Christmas comes early at the dollar store

Stores used to wait until one season was pretty much over before filling the shelves with next season's props. In the last couple of years though, the trend has been to overlap merchandise. Thus, a month or more before gardening tools are no longer needed, Halloween paraphernalia starts to make an appearance. And even while people are still preparing for Halloween and Thanksgiving, silver bells and glittery garland are winking at us from store shelves.

Well, I usually like to start thinking about Christmas shopping in October anyway and the dollar store is always a great place to start. Here are a few holiday items I found while out and about recently along with what's available from Dollar Tree Direct. Everything listed here is only $1.