operation christmas child: giveaway winners

I have been SO amazed and inspired to read your comments about all the ways in which you give during the holidays.  All of you deserve to win, but unfortunately, I only have 3 prizes.

In no particular order, here are the 3 winners of the $15 Starbucks gift cards:

operation christmas child: finishing our boxes

Yesterday Princess and I finished up our boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  This week is National Collection Week and from now through the 22nd, drop-off stations around the country are accepting box donations.  It is such an amazing charity, and I feel so lucky to be able to participate this year.

It was especially neat to see my baby girl stepping outside of her little 4 year-old self-centered bubble for a few minutes.  This was probably the first time in her short life that she has really stopped to consider the fact that other kids might not have toys play with or food to eat or a warm bed to sleep in.  Watching her come to that realization gave me hope that someday she might not just take it all for granted.  Being a parent is tough sometimes, and taking the time to teach our kids how to care about others and become productive members of society seems like an overwhelming task sometimes.

Ten letters is a lot for a little girl who is just learning how to write, but she carefully filled in her name and then colored each and every one.  She was so excited when we finally finished and it made me so proud to be her mommy.  And now that our ten boxes are all packed up, labeled with trackable barcodes, and ready to go, we can't wait to see where in the world they end up!

operation christmas child: why we give

A reader sent me a the link to this video a few days ago, and I just had to share it.  (Just a word of warning, you may want to have tissues handy before you watch it!)  I have been absolutely amazed by all the feedback so far regarding the Operation Christmas Child boxes.  Your incredible and generous spirits have motivated me, inspired me, and touched me deeply.  So thank you!

If after watching this video, you decide you would like to participate, there is still time!  Boxes are not due one of the many, many nationwide drop-off locations until the week of Nov. 15-22.  For more information on getting involved and how to fill your box, click here.

And if you are planning to participate in Operation Christmas Child or any other charity this holiday season, be sure to leave a comment here, on my original OCC post.  On November 23rd, the day after all the boxes are due, I will be randomly picking three charitable readers to each win a $15 Starbucks Gift Card! (And thank you Courtney for sending me this touching video!)

operation christmas child cheer....

I feel so full of happy Christmas spirit today, I can hardly contain myself!  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we had a big storm bring in a cold front last night which means that here in Florida, it finally feels like fall!  I guess it could be that my 30 days of Holiday Cheer event is just a few days away, or that the girls and I were featured this morning on the Samaritan's Purse Today blog.  Or it may just be the 5 cups of coffee I've already had this morning.  In any case, I'm practically giddy.

Don't worry, I will be posting Part 6 of the Beginner's Guide to Coupons later today, but I just wanted to post a quick update about Operation Christmas Child.  I know a lot of you are busy working on gathering items to fill your box(es), but you may be wondering how to pull it all together.  But don't worry, I found some help.  A very nice representative from Samaritan's Purse sent me this great video yesterday to help guide you through the box packing process:

holiday cheer (and operation christmas child update)

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means the holiday season has [practically] arrived!

As you have probably already figured out, I am a total sucker for all things holiday related, which means that I am SO excited to announce that beginning November 10th, Living Well, Spending less will be celebrating 30 days of holiday cheer.  

In addition to all the fabulous coupon advice you have come to know and love, I will be featuring a TON of amazing product giveaways, not to mention plenty of ideas for making the most of the holiday season--everything from decorating to gift-giving to cooking & baking--all while staying well within your budget.

operation christmas child: challenge and giveaway

I'll admit it, I am a holiday addict.  You give me a holiday, and I'll give you an excuse to go overboard.  Valentine's Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween....I love them all.  But the winter holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, those are my favorites.  So it should come as no surprise that I've got a few things planned for the upcoming holiday season.  The first is Operation Christmas Child.

A couple of weeks ago SouthernSavers.com posted an announcement about an amazing non-profit organization that had never heard of before.  Operation Christmas Child sends shoebox-sized gifts to needy children all over the world at Christmastime.  When I read about it on Jenny's site, I thought it was wonderful idea. I thought it would be nice to participate, and I even thought about posting a link on my own site.  But I didn't really get moving on it.  And then this past Sunday at church, I opened up the bulletin and there was an insert for the very same organization.  As I sat there and read about these children around the globe who literally have nothing, I was struck by the fact that I have so much and they have so little, and I knew it was time to act.