Cheap and Wonderful

Take twenty dollars and a grandchild (or two), head over to your neighborhood Dollar Store and have a ball. I know, some of them are the pits, but we found a good one in our town and you might, too. My granddaughter and I call ours the "green dollar store" and we make it a point to visit about once a month. It's a great lesson in shopping, because, if every item is the same price, like it is in our store, then you can tell a preschooler or even an occasional toddler, "you can have two things (or three or more)." Today I told my four-year old granddaughter, "you can have five things, that is, you can spend five dollars". We both (proudly) carried our own green baskets through the store, oohing and awing, and exclaiming, "look at this, look at this." The first item that went in Kenzie's basket was a pink-haired fairy doll with snap off wings. Then she spotted a bug catching kit, irresistible, a split second decision. As we turned out of the toy isle and into the the Personal Beauty Products, she was thrilled to find a package of combs, a total of eight in pastel colors, all different sizes and shapes. "What are you going to do with the that many combs? " I asked the girl who hated to get her hair combed. "I don't know, Nana," she said, clutching the package, refusing to part with it. Just as her fingers finished depositing the combs into her basket, they reached for a sparkly 3-pack of barrettes and threw them in and without hesitating a small purse, and a stretchy headband. She was about to continue spreeing when I had to stop her and give her the five dollar warning. "That's it sweetheart, you have your five things." She started to pout a bit and then decided she had an alternative to ending the fun. "I'll put back the head band", she said, "and the barrettes." We gave no heed to the food isles, because for some reason dollar food doesn't seem to be a bargain. It seems like it might be old, besides, it's all processed with cheap oils, fructose corn stuff and food coloring. Definite rip-offs! My favorite section was next: the school supply, workbook, notebooks, books, markers, stickers, crayons etc. "Wow, look at this, Kenz, an Alphabet chart and a banner to put up in the playroom." I wanted to start grabbing a bunch of things like my four year old friend had done, but I restrained myself, shopping carefully for the things I really wanted to have. Kenz was also being careful and chose her two remaining items in my 'best section' before we headed for the register to pay. THEN in sort of a mish mash collection, I spotted an immediate HAD TO HAVE; a Styrofoam airplane, a glider! (Of course, I needed more than one). As we left that well shopped area, Kenz reminded me of something I totally forgot ---"the napkins,Nana." The napkins were the one item we truly needed. She picked out some darling Flamingo theme napkins, put them in her basket, then quickly removed them to mine, remembering they would add to her total. We were done and left the store with a handful of stuff. Including tax, we spent seventeen dollars and some change. Kenz had her five items and studied them in the back seat in her car seat on the ride home. If you are still reading this, that's good, because this is important--- the Styrofoam glider airplanes are so FUN. Hours can go by just tossing those light white beauties into the Spring wind--- trying to get a smooth ride, trying to catch a current. It's exercise you don't even know you're getting, fresh air and sunshine and in a way a feeling like you're flying away! We both had a blast. Go for it grannies! Check out your dollar store for a good ole time! (See the pictures below)