What I got for Christmas 2021

Hello Everyone! Let's just pretend that it's not now almost March, so I can say a Happy New Year to you all! I wish each and every one of my lovely readers a wonderful 2022!! Seriously though, how is it almost three months into the year!? It feels like only yesterday since we were celebrating Christmas... and not just because I'm only just getting around to blogging about what I got! *insert awkward-face emoji here*. I feel so loved to have received so many fantastic presents, so I couldn't not talk about them. I hope you all enjoy reading and having a nosey at my gifts. This post is not meant to be a brag or make anyone feel bad, but a way for me to express how grateful I am, and to celebrate the thought that my loved ones put into choosing presents for me ♥(You guys are amazing!!). I'd love to hear all about what you got in 2021 for Christmas, so please let me know in the comments :) And so, without further ado, here's what I got!

I received the majority of my marvellous presents from my sister, so a huge THANK YOU to Nicole!! After our mom passed away, my sister & I decided to help make getting through the 'most wonderful time of the year' that little bit easier, that we would spoil one another (as best we could, anyway). In the past, we basically never bought each other anything for Christmas, haha! Oops... we have sure been making up for that over the last few years! My sister did a fantastic job as always of picking out great presents for me!! And I hope she loved the things I got for her just as much :)

If you are new to my blog, then you won't know that I have been an avid collector of figures all my life, starting when I was a little kid. As soon as I got to the age when I had my own money to spend on whatever I liked (even though it was supposed to go on adulting things...), I have been very much into vinyl figures. Although, my main love is for blind box collectable series, with those by Tokidoki being a firm favourite of mine, I couldn't help but fall in love with Funko Pops. I own over 100+ now, and I am trying to slow down with my collecting, because I was struggling to find space to store them all, haha. Can anyone else relate? 

Anyhow, when Tokidoki revealed that they were doing a collaboration with Funko, I pretty much lost my shit, as the saying goes XD And now have a mighty need to acquire ALL of the Pops they made (despite the fact that the unicorno looks strange to me in Pop form....). As you can imagine, I was over the moon to unwrap one of these Pops on Christmas morning, especially since the cactus characters are my absolute favourite by Tokidoki. I mean, just look how adorable Sandy is!!

Something that I really enjoy is receiving little gifts, you know the kind that are typically classed as 'stocking fillers'. And my sister always manages to find such awesome ones!! Like these Sanrio squishies! I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to bring myself to take them out of the packaging and risk ruining them because they are too cute. Are you a Sanrio fan? Who's your favourite out of the two I got for Christmas: Chococat or Hello Kitty? It's the latter for me. Hello Kitty will always hold a special place in my heart as she was the reason I got into Sanrio in my early teens. The best Sanrio characters, in my opinion, though are Kuromi and Pompompurin :) 

If you follow me over on Instagram (if you don't, you totally should), then you will likely have seen how much I was craving lebkuchen over the Christmas period! Being a spoonie, I can't get out of the house as often as I'd like to, and when I do, for example to do my monthly grocery shop, I have to try to get my shopping done all in one location, so I don't have to venture out again. As a consequence, I can't go to my local Lidl or Aldi stores to pick up all of the European festive goodies that I love so much, including the fabulous German spiced treats, lebkuchen. Oh my goodness, they are so yummy, and I was so happy to finally get my hands on some thanks to my sister. Yay!

I will be forever obsessed with plushies, and there is almost never a plushie that I don't love as soon as I set eyes on it. If you want to capture my heart quickly, give me a plushie and I will love you for all eternity. Obviously it's not that simple, but you get the picture! :D HOW BRILLIANT IS MY NEW GREEN MONSTER FRIEND!? My sister came across this one-eyed, floppy-eared dude in the sale for only £3 or something crazy like that!!? I am so happy that Ugly Dolls merch became popular in the UK over the last few years, as before then, I could never get any of the figures and such, without ordering from the US. And now I have a whole ass plushie!

Isn't the cover on that Harry Potter book just stunning? Thestrals are one of my favourite creatures from the Wizarding World, and the colour scheme appeals so much to the alternative part of me. The book is filled with intricate paper cut-out art (I have no idea what the proper name for that sort of thing is, so apologises if my explanation is crap...), depicting some of the locations featured throughout the Harry Potter stories. My sister thought it would make for a collection of interesting backgrounds I can use for my toy photography hobby, and I am very much looking forward to trying it out. I wish that I was skilled at doing intricate crafts because everytime I look through the book, I want so much to have a go at creating something similar myself! Alas, I struggle to even cut in a straight line with a pair of scissors...

As you can see, I received another Funko Pop for Christmas. It has become a little tradition for my niece to choose a Funko Pop for me as a gift, and it's just the sweetest thing knowing that she chose a particular character with me in mind :) In 2020, it was a Lion King (live action version) Pop of the character Scar, and this Christmas just gone, when she was deep into her obsession with Disney's Frozen, she wanted to gift me an Anna Pop, which was perfect for wintery toy photography! Little cutie ♥

This is the 'main' present that my sister got for me, and I was so surprised, in the happiest way!! My sister collects snowglobes, and so I always get her one for Christmas, or whenever I go on holiday and such. I really wasn't expecting her to go and get me one, too!! I also collect globes, but on a much smaller level. I think they are really pretty and will buy one as a keepsake from places I've travelled to. I think if I didn't already collect so many other things, I would allow myself to get even more globes, but I need to be sensible XD My life is overrun with enough things and stuff already, haha. I'm like the human equivalent of a magpie!

This Nightmare Before Christmas globe is SOOOO beautiful, and I couldn't have been more thrilled to receive it. I had been ummm'ing and ahhh'ing about getting myself an official Disney globe, but I always prioritised spending my money on adding to my various collections, so it's really nice that someone else took that step for me :) And what a phenomenal one to start with! My most favourite feature of this globe is the fact that it isn't filled with snow, or glitter, but bat confetti!! Yes, tiny little bats float around Jack and Zero when you shake it, and I think it is the most amazing idea ever! Whoever added that design needs a promotion, Disney! The detailing around the base of the globe is so eye-catching, and think of Lock, Shock and Barrell singing 'Kidnap the Sandy Claws' every time I look at it. Sally with her black cat in hand is the star of the show for me though :) Do you have an official Disney globe? I'd love to know which one(s)! 

My brother very kindly bought me a Lush gift set for Christmas (Thanks so much, Chris! ♥), and everything smells so good!! If I'm being honest, I always get a little nervous when someone says they are going to buy me a gift that involves fragrances, because I have so many sensory issues when it comes to certain scents. I can easily become overwhelmed, for lack of a better word, and so I am very 'picky' when it comes to perfume and the like. I told him that my favourite bathbomb by Lush was the peppermint-based Intergalactic, and whoever put together this Happy Daze box did an excellent job of pairing it with another bathbomb, and two bubble bars, with similar scents, in terms of their 'mildness'. 

The relief I felt when I unboxed it all!! It includes The Comforter, a bubble bar that I've used before and love, and then two new-for-me items, that luckily have citrus fruits and ylang-ylang as main ingredients, which are another of my go-to's, the Groovy Kind of Love bathbomb & the Brightside bubble bar. I cannot wait to see what the bathart they create is like! Something I really like about Lush is how colourful the packaging of their gift sets are :) 

Now, I'm going to show you all presents that I was gifted by my friends, who are incredible and I don't understand how I managed to have such great friends as them in my life :') A shoutout to Kim, who blogs over at Chimmyville, for buying me this Harry Potter origami book off of my Amazon wishlist! It was a lovely surprise. Thank you for being awesome!! Everyone go have a read of her blog :) I received some more Harry Potter themed goodies for my best friend, Jess, who knows I love her the most-est ever ever!! We recently spent a weekend in London, and thanks to her family, I finally got to visit the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour!! I will share some posts about it next month for those of you who are fellow fans of the book series and movie franchise, that we all know conjured themselves into existence and have no creator. Keep your eyes peeled for that (I hate that saying because of the imagery it creates, but still continue to use it. Why...). I think it's cool that my bestie chose a Hermione pin for me, since even though she's not my favourite character from the franchise, I relate to her book-counterpart so much! 

