10 Summer Dollar Tree Finds Worth the Trip for Texas Shoppers
Texas has more Dollar Tree stores than any other state, and in July they earn their keep.
Its seasonal racks fill up with pool gear, backyard supplies, and cold-drink extras for the price of a fountain soda.
These are the summer Dollar Tree finds worth the trip for Texas shoppers.
1. Foam Pool Noodles
The foam pool noodle is the Dollar Tree summer champion for Texas families.
Grab a bundle.
They float a kid in the backyard pool, but Texans also cut them up for pipe covers, cooler dividers, and pruning-shear grips.
Wrapped around a chain, one even keeps the porch swing from scratching the post.
At a buck and a quarter each, you buy ten without flinching.
A craft store charges triple for the same foam, and a pool-supply store even more.
2. Giant Water Balloon Packs
Nothing ends a Texas heat wave like a water balloon fight in the driveway.
Buy in bulk.
Dollar Tree sells fat packs of water balloons for a fraction of the toy-store price, enough for a whole cul-de-sac of kids.
Stock a few packs before the Fourth and you’re the favorite house on the block.
Look for the quick-fill bunches that tie themselves, if your store has them in stock.
3. H2O Blaster Water Squirters
The Dollar Tree water squirter is the cheapest way to arm a Texas backyard.
Cheap enough to lose.
The pump-action H2O Blasters cost so little you can buy one for every kid and keep spares in the truck.
When one cracks, nobody cries over a dollar and a quarter.
Some stores carry bigger soaker models in the multi-price section for a few dollars more.
4. Sand Buckets and Shovels
A Gulf Coast day trip needs a bucket, and Dollar Tree has the cheapest one in Texas.
Galveston-bound.
The solid pail-and-shovel sets come in a stack of colors, perfect for sandcastles you don’t have to haul home and store.
Leave them in the beach bag and replace them next summer for pocket change.
The molds nest together for the ride home, so the whole set stows in one grocery sack.
5. Bubble Blowers
Bubbles keep Texas toddlers busy on a shaded porch when it’s too hot for anything else.
Endless entertainment.
Dollar Tree stocks bubble blowers, wands, and refill jugs by the shelf-full through the summer season.
Buy the big refill and you’re set until school starts.
A battery bubble machine turns a backyard birthday into a hands-free show for a couple of dollars.
Psst! How much do you know about the store behind that $1.25 aisle? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Dollar Store Pop Quiz
Test yourself on the history behind that $1.25 aisle. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
When it started back in 1986, Dollar Tree went by what original name?
6. Solar Garden Stake Lights
Here's a Dollar Tree find that dresses up a Texas patio after the sun finally drops.
No wiring, no batteries.
The Garden Collection solar mushroom stake lights charge all day in that brutal Texas sun and glow along a walkway at night.
Line a whole flower bed for the cost of one big-box lantern.
Push them in the dirt and forget them, since they switch on by themselves at dusk.
In that Texas sun they hit a full charge by lunchtime and still glow past midnight.
7. Designer Glass Tumblers
This is the Dollