Christmas in a Shoe Box

Christmas, my child, is love in action.  Every time we love, 

every time we give, it's Christmas.  

~ Dale Evans

I didn't get any sewing done this weekend (boo!), but I did take the kids (Carolyn & Brandon) to Target and each one of us filled a plastic shoe box with Christmas gifts for a child in Haiti.  :)

We are participating in this drive (click here) sponsored by New Missions (main page here).  

I funded the expedition and gave each of them a budget and significant freedom in filling their boxes however they saw fit, with only a little bit of guidance.  (For example, I steered Carolyn towards a dark-skinned Tiana doll, rather than a blue-eyed, blonde Cinderella and I discouraged Brandon from getting toys that required batteries.)  

Brandon (12) took his budget very seriously - he kept a running total in his head and discarded things that were too expensive.  Carolyn (10) didn't give it a second thought, selecting stuff she liked without even glancing at the price tags.  She went way over - I probably should have kept her spending in line, but she was having fun and it is for a good cause...  (Plus I might be a pushover...)

But I wasn't totally hopeless.  At one point, near the end of our expedition, Brandon was estimating out loud how much money he had left to spend in front of Carolyn and she looked up at me hopefully and asked, "How much money do I have left?" I answered, "None!" with great firmness!  ;)

It was fun to watch what they picked and, I have to admit, they did a good job.  Each included several small toys, some articles of clothing (t-shirt, underwear, etc.) and some school supplies (pencils, a notebook, etc.).  Carolyn also included some hair accessories and costume jewelry.  :)

And man, did they squeeze a lot into each shoe box!  

I tried to follow their example when filling my shoe box, but, as Brandon reminds me periodically, kids know best what kids want.  ;)

Anyways, I'll take our package to the post office tomorrow and hopefully, in a couple of months, we will bring a little Christmas cheer to 3 children in Haiti...  :)