My other best friend went all out and did a haul from one of my favourite stores for me!! Thank you so so very much, Aaron, for getting me so many kawaii wonders from Kenji! It is too tough to choose a favourite, because I adore everything!! Notebooks are always welcome, as they are another thing that I cannot ever get enough of. And one of them has a froggo on it!! A round amphibian buddie that's facial expression speaks to me on a personal level XD The long boi panda is so squishy and soft, and somehow my friend managed to pick two of my favourite Asian snacks, milk flavoured Hello Panda biscuits, and cookies & cream (or white cookie, a new name used for Christmas branding?) Pepero. I was in need of some cutesy snacks for some tiktok ideas I have, so what perfect timing to get these as a gift! 

Another Funko Pop from my wishlist has come into my life, and it's all thanks to my amazing blogger-bestie, Natalee, who writes over at There Might Be Coffee. Seriously, if you are of the nerdy persuasion like myself, you need to go read Nat's posts! Ever since, Funko announced that they were working with the brand Tasty Peach, I was delighted!! I have wanted a Tasty Peach plushie for the longest time, but couldn't afford to get one, so vinyl figures of the beloved characters are the next best thing, right? The one I love most of the Funko X Tasty Peach Pop's is the Queen Bee Meowchi, and now it's mine!! Eeeee!

She might be the cutest Pop I have ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on before! I mean, LOOK AT HER! Everything about her is super sweet!! It's fantastic that she's so photogenic as well, and I cannot wait to feature her in some Springtime photography. Who else is counting down the days until Spring is here?? I enjoy Winter (even though my brain does not) but I am craving more daylight and eye-candy in the form of flowers and fresh green buds. I need it to hurry up and get here already! 

So, that's (almost) all of the gifts that I have been given for Christmas, and I hope today's post has put into words how truly thankful I am for the people in my life. I know that love isn't about material things, and my friends give me so much more with their conversation and being there to listen to me and all of my life problems (of which there's A LOT), and making my days better just by existing, but when they take the time to look for a gift that they know will make my little nerdy heart smile, it is so meaningful :') I cannot say thank you enough. Thank YOU, THANK you, THANK YOU! And that also extends to everyone who has taken the time to read today's post, because I know that I have been the world's shittiest blogger over the last several years, so it still baffles me that people take the time to check out my ramblings whenever I am sporadically hit with the motivation to share a snippet of my life with the world. You guys are the best! 

Thank you for reading!

♥

What's something that you gave or did for someone special in your life for Christmas 2021? 

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What I got for Christmas 2018

Hello & Happy Thursday lovelies! How is everyone enjoying the snow? It feels a little surreal, but wonderful nonetheless, that I am sat writing a Christmassy themed post and with the ground outside covered in snow, it feels more like Christmas now than it did on the big day! I wish it would snow more though because I want to get out and enjoy it while it lasts! Also I've been ever eager to take some toy photography in the snow, since all of my friends in other countries inspired me throughout December with their beautiful snowy shots :') I shouldn't be going outside at all at the moment, because I have a chest infection! And this is the reason why my post is going up a little later than I had planned, but I hope you all enjoy having a read about the lovely presents that I got for Christmas :) This post is of course not to boast about what I got, but to celebrate and share my happiness with you all, and I know I love reading about what presents people get from their loved ones, it fills me with joy for them, and so I hope my post might do the same for my awesome readers! 

My mom always finds the most wonderful wrapping paper that she knows I will love!? (Thanks mom!) That shiny emerald green one though! I almost never want to open my presents because it will ruin how pretty they look all wrapped up, haha! I always try my best to open a few of them carefully so that I can save some of the wrapping paper. I have been doing this for years and as a result, have random bits of wrapping paper hoarded away in boxes... Does anyone else do this? I used to scrapbook things more as a kid, maybe I should start up that hobby again? Each year I am so touched by how wonderful my mom is, I only ask for a couple of things but she surprises me with so much more! Keep reading to find out what I got :) 

When I was asked what I wanted for Christmas just gone, the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was at the top of my list :) I have been after this book for ages now! Just look how beautiful the artwork on the cover is!! I am so happy that there's a barn owl on it, as they are my favourite species of owl. Who else has a favourite owl? Also what pet would you take to Hogwarts with you? I'm sure you can imagine how stunning the rest of the book is; I am in love with it! Jim Kay has done such a wonderful job! I have always been a big fan of seeing artists interpretations of my favourite books and their characters, because it's fascinating to see how other people picture things in comparison to my own imagination :) 

I also asked for this book! I have always wanted my own copy of Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, so when I spotted this wonderful illustrated edition on a YouTube video, I had to have it :) I went to university for Zoo Biology, and if I worked in the Wizarding World, I would totally be a Magizoologist like Newt! Something that is very interesting about the artwork in this book is that Olivia Lomenech Gill seems to have been inspired by so many of the beautiful and diverse species that exist in the muggle world. I think it's awesome to imagine these creatures living alongside the species that they resemble, basically hidden within groups of them :) But then again, I personally picture the creatures to look otherworldly, and therefore nothing like species we see on the planet today. Regardless, I am delighted with this book and all of it's facts about the creatures! I like how many of the papers are made to look like they would come from a scientists field notebook too. I can't wait to have a good read through it :) Let me know guys if you would like me to share a post showing more of the inside of the two books I got for Christmas. 

I was surprised with more Harry Potter goodies, including this awesome version of Trivial Pursuit. I'd seen it earlier in the year in a magazine, and mentioned how wonderful I thought it was and so it was lovely that my mom remembered and bought it for me :) I'm really looking forward to playing it! As someone who is a little addicted to buying notebooks, I am always over the moon to get more, and I think the design on this one is gorgeous! Even though I'm not a huge fan of the colour gold, it goes so well with the black on this notebook so I can't not love it! Something that is cool about the pencil you can see on the side of the notebook, is that it's actually a pen in disguise!! 

I love the Hogwarts crest on the front of this tin of playing cards, which my mom bought for me purely because I have a bit of a thing for tins :D I don't know why, but ever since I was little, I have been a fan of products that come in a decorative tin. Playing cards are always handy to have, and I was in need of some more since my old ones got covered in alcohol during a drinking game and had to go in the bin, oops! 

Yes I'm 26 years old, and yes I was extremely happy to unwrap a Care Bear plushie :D Funshine Bear has been my favourite Care Bear since childhood, and I am very glad to now have a plushie to him to add to my collection. I love how vibrant the yellow they've chosen for him is, it makes me feel a little uplifted each time I look at him, and of course his smiley sunshine belly and heart-shaped nose help too! The plushie is made of lovely material and I can't decide whether I want to keep him in the box or not, because he looks super cuddly! Do you have a favourite Care Bear? Let me know in the comments. 

I love how when I was younger, I would always dislike getting socks and would think like, socks? as a present?!. However, as an adult, I am always happy to get more socks, especially when they are as cute as these! Primark makes such awesome socks, and it's marvellous that they have been doing collaborations with so many cute brands! I was surprised to see that they'd made Molang socks!! Does anymore know if they have made more Molang productions?? If not, I hope that they do. I have loved Molang for the longest time! Oh my gosh, I need Primark to do a Sanrio/San-X collab next! How cute is this super fluffy, grey bunny thing that I also got!? 

Awww, this little cat trinket dish that I got is really sweet! I love the simplistic design of it, and how it's got raised pointy ears :) I got another notebook, and it's got such a groovy design on the cover. I think it looks like water that has had a paintbrush dipped into it several times. The pages inside are a cream colour, and I always prefer notebooks that are like this, especially for using for any writing projects I am working on because, I don't know, it almost feels like you're writing on old fashioned paper and I just love that aesthetic. It's the little things :) 

If you're a fellow toy lover, then you'll love the rest of today's post! It's going to get picture heavy from now because I was surprised with lots of blind bags, so there's many little toys/figures to show you all. I'm very curious to know which of the figures I received are everyone's personal favourites, so please let me know :) 

I got several Disney Tsum Tsum blind bags and packs; some of them I didn't manage to photograph the packaging for because they were plastic and I cut them open with scissors on Christmas Day! I have a few unboxing videos saved from my story posts over on my toy photography Instagram if you're interested :) Find me here. It's a shame that the popularity of Tsum Tsum's has declined here in the UK because I can't get hold of the ones I would love to get for my collection anymore! The last time I visited a Disney Store, which was last month whilst I was in Manchester city for the Christmas Markets, there wasn't a Tsum Tsum in sight! The only advantage is that the blind bags and such have become a lot cheaper and it's probably easier to get the figures that you don't have if you're a collector, since a lot of people don't buy them anymore. I only collect the mini plushies, but I am a big fan of figures so I can't help but pick up a blind bag whenever I see them for a reasonable price! 

One of the packs I got was the kind that you get one mystery figure in and the rest you can see in the packaging; my mom picked it specifically because it had Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas in it and she knows how much I love the movie :) The surprise figure that I found inside this pack was Flynn Rider from Tangled (2010). I love his little goatee beard! The other pack I got included flocked (furry-textured) Tsum Tsum figures, one mystery and one was the white rabbit from Alice In Wonderland. I was very happy to find Sully from Monster's, Inc. (2001) inside my pack, because who doesn't love Monster's Inc? 

Above are the figures that I got inside the circular Tsum Tsum blind bags, which include two from Series 8, one from Series 7 and another from Series 6 :) My favourite by far is the Series 8 Rafiki figure, just look how pretty it is with the tree! The Lion King 1 & 2 have forever been my favourite Disney movies, and you don't see much merchandise of good old Rafiki, so I'm so glad  to have gotten this figure! I have to admit that even though these figures are super adorable, the little props that they come with can be a little annoying, especially when you are trying to sit your figure on them the way that the packaging shows! The other figures I got are Winnie the Pooh's Piglet, Mr Big from Zootopia (2016) and Heimlich the caterpillar from A Bug's Life (1998). Seriously, how cute is the Heimlich's face!? 

Yayy! More Care Bears! I'd never seen these Care Bears blind bags before, and it was such a fun surprise! The bags are so colourful and that just made me even more excited, I'm such a sucker for pretty packaging! I was really hoping that I would get Funshine and it must have been a case of Christmas luck, because I got him, eeee! That literally never happens to me when I have one or two blind bags, I always seem to get the figures I don't want as much, so it was fabulous to get him!! I also got a bear that I don't remember from the old cartoons, called Laugh-A-Lot Bear, but she's cute! Who do you prefer: Laugh-A-Lot or Funshine? 

On my birthday back at the start of October last year, I started collecting the new Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts Lego figures, from the blind bag series, after seeing lots of unboxing on YouTube and Instagram. Although I have always thought Lego was brilliant, I never played with it much as a kid and I didn't want to end up getting obsessed with another collectable figure series, however when it's a Harry Potter related thing, I find that my power to resist goes out of the window, and thus I am now a Lego collector XD On Christmas Day, I 'unboxed' Cedric Diggory to go with my Cho Chang and Voldemort figures :) I love that this figure looks a lot more like Robert Pattinson who played Cedric in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) than the Funko Mystery Mini Cedric that I have. I think his Hufflepuff coloured uniform looks fantastic too! 

The final mystery toys that I got are a very lovely Dalmatian puppy called Fetch, from a TY Mini Boos blind box (series 3) and a Sylvanian Families 'Baby Band Series' teeny yellow Labrador figure :) From being very young, I have wanted to collect Sylvanian families but they were always too expensive, and you had to buy all of the houses and other accessories separately too! When I got older, I was very tempted to start buying them myself but I know that I don't have the room so I'm waiting patiently until the day I can start collecting them! My mom hasn't helped me by bringing this blind bag series to my attention though! XD Now that I know they exist, I want them all :) They are such pretty little figures with the cutest instrument accessories! 

To conclude my post, I want to show you guys the gifts that one of my brothers bought me for Christmas. He got me so much this year! There was also supposed to be a packet of those American sweets called Nerds in the photo, but I love them and couldn't resist devouring them! I'm looking forward to trying out these fabulous-looking unicorn horn bathbombs, I want to see how differently they react once they are added to the water! They are almost too pretty to use, and I'm hoping that they smell good! It's going to be very interesting to try and make this sheep plushie though, considering I have never been any good at stitching, and haven't knitted in my life! Oh well, new year, new adventures, right!? 

How cute is the packaging for the bath salts!? Foxes are one of my favourite animals, and I don't think I'm going to be able to open this item because I don't want to risk ruining the fox packaging! I'm very happy to have a new plushie to add to my little Teenie TY collection (read more here). My brother didn't even know that I had started collecting them so it's great that he got me one that I don't have already. I have wanted to try Hershey's kisses for years now so it's awesome to receive some of those too! 

I've been very spoilt this year by my loved ones and I am so thankful to get so many excellent and thoughtful gifts! ♥ I also got some new Funko Pop! Vinyl figures but I forgot to snap a photo of them, as usual, I always miss something! I hope that you all enjoyed my post, and please share a link in the comments for me to check out any Christmas present posts that you shared, I'd love to have a read :) 

Thankyou for reading! 

♥

What was your favourite gift that you received this Christmas?

Did you treat yourself to anything, especially in the Boxing Day & January sales?

Blogmas Day 26 | What I got for Christmas

I can't believe Christmas is over for another year! I had such a lovely day yesterday and I was very spoilt with all the great presents I received. As I started blogmas a day late, I said I'd also write on Boxing Day :) I hope you all enjoyed my blogmas posts... I'm looking forward to taking part again next year. This post is going to pic heavy. I hope it doesn't come across that I'm showing off or anything, I just really wanted to share my joy and I hope everyone else got wonderful gifts too ♥

 How adorable are those Simba slipper socks? The Lion King is my favourite Disney movie. I've wanted these gorgeous TY fox all year, after spotting it when I was out shopping months ago. I'm impressed that my mum remembered that I wanted it. I got the gingerbread man money box from my brother. I'm going to use it next year to save up money for all my friends and familys Christmas presents. 

I love my new perfume :) Vera Wang's Be Jeweled was on my Christmas wishlist so I'm really glad I got it. It's a lovely mixture of fruity scents with little floral undertones.  I'm not a fan of strong floral perfumes so I'm lovin' this. I was surprised with another perfume. I love Anna Sui! The design of her perfume bottles and the interesting mix of fragrances are great! Another lovely fruity combination: mango, raspberry and pink pepper are the main scents, with notes of bamboo, pink peony, rose, vanilla and sandalwood. 

SO MANY ADULT COLOURING BOOKS! I think my mum knows I like them haha. I want to collect all of the colouring books by Millie Marotta because they are just so beautiful. The Game of Thrones colouring book is amazing! I thought it would be filled with scenes and characters that resemble the TV show, but the illustrations are actually the artist's interpretation which I think is so awesome. I like how they've drawn the children of the forest! Each page also contains a quote from the books. 

My beautiful Disney Alice in Wonderland Vans! I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! Who else got Disney Vans? 

