These pictures show samples of what Operation Christmas Child helpers around the country are busy working on. I'm keen to locate crafty groups who would like to create handmade fillers. The Pacific island people LOVE handmade things, and to my surprise, really appreciate woolly hats! They're used to extreme heat, so to them, a temperature drop to 22 degrees Celcius is too cold to go to school.
Cosy hats, shoulder bags, pencil cases, teddies and puppets, wooden toys, beaded jewelry, hair accessories, photo frames (with photos in them, of course), and similar handcrafted items are what I'm hoping to find little production factories for. These items can then be used by a group or community to fill their shoeboxes, or they can be sent to the packing house in Auckland where they will be used to top up partially empty boxes or replace illegal items. I am working on producing patterns and sample pictures for you to download.Shoulder Bag knitting pattern now available here.
This polarfleece hand puppet (below) is inside-out in order to show the stitching. It's quick and easy to add features and other decorations on the outside to bring the puppet alive. Free patterns are available here.
We also need people to gift-wrap shoeboxes -- despite the attractiveness of OCC's red and green pre-printed shoeboxes, the personal touch of the gift-wrapped shoeboxes is especially loved by the island children. If you're interested in helping, let us know!
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