coloring book

-Crayons

-Knit Hat

-Stacking Cups

Bouncy Ball

-Pencil Sharpener

-Eraser Puzzle

-Spiderman Tote Bag

-Wash Cloth

-Pencil Pouch

-Comb

-Whistle

-Pencils

-Pens

-Pencil Toppers

-Socks

So, it doesn't totally fit so it's a bit curved but here is the Coloring Book and the pencil pouch. I also put in some Transformers and Car stickers in the bottom as well.

So, I put the hat and the cup filled with the eraser puzzle pieces in the box and thankfully there is still a lot of room. The tote bag is folded under the hat.

Next, we have the stacking cups filled with the socks and the pens and pencils are set against the coloring book. The comb is tucked in the hat.

So then comes on the challenging part but thankfully everything fit. The candy was set along the side and there were a lot of problems in the process but here it is and yes...

...It does all fit.

This is now my 55th box.

Happy Packing!

10-14 Boy Sports Box

Hello Packers!

     I have had a soccer ball set aside for four months now that I have wanted to include in a shoe box for so long that I thought I wouldn't ever get to it but I've had some lucky time this morning to pack this awesome sports theme shoe box that will go to a sweet 10-14 year old boy. So, here we go!

Alright, so for starters we have three sets of stickers that are all sport themed and then I decided to go with the surf oriented coloring book because it is still sporty. Then I recently decided to include a picture of myself with my boyfriend for the boxes now. I never liked to include pictures of myself but after reading so many stories about how the children react to photos, I figured it is only right for me to send one with my letter.

Tote bags are great additions to your boxes no matter what because we don't know if they have a backpack or sack of some sort to carry their school supplies. I also included a football helmet from the coin vendors and I thought this was a nice idea for a sport themed box. Then of course I got very lucky in finding some sport whistles and put in a soccer one.

Because it is a sports box it should come to no surprise that I have a soccer ball flattened with a ball pump, a bag (courtesy of my future sister-in-law) filled with marbles and a real sized baseball but it isn't a real hard baseball, it is actually rubber.

Hygiene is always something we should include. Unfortunately in 2017 I won't be able to include toothpaste anymore but until then: BRING ON THE TOOTHPASTE! Right there is a toothbrush in a case, a deodorant stick, tissues, toothpaste, a comb, the ball there is actually a wash cloth and I love that the person on the front has a darker skin tone and then of course, a bar of soap in a baggie. 

I have too many hats and not enough boxes and so from now on every box gets a glorious hand-knit hat no matter what age/gender. Along with this cute hat is a pair of socks, a candy cane filled with Mike & Ikes and a nice Arizona brand shirt.

This set of school supplies has sports theme erasers that I got for 10 cents and the pack of baseball erasers for 30 cents. Along with the erasers this boy will receive: a pencil pouch, a Dodger notebook and Lakers notebook with matching pens, eraser toppers, sharpener, five pencils (I know they are a little bit flowery for Easter but I think they'll work) and a set of black pens. (What isn't shown is a pack of crayons)

PROCESS:

Step 1: My box was large enough that the coloring book sat flat at the bottom of the box so that was pretty cool to find out. 

Step 2: What  you also didn't see was that I included a sports cup as well. This Adidas box (Courtesy of my father) is so deep that I was able to place the cup upright. The cup holds the football helmet, socks, marble bag and in there is also the sport whistle. Behind the soccer ball is the soap and the comb and the notebooks are placed flat on the coloring book.

Step 3: I was able to curl up the hat so that it fit between the soccer ball and the water cup. The tissues fit between the hat and the ball while the t-shirt and tote bag fit snug in that space above the notebooks. :)

Step 4: Fitting the rest of the longer items like the candy, toothpaste and toothbrush was a bit of a challenge but fitting the pencil pouch filled with all the school supplies. The washcloth fit perfectly well in the left corner, and look! There's SPACE!

Step 5: With that exciting discovery of more space in the box, I dug down into my stuffed animal stash and got a nice bear Beanie Baby for the loved 10-14 year old that this nice box will go to. :)

So, how has packing been going for you all? I hope that the boxes you pack are as sweet and kind as your generous hearts. 

(Box 54!)

Happy Packing!