Get Creative

Can you knit, crochet or sew? Are you a budding artist, card maker or jewellery creator? How about making some small items and selling them to raise funds? You could even make a few extra items to go in your shoebox gift.

Get Baking

Why not create some OCC logo rice paper cake toppers and pop them onto some cupcakes or biscuits to sell? Alternatively, make a larger cake and download, print and laminate our logo for a topper.  If you are feeling adventurous you could even try icing a design free hand or cutting out the logo sections and recreating it with fondant icing.

Download Logo

ORGANISE A ‘BAKE OFF’

• Choose a judge or two
• Choose when to hold your event
• Invite people to sign up as guests or bakers
• Bakers then bring a bake of their choice and compete for the title of ‘best baker’ (you could offer a price for the winner)
• Crown your Bake Off champion
• Guests then donate to buy the bakes

Get People Guessing 

Have a lot of fun challenging your friends to guess the quantity something in a jar or car (e.g. shoeboxes in car, sweets in a jar etc).

Get Competitive

Get people together with some friendly competition. Hold a quiz, five-a-side football tournament or talent show and have each person or team donate an entry fee.

Hold A Krispy Kreme Doughnut Sale 

Krispy Kreme’s fundraising scheme allows you to buy their Original Glazed doughnuts at a discounted price and sell them to raise funds for charity.

Find out more

Hold A Film Night

Create your own cinema and hold a film night for family and friends. Sell popcorn and drinks and allow people to donate.  Theme the night on your favourite type of film!  To start the evening off you could show one of our short Operation Christmas Child films showing the impact of the campaign.

Download Videos

Share Your Skills

Do you have a particular skill that people love? Put your talents to good use by offering them out to raise money.  It may be that you are great at washing cars, face painting, photography or simply happy to be taxi.

You could also offer to give someone a lesson in your skill for a donation.

Try A Nearly New Sale

Outgrown those jeans? Only worn something once? Why not sell or swap your unwanted things with your friends? Pay £2 for each item you take.

Head To A Car Boot Sale

Is your house full of items you no longer use and keep meaning to pass on? Why not clear out your closets, head to a car boot sale and donate the proceeds?

Other top tips for spreading the cost

Collect shoebox items year-round

Spread the fun and cost across the year by mapping out which shoebox items you will buy in which month. Download our list to get you started:

Maybe you have bigger ideas and want to raise money on a grander scale.  Raise money through our online webpages registered at Justgiving

Visit Just Giving

We would love to hear about your fundraising activities. Take photos of what you do and send them into us at occsocialmedia@samaritans-purse.org.uk so we can celebrate your success by sharing them on our website.  We may even be able to help you promote them on our social media pages.

Get Others Involved

Why not ask your friends, family members or colleagues to sponsor one of your shoeboxes and cover the £5 suggested donation? This is a great way for them to be part of Operation Christmas Child if they are not able to fill a shoebox of their own.

#ipackshoeboxes

Share your fundraising photos on social media with the hashtag #ipackshoeboxes and join our online community. Where possible we will share them on our social feed:

Learn more about #ipackshoeboxes

• Facebook @occuk
• Twitter @occ_uk
• Instagram @occuk

Find out more about the Project Donation

Connect with other Operation Christmas Child Project Leaders around the UK through our new Project Leader Facebook group – discover campaign updates and share ideas to help to create even more shoebox gifts.

Join Now