£10.00 Challenge 2024 – Family Shoebox

I thought I’d set myself the challenge again to see if it was still possible to fill a shoebox for £10.00. The results below show that if you can shop around throughout the year, you can purchase the essentials and many additional items for under £10.00, and even if you’re only starting your shoebox a couple of months before it’s still possible to get the essentials and at least 5 additional items for under £10.00.

Family Shoebox 1

The First Family box is using bargains that I’ve picked up during the year, so some items will no longer be available or will be more expensive.

I start out with the minimum requirements based on the Link to Hope leaflet and show the total for the minimum requirements, i.e. the 6 essential items and 5 additional items. I always try to add at least 4 toothbrushes in my family boxes, as I want more of the family to receive a toothbrush but that’s not a requirement, you could add less.

The first photo shows the 6 essential items and the second the 5 additional items.

As this came to under £5.00 it leaves plenty of money to add extra items, especially with some of the bargains I’ve picked up during the year.

The full box with all the items still under £10.00.

There are lots of combinations you could choose. Additional sweets are always good, or more socks, party bag fillers etc. I have found some real bargains during the year, but my second box shows you can still fill a shoebox for under £10.00 if you shop around.

Family Shoebox 2

My second family box is filled with items available in September and October this year. Prices for items from Temu do vary daily and between sellers, so do check if there are cheaper options, and you need to spend £15.00 to get free postage. You’ll also need to factor in delivery time. I’ve assumed that soft toys from charity shops would be £1.00 but I often find ones for 50p in bargain boxes that haven’t sold, and I bought 18 small soft toys from eBay for less than 50p each including postage.