You know what's fun on Christmas? Having a truckload of stuff to open.
You know what sucks? It usually costs a lot to make that happen.
Fortunately, Elohim gave us dollar stores. If there is a better place to buy stocking stuffers, I haven't seen it. I've been able to buy a whole mess of cool stuff for my family on the cheap at Dollar Tree. They're great for snacks, too!
Of course, you need to know what's worth buying for more. Some dollar store stuff is so inferior compared to the fancier versions that the price difference isn't enough. For instance, Dollar Tree has 8-packs of AA batteries. That is an absolutely phenomenal deal at first glance, but they run out of juice fast enough that most of the time you're better off springing for the pricey brands. I still like them for little-used devices and emergencies, though.
The Dollar Tree Rubix Cube looks good but is hard to turn. It's fine for people who are just casually dicking around, but "speed cubers" like my brother prefer other versions. Some of their toys are perfectly good, others are very inferior.
The food - there are some name brands in the food department, and some are better than others. In my experiments, I've found that the cookies are generally a safe bet, the popcorn, chips, and pretzels are identical to more expensive brands for the most part, and the chocolate varies (WATCH OUT FOR "FLAVORED!" I'll elaborate on the horrors of "chocolate flavored" in another post.)
Last tip: Don't get Dollar Tree headphones. They are horrible and die on one side almost immediately out of the package.
I shop at the Goodwill, where good stuff is ridiculously low price at the cost of sometimes getting damaged or stinky goods. I just sample that stuff before I give it and BAM! Good gift if it works!
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, all forms of dollar store Ramen are pretty much identical to the "True" ramen, in my experience at least. This is a great thing.
ReplyDeleteThere's a place I sometimes visit that's similar to a Goodwill but the prices are all over the place. I snagged a ten-dollar working television for my brother this Christmas there!
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