Dollar store swaps to help you save for the holidays

When it comes to your holiday budget, where you shop for the little things like gift boxes, gift wrap and decorations can make a difference in what you spend this season.

Those holiday extras can add up: gift bags, tissue paper, gift tags, ornaments and stocking stuffers all come at a cost on top of the gifts themselves.

WATCH: How dollar store swaps can help you save this season

Dollar store swaps to help you save for the holidays

To see how prices compare, I went price checking at Dollar Tree and Dollar General and checked their prices against popular retailers like Hallmark, Walmart, Target and Wayfair. Here's what I found.

First stop: Dollar Tree

My first stop was Dollar Tree, which had a wide selection of holiday items.

Holiday gift bags, tissue paper and packs of gift tags were $1.50 each. At Hallmark, similar gift bags were $3.99.

Decorations

If you're decking the halls, here's how some of the decorative items were priced:

Ornaments: $1.50 Reindeer and Christmas countdown decorations: $5Stockings and stocking stuffers Stockings: $1.50, with prints like Minions and Spider-Man. Stocking stuffers: Most candy started at $1.25, and Skittles candy canes were $3.Holiday baking items

If you're doing some holiday baking, Dollar Tree also carried:

Oven mitts: $1.50 Disposable aluminum pans: $1.75Next stop: Dollar General

My next stop was Dollar General. I started with gift wrap and cards.

At Dollar General, 50 square feet of wrapping paper was $3. Compare that to $5.99 for 30 square feet at Hallmark. A pack of 28 Christmas cards was $3 at Dollar General.

Decorations

I compared pre-lit Christmas trees across stores:

Tree Store Price 6-foot pre-lit tree Major retailers, such as Wayfair More than $100 6-foot pre-lit Virginia pine Dollar General $38 4-foot pre-lit Nordic pine Dollar General $25 4-foot tree Dollar General $6 Ornaments and gift boxes

I also compared prices on ornaments and gift boxes:

30-pack of shatterproof ornaments at Dollar General: $5 30-pack listed at Walmart: $18 Gift boxes at Dollar General: a range starting at $1 A single gift box at Target: $8The takeaway

Based on this price check: For things like gift bags, tissue paper or gift boxes, the dollar store version may work just fine and a few of these small swaps could add up to some big savings, so you don't waste your money.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").

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