Joy at the Dollar Store

Why is it that dollar store items are so appealing? I have to admit I get a little giddy when I approach the dollar bins at the front of Target. I wonder what wonderful bargains I'm going to find. They have some pretty fun stuff in those bins!! I feel the same way about the dollar store. So, I bribed the kids with a trip to our favorite one today. It got them to finish their chores with relatively little chaos.

We discovered a nice dollar store in Syracuse a few months back. We started going there after the girls' orthodontic appointments. Unlike most dollar stores, it is very clean and tidy. We spent a half an hour there and each walked away with two treasures in our hot little hands. Here are the results:

Katie decided upon a big box of Gobstoppers Jawbreakers and a package of glow sticks.

Lauren chose a set of colorful mechanical pencils and a gel-filled rubber ball that you can squeeze. She says it looks like a brain when you are squeezing it.

Braiden and Ethan both ended up with a race car and a small bowling pin set each.

I walked away with a new foot file for my feet and a birthday banner to replace our lost one.

So today's purchases were pretty good...but it got me thinking about some of my greatest dollar store purchases ever. These are the reasons I love dollar buys:

Cupcake sprinkles and cake decoration containers at Target (I love it when they have these for the upcoming season! I stock up on them and we have a hay-day when we decorate cookies!)

A package of 80 birthday candles at the dollar store (it also came with holders so the wax doesn't drip on your cake). It will take me a while to run out of candles!

Gardening gloves at Target, the kind with the rubber on the palms (I buy at least 3 pair every spring)

Plastic popcorn containers that look like they came straight from the State Fair--they are so cute! (I put them downstairs in the wet bar for movie nights)

Activity books, especially the kind with the special marker that reveals words and pictures on the pages--great for church (my kids LOVE these!)

Manicure sets at Target (they come with a nail brush, file, clippers, and cuticle stick, all in cute colors!) I bought quite a few of these because I love the nail brushes--I have one at almost every sink in my house

Cute gift bags and nice wrapping paper at the dollar store (they have some really great wrap stuff at this store which saves me tons of money)

A really cute iron butterfly garden stick for my front flower bed at the dollar store--I get lots of compliments on it, people can't believe I only paid a buck for it!

I've gotten some darling scrapbook stuff at the dollar store as well. You have to search through piles, but if you are persistent, you can get some dang cute stuff!

So, there's my take on things that only cost one dollar. Of course, if you add everything together, I probably could have bought something really nice with all of those dollars! Oh well, it's all about the little things in life, isn't it?