In this video I’m sharing exactly what I packed in our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes (Samaritan’s Purse), to give you some simple, practical inspiration if you’re shopping and packing this week. If you’re watching in real time, National Collection Week was 15th–22nd November 2021, so I wanted to get this up so you can see ideas that actually fit in a shoebox. I also explain the heart behind it: a shoebox filled with gifts for a child who might not otherwise receive a Christmas present. It’s something close to our family too, because my husband is Romanian and he received these boxes as a little boy. I packed two boxes: one for a 2–4 year old boy (the same age as my son Samuel), and one for a 5–9 year old girl. For the boy I focused on small, useful, fun bits like socks, toddler gloves, a toothbrush, soap, jumbo crayons, a notepad for scribbling, a torch with extra batteries, stickers, a slinky, a loud little jingle-bell toy, and a colourful kaleidoscope. For the girl I included a hat and gloves, soap, a soft pencil case with pencils/sharpener/rubber, a pretty diary with a pen, a toothbrush, stickers, a doll as the main gift, and a few dress-up accessories like scrunchies, bangles, a necklace and rings. My biggest takeaway is to choose a mix of practical and fun, and don’t underestimate flat items (stickers, stationery) for saving space.