Decorations for a Dollar

I love to put up decorations for the holidays, even the minor ones throughout the year, like Valentine's Day. My mom always made these days special for us growing up, and I want to give that sense of wonder and celebration to my girls.

However, it's just not in our budget to buy a bunch of $5 bakery cookies, $10 stuffed animals, or $15 wreaths for every holiday on the calendar. Even if you buy seasonal items at so called "discount" stores like TJ Maxx or even Target, the prices can really add up.

My solution: the dollar store. The dollar store is one of the best places to buy seasonal items. For every holiday they usually have a large selection of decorations, candy, little gifts, and wrapping supplies. It's true that the stuff is not heirloom quality, but at this point in my life that is probably an advantage rather than a problem. My two year old had such fun rearranging the our Valentine window stickers, for instance, and if she accidentally tore a few -- well, we've had them for about three years. I think I can afford $.33 a year!

Here are a few of my dollar items that we're using to celebrate Valentine's Day this year:

These are the window stickers my daughter had such fun with.

The Valentines we made with our friends and the supplies. These are from the Target dollar section, my other "dollar store."

Some little Valentines presents for my girls (from Target dollar section).

The cake mix and frosting are actually from the grocery store, but they were a dollar each. That's actually more than I would usually pay, but my daughter saw them and was so excited . . . at least that's a lot cheaper than buying cupcakes.

I bought most of these items this year, but the decorations were leftover from several years ago. At just a few dollars a year, I am really building up to a collection of cute festive items to celebrate the holidays.

PS - For more Works for Me Wednesday, check out Rocks in my Dryer. For more Valentines ideas, check out this post on Money Saving Mom.