Operation Christmas Child 2026: Collection Week Nov. 16-23 and How to Find a Drop-Off

Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week runs Nov. 16-23, 2026, according to Samaritan’s Purse, the charity that runs the shoebox program. That is Monday, Nov. 16 to Monday, Nov. 23 by our calendar count. Below are a day-by-day planner, how to use the drop-off finder, the official pack and do-not-pack lists and the dates in the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada. We read the official pages on Nov. 6, 2026; they show no publication date.

When is Operation Christmas Child collection week in 2026?

The Samaritan’s Purse home page, packing page and fact sheet all give “National Collection Week | Nov. 16-23, 2026.” Counting both ends, that is 8 days: six weekdays and one weekend. Samaritan’s Purse does not publish a day-by-day schedule, so the planner below is our suggestion built on those two dates.

Day	Date	Suggested step
Monday	Nov. 16	Collection week opens. Search the drop-off finder for your location
Tuesday	Nov. 17	Ask your chosen location for its hours
Wednesday	Nov. 18	Pack the box
Thursday	Nov. 19	Give the suggested $10 online if you want a tracking label
Friday	Nov. 20	Drop off the box
Saturday	Nov. 21	Weekend: drop off if your location is open
Sunday	Nov. 22	Weekend: drop off if your location is open
Monday	Nov. 23	Last day of National Collection Week

Open the November 2026 printable calendar to mark both ends of the week.

How do you find an Operation Christmas Child drop-off location?

Use the Samaritan’s Purse “Find Your Shoebox Drop-off Location” page. You search by city or ZIP code and choose a radius of 25, 50, 75 or 100 miles. The page says more than 4,800 drop-off locations are open across the country during the week; the fact sheet says nearly 5,000 locations in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

The finder page does not post hours. Hours vary by location, so we give none here. Check the hours before you drive.

What goes in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox?

Samaritan’s Purse’s “Official Shoebox Gift Suggestions” page splits its lists for girls and boys. Its categories are:

• A wow item, such as a doll, soccer ball, stuffed animal or toy truck or car
• Personal care: combs, toothbrushes, washcloths, bandages, eating utensils, nail clippers
• School supplies: pencils, pens, erasers, notebooks, scissors, rulers, glue sticks
• Clothing and accessories: clothing, shoes, cold-weather items, sunglasses, bags, hats, flashlights
• Crafts and activities: puzzles, coloring books, playdough, stickers, books
• Toys: balls, building blocks, yo-yos, small figures

We found no official age-group labels or box label details on the pages we read, so none are given here.

What should you not put in a shoebox?

The same page lists items to leave out: soap; food, candy or gum; toothpaste; used or damaged items; scary or war-related items; wearable traditional camouflage; seeds or organic matter; liquids; medication; money; breakable items; matches, fire starters or aerosols; a knife, saw or razor blades; and alcohol wipes. For soap, the page cites customs complications in some nations.

Our free printable puts the before-you-go steps, gift ideas and this leave-out list on one sheet, with the Nov. 16-23 dates at the top.

What does the $10 donation cover and what is Follow Your Box?

The Samaritan’s Purse questions page says “$10 per shoebox is a suggested donation,” which covers the costs of collecting, processing and shipping plus ministry materials. When you give the $10 online, you get a Quick Response (QR) coded tracking label called Follow Your Box, which shows the destination country.

You can also build a shoebox online year-round. The suggested amount is $30 per gift, which includes the $10. Boxes built after Dec. 31 do not count in the current year’s total. We found no 2026 online deadline. Only the Boone and Charlotte locations accept mailed gifts; the questions page has the mailing address.

Operation Christmas Child dates in the United States, UK and Canada

Country	2026 National Collection Week	Source
United States	Nov. 16-23, 2026	Samaritan’s Purse
United Kingdom	9-16 November 2026	Samaritan’s Purse UK
Canada	Not yet announced	Samaritan’s Purse Canada had not posted 2026 dates

The UK dates apply to the UK program only. Do not use them for a U.S. drop-off.

How big is Operation Christmas Child?

The fact sheet says 12.2 million shoebox gifts were collected worldwide in 2025, including 10.9 million from the United States (U.S.). The 2026 goal is enough to reach an additional 12.8 million children. Since the program began, it says, it has delivered more than 244 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 175 countries and territories.

Giving to charity near the same dates? See our Giving Tuesday 2026 guide for Dec. 1, and the December 2026 printable calendar. For other holiday mail, see Letters to Santa 2026, and for a gift budget, the Christmas gift list budget planner.