DesignsandEvents: Some of My Favorite Things at Dollar Tree

Hi there! I can't believe another week is almost over. The weather has not been all that great this week but, when the rain has stopped I have been out in my garden trying to get it ready for the summer and a new year of planting. Mixed in between gardening I have been doing all sorts of things around the house and, consequently, I have made a few trips to the Dollar Tree store in my hometown.

Before I begin, I have to admit something to you. I think I have been a bit of a snob when it comes to stores in the past. Groton, the town in which I live, is a small and, some could say, bucolic town. I have written about it with great praise on other occasions but, the main complaint I have with my town when it comes to stores is that we do not have any "fun" ones. We have the basics. You know, we have a grocery store, a pharmacy, a hardware store, a health food store, a florist and for some reason three Dunkin Donuts. So, when a new store appeared to be going into the space next to the grocery store, I became very happy. When the store ended up being the Dollar Tree, I was disappointed. I wanted the new store to be maybe The Paper Store or a Panera Bread, not the Dollar Tree. I wanted it to be something a little more trendy and one I would find to be fun and useful.

Well, as is often the case, having snobby thoughts and feelings usually turns out to be a bad idea. You are often shown to be a hypocrite. In short order I discovered just how resourceful and cool the Dollar Tree really could be! So, today I wanted to share some of my favorite products from this funky store with you.

First up are the gift wrapping products. How can you go wrong with a roll of wrapping paper for $1, a lovely bow for $1 and some tissue paper for good measure? I am going to use these items to wrap my mom's gifts this weekend for Mother's Day. She will love it!

Once I am done wrapping the presents, I will need a card. Have you guys noticed how expensive cards are becoming? I have eight grandchildren and when a holiday such as Valentine's Day comes up, it is a literal fortune to simply buy cards for everyone. I found this card at the Dollar Tree. I thought it was pretty and quite fancy. Mom will love this too!

While I am on the subject of gifts, I cannot forget the matchbox cars I find at Dollar Tree. My grandson, Finn, loves matchbox cars and monster trucks, both of which I have found at The Dollar Tree. It is awesome! Finn gets excited every time I buy one. [There are other toys there, as well, that I buy for my other grandchildren. This is just an example :). I don't have favorites.]

Then, of course, there are the seasonal and holiday offerings. I don't think a holiday goes by that I haven't purchased something from the store. The pickings are a little slim right now but, I hope you get my point.

Then, when it comes to my business, I am always finding things that are extremely helpful, not to mention inexpensive. The top of the list for me is this floral wire. I can find all sorts of ways to use this in my floral arrangements. Sometimes I make a floral frog type-of-thing out of it so I don't have to use oasis to hold up my flowers. Sometimes I use it to bind the stems of the flowers of a bouquet tightly together while I am working on it. I am always grabbing a fist full of these packages when I shop there, just in case I might need them in the future.

Next are these lovely plastic mini trays. My daughter, Brittany, uses them a lot in her cookie business. They are great for displaying her cookies or presenting them as a package. I think I am going to use this one to hold the plastic cups in which, at the moment, I am growing seeds. It was a $1. Please don't judge :).

Of course, the assortment of little vases is awesome too! I find uses for these all of the time!

And finally, I discovered these plastic baskets in the last month or so. Aren't they the cutest things? They come in all sorts of colors, if not all displayed at the same time, and they are good for holding my miscellaneous floral supplies.

I wish I had remembered to buy a balloon also. That is another great buy at the Dollar Tree. They always have a bunch blown up on the ceiling of the store. All you have to do is grab one. I bought one for my other grandson, Tommy, for his birthday in March. That balloon stayed inflated for over 6 weeks! (I wasn't sure why he didn't take it home with him the night I gave it to him. Probably because his mother didn't want it floating all over her house like it did in mine. Hahaha!)

I will finish with a photo of the present I wrapped for my mom for Mother's Day...all provided by Dollar Tree. I think it is pretty and it was so easy to do!