Green Christmas Boxes

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our friends at Blessed Earth are helping people who want to share Christmas gifts with children in the 2/3’s world think about how they can, at the same time, also love God’s good earth. Whether you’re buying gifts for your own children, a local Ronald McDonald House, an Angel Tree, or for Operation Christmas Child, these are some great ideas. Enjoy.

It’s November, which, at least to me, means Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

I love packing shoeboxes every year with my best friend, Jenny, taking great care over each present that goes into the boxes—Which toy would we have liked more as a child? What hygiene items would be the most useful? And, for Jenny, who is a packing genius, How can I fit one more gift in this box? We even have a special cabinet devoted solely to Christmas boxes, where we store items for the children we pick up on sale throughout the year.

This year, I set myself a new challenge. How could I make my boxes not only fun and useful, but also better for the environment?

Instead of buying wrapping paper, I decoupaged my shoeboxes with bits of old magazines. It did take a long time, but I wasn’t using new resources, and I hope the children who receive them will appreciate a box to store their goodies in that will stay looking nice a lot longer than a wrapped one probably would.

Because I believe we can’t love God’s children without loving God’s good earth, I tried to find as many of the items I usually include in my boxes made out of recycled or renewable materials, and paid attention to where they were made and how much packaging they were in. Here are a few of my favorite finds: