This is a tradition we adopted several years ago.  The kids love it.  We begin by shopping.  They get to help pick the toys and even have a say in the color of the toothbrushes.  This year we were asked to send plastic shoe bins instead of cardboard ones.  While it did make things a tad less convenient (and added to the cost a bit), it turned out to be a really neat idea.  The box then becomes part of the gift - very cool. 

The day after going shopping, we piled all of the items in the midst of the table and began sorting them into piles.  While the kids were taking care of that, I started working on a method to "wrap" the interior of the bin without sticking tape to it (I only had the permanent variety).  This proved to be tricky as the sides were sloped and well, I'm accustomed to wrapping the outside of a container.  This took me a bit of time so the kids moved on to sorting the candy into five baggies.  The concept of "assembly line" was lost on A(3) but they had a good time with it.  Meanwhile, J(20mo.) was given a lollie, which she was more than willing to share.

Things we typically pack are toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, candy, small toys, stuffed animals, writing instruments, erasers, notepads, crayons, coloring books...etc.  Finally we had the boxes packed.  Next, they wrote letters and drew pictures for the child who will receive their box.  L(7) wrote a letter.  K(6) made a precious card and A(3) drew a picture of a rainbow.  Even J(20mo) made some scribbles on a page for her box.  Since their box is for a child in their age bracket, they really have a good time coming up with a fun gift.

We pack a box in memory of Bryan each year also.   L(7) helped the most with Bryan's box since he's "a boy and knows what boys like" lol.  We included a letter from all the kids.  In the past L has written a letter for his box and Bryan's.  This year though, they all wanted to write one an it seemed like a good idea. 

Once we have everything packed up and labeled, it's time to take them to the drop off.  Dropping off is almost as much fun as packing the boxes.  Even our littlest one wanted to carry in her own gift.  This is a tradition we intend to keep going year after year.  Most kids in America cannot even begin to imagine how blessed they are.  When L & K tried to explain to A that there are kids who didn't have any toys, her response was, "not even a purple dog like this one?" (she held up the stuffed dog going into her box).  When they shook their heads to answer "no", she gasped in utter shock.  She wanted to keep that dog for herself but this information convinced her that she needed to give it to the little girl getting her box.

Thank you to Samaritan's Purse for allowing us to be a part of this each year.