Family Service Project: Thanksgiving and Christmas Meal Boxes

The holidays are a perfect time to serve your community. This simple family service project will help provide boxes of meals for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Family Service Project: Thanksgiving and Christmas Meal Boxes

Provide a large box for each participating family. Have families decorate their meals boxes. Have each family bring food and other items necessary for a full meal, such as:

• whatever is needed for the meal in cans or boxes
• placemats made by the family
• plastic utensils and paper dishes
• a table centerpiece made by the family
• a prayer card that can be read before the meal
• a letter explaining what family members did to prepare this box and why they’re sharing these gifts
• a small card attached with a ribbon that has each contributing family member’s first name on it

Another thing families can do is remove vegetable can labels and turn the labels inside out (or simply cover the labels with whitepaper). On the white side, families can write their favorite recipe for this vegetable and include all the condiments to make it. Children can decorate the label with designs and messages of love. Then tape the label back to the can. Take instant-print photos during the assembly of the meal boxes so you can add these photos to the gift boxes also.

Joyce DeKarske
Saginaw, Michigan

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