Not Made Of Money

One of the ways I save money on gifts is by planning way ahead of time what I am going to give.  This way it gives me time if I want to make a gift, or I can shop around and find the best price for an item.  Even though Valentine’s Day is a month away, I am planning now for the gifts I want to give.  I have been looking around for some inexpensive but cute Valentine gifts.  I think I have found a couple of great ideas at the Target Dollar Spot.  Each of these items cost $1 and by mixing and matching them, you can put together a really thrifty but very sweet Valentine gift.

1.  Valentine Treat Bags with ties.  These come 20 to a pack so that works out to 5 cents per bag.  I filled mine with some of the candy that was clearanced at 75% off during the after Christmas clearance.  Alternatively, you could fill these with homemade cookies.  This is a really inexpensive way to let kids give Valentines to their friends.

2.  Valentine Candles.  I found candles that came 2 to a pack ($1 for the entire pack), are red and clear, and have small votive candles in them.  These are really nice.

3.  A Valentine themed box with a big red bow on the top.  I filled this box with candy that was on clearance but you could just as easily fill it with homemade cookies or even candy hearts.

4.  Valentine Card Making Kit.  This came with all the supplies to make 2 Valentine Cards including stickers, glitters and ribbon, so that makes each card cost 50 cents.

5.  Any of the above items would be great to give as a gift by themselves, each one costing approximately $1, or a little more if you add in the cost for the candy or cookies.  However, you could combine all of the gifts into 1 big Valentine gift consisting of a Valentine card, box of homemade treats, treat bag with candy, and a pack of Valentine votive candles.

Here is a breakdown of the cost:

1 Valentine Card   .50
1 Valentine Gift Box  1.00
1 Valentine Treat Bag  .05
1 Pack Valentine Votive Candles 1.00

Total Cost is $2.55 which does not include the cost of cookies or candy. Remember to shop early if you are planning to use any of these ideas. I suspect that these items at The Dollar Spot will sell out well before Valentine’s Day.

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