Dollar Store Gift Guide

Before you laugh, before you decide that I've gone off the frugal deep end…let me explain. You won't actually be buying a gift from the dollar store, you'll be buying the supplies to make a Dollar Store craft that is oh, so worthy of gift giving. I promise, cross-my-heart…nobody will suspect that you only spent $1.

Ready for three super-easy, super-cheap gift ideas? Put on your frugal santa hat and let's get crafty!

Framed Seasonal Prints

• Supplies & Instructions:
• Frame – The Dollar Store has a huge assortment, and an 8 x 10 or 5 x 7 is best for this project. If you have an extra frame at home, this becomes a totally free gift!
• Seasonal Prints – These are FREE, and they're also referred to as free printables. That's right, you download the free art and print it on your home computer. So…where do you find these free printables? I've put together of Pinterest Board below of some of my favorite free printables for framing. Click on “see on Pinterest”, and then click on your favorite printable and click one more time to go to the website of the person that designed the free printable. Follow their instructions for printing. Tip: Some free printables have options to print in different sizes, but some don't, so you'll have to adjust the scale before you print. “Scale” is an option that comes up on your computer when you click print, and it's usually a percentage. For example: print 100%, 80%, 50%, etc.
• Frame the Christmas printable and stack the others behind it. On the gift tag, let them know there's a print for every season. Otherwise, they might stash it away with their Christmas decorations!

• Supplies & Instructions:
• White Plate or Mug from the Dollar Store.
• Black Sharpie, Colored Sharpie, Any Sharpie!
• Draw your design on the plate or mug. I'm not much of an artist, so I opted to write ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas on the rim of the plate…I think it worked!
• Bake your plate or mug at 350º for 30 minutes.
• Congratulations…you just made a custom plate for a buck, and if you have any artistic skills this is a must do gift!

Candle

• Supplies & Instructions:
• Candle in a jar from the Dollar Store.
• Tie ribbon around the rim of the lid to dress it up.
• Add a free printable gift tag to the lid and voila it looks like a fancy candle from an expensive boutique! If you like the printable I used, get it from HeyLookBlog.com.

So…what do you think? Do these gifts scream cheap or festive and frugal?

P.S. – Don't tell my daughter's choir director or voice teacher that the framed seasonal prints we gave them only cost $1.