Yayy! New books to read *heart eyed emoji* I can't wait to start them. How cool is this 5 year Q & A Journal? It asks you a different question on every day of the year and then includes a space to answer the question every year for the next few years to see how your answers may have changed. I love the idea of these and I'm glad I now have my own to start in the New Year. 

Who doesn't love new PJs and cute socks? The PJs are nice and love primark, but a lion cub with leopard print pants? It's like pairing zebra print pants with a horse themed top haha the animal nerd in me doesn't like that :D but of course, I'll still be wearing them :) & BUNNY SOCKS! ♥

This gorgeous Tsum Tsum stationary was one of the first things I asked for. As soon as I saw an advert announcing the new range in Wilkinsons, I was so excited! I can't believe my mum bought me so much of it. I'm over the moon about it. I also adore this beautiful cupcake recipe book. I love the design of the book: the little cupcake tabs and the fantastic photographs inside. 

  

 I got lots of awesome stationary. Yes, I'm 23 years old and yes, I asked for the Moshi Monsters doodle book! :) My niece got one earlier in the year for her birthday and my mum remembered that I'd said how fun it looked and that I wanted one! It's about time that I learnt how to use makeup brushes so I asked for some simple ones to start with. I got some of those Lindt orange chocolates and they are so amazingly delicious! I'll probably have eaten them all by tonight. 

I think this has to be one of the best presents I received! 'Feeling Philoslothical' XD it makes me smile everytime I look at it. Plus, its so bloody cute! That's the majority of my Christmas presents :) I've been so lucky this year! I'm just waiting for a smashbook in the post and I also got an Etsy gift card, too. Thankyou for reading! I hope you all enjoyed this post. 

 ♥

What was the best gift(s) that you received this year? 

 

Christmas Shoebox

Today, I wanted to share with you all something I'm doing for charity this year. Does anyone remember filling shoeboxes at school that would be sent to childen in other countries for Christmas? These shoeboxes may have been sent as part of 'Operation Christmas Child' which is run by a charity called Samaritan's Purse. Everytime I've mentioned that I'm taking part, people tell me about their memories of filling the shoeboxes at school but neither my primary school or high school did it and so this is the first Christmas shoebox I'm making. I've wanted to put together one of these shoeboxes for ages so I'm happy I've finally been able to do it. 

I first heard about Operation Christmas Child via facebook, when I watched a video that my friends were sharing of a group of children opening shoeboxes filled with gifts. It was so lovely and moving to see the children getting so excited with massive smiles on their faces as they looked through their shoeboxes. It's only cost me around £15 to fill the box plus a postage donation so it's really worth it if I can make a child somewhere in the world that happy this Christmas. Here is a similar video I found on youtube... 

If anyone else wants to take part, you have until the 18th of this month to take your filled shoeboxes to a local drop-off point (locate yours here). To begin with, all you need is a medium sized shoebox which you need to wrap in Christmas paper. Decide whether you want to send your box to a boy or a girl, and then choose one of the age categories: 2-4 years, 5-9 years or 10-14 years. There are labels on the Samaritan's Purse website that you need to print off and stick on top of your shoebox. You also need to pay a minium of £3 donation for the postage of the shoebox and if you pay online (like I did), then you will be emailed in the New Year to tell you which country your shoebox was sent to :)

 I wanted to send my box to a little girl and picked the 5-9 years age category. I can't fit anything else into my shoebox so I'm ready to take it to my local Shoe Zone store, which is the closest drop off point to me. There are several gift suggestions on the Samaritan's Purse website and also information of what you are not allowed to put into the shoeboxes. Here's what I've added to my shoebox...

Remember, if my post has inspired you to fill your own shoebox for Operation Christmas Child you only have until 18th November to hand your box in. I hope you all enjoyed this post!
 
 ♥
 
Who else is or has filled a Christmas shoebox before? Is anyone doing anything else for other charity this Christmas?