These Are My 3-Year-Old's Favorite Dollar Tree Items

If you have kids, these Dollar Tree items could make great gifts.

The Dollar Tree has a surprising amount of great items that are budget-friendly and that can help you declutter your home, entertain your kids, or meet other household needs. But, it can sometimes be hard to figure out what's worth putting on your credit card and which items you'd be better off leaving on the shelf.

Our family has tried a whole bunch of Dollar Tree products, and we've discovered five items that are my 3-year-old's absolute favorites and are well worth buying. Here's what they are.

1. Block-building kits

The Dollar Tree has a wide variety of different kits with small building blocks you can use to construct things like fire trucks and dinosaurs. These are similar to Legos (and some of the pieces are even compatible with Legos). But while Lego kits can be expensive enough to put a real dent in your bank account, these are just $1.25.

My son adores picking out a kit, working with his dad to put it together, and playing with the finished product. We get hours of entertainment from these kits, and they are well worth the price.

2. Dinosaur figurines

The Dollar Tree also has a great selection of little dinosaur figures that my son can play with. He has a full collection of the different dinosaurs and he really enjoys playing pretend with them and looking them up in his dinosaur book to see what kind they are. He's even learned which are herbivores and carnivores. And the dinosaurs at the Dollar Tree cost much less than plastic figurines elsewhere.

3. Color-with-water books

My son really enjoys coloring, but we don't like to leave him alone with crayons and markers since he still can't be fully trusted not to color on the furniture. With water books, we don't have to worry about it. He gets a water pen or a paint brush and a cup of water and can color or paint to his heart's content. The paintings create vibrant colors and he's always really happy with the finished product.

4. Kid-sized sunglasses

We spend a lot of time at the pool and playgrounds outdoors, and my son is constantly demanding our sunglasses but of course they don't fit. He was delighted to discover Dollar Tree made kid-size options in different patterns. He picked out a few pairs, and since they only cost $1.25, I don't have to worry too much if he loses or breaks them.

5. Craft kits

Finally, we enjoy doing all of the different craft kits that Dollar Tree offers. There's usually seasonal kits so he can paint Santa or create a Rudolph sticker project during the Christmas months and then switch up to a Valentine's craft when February comes along. There's also lots of different kinds of craft kits, from wooden figures to paint to an easel and canvas to create his own masterpiece to a tote bag he can color in with markers.

I love that these Dollar Tree items encourage his love of learning through play, while also not costing me very much at all. Any parent with a kid around his age should check them out.