I couldn't afford to go out and buy large gifts for everyone this year.  But I do like to get everyone something (least all the kids who gather at my grandmothers for Christmas).  Thankfully I covered about half my list in post-Christmas sales last year, but that still left several kids and grownups to get "I think of you" tokens for.  A lot of these I picked up at the Dollar Tree, Deals, or Target's Dollar aisle.  I thought I'd share some of my finds, and see if anyone else wanted to share theirs.

At Target, I found a small "grow your own Christmas tree gift" ($1), a magnetic to-do list pad with penguins printed on it ($1...Theresa likes penguins), and some board books featuring a Teddy bear ($1 each...seemed a good fit for a 2 year old), for my sister's new baby I got some adorale blue socks, one with puppies and another with snow flakes...practical but cute.  I saw other items that I thought were cute but didn't pick up.... like a mini-cocktail shaker (I don't drink, but I still think it looked shiny and fun), a Peanuts (Schulz) coloring book.

Target had some more stuff at the $2.50 price range, including some rather pretty mini-Christmas trees, onesies, and wooden train engines.

At Dollar tree, I spent $3 on my 3 year old cousin, and got him a matching shield ($1) and breast plate ($1) with dragon emblem and foam sword with belt clip ($1)...hopefully, he'll use it to defend rather than attack his sister, but that's why I went with the foam....I picked up a 6 pack of metal cars for a 4 year old, not the same quality level as matchbox or hotwheels but the same size...and thankfully, he's not the picky sort.  I also saw a two pack of cars that came with a small playmat (printed with streets)...lots of 100 piece Puzzles featuring baby animals, rustic scenes, Cartoon characters, even Captain Jack Sparrow (for some of the bigger kids on your list).  They also had some classic toys like Rubix cubes and slinkies.  For the gamers on your list, there 10-packs of dice and a Texas Poker set which included a deck of cards and chips.

At Deals, I got a penguin print apron ($1...went with the to-do list from Target).  I bought some small items for my nursery/business, but they could make neat gifts/stocking stuffers as well.  I picked up some more board books, these shaped like different animals, and in the toy section I found some small rhythm instruments including a triangle.  There were several Hannah Montana and Highschool Musical items at the store, like nightlights and lipgloss which are tween appropriate.  Lots of dress up items like play shoes, hats, and headbands with brightly colored hair attatched.  The giant Christmas stockings were another fun dollar item.

Dollar stores aren't the *only* place to shop of course...I picked up a Darth Vader T-shirt and Clone Wars baseball cap on clearance at Walmart for $1 each.  Anyone else have some great budget finds they'd like to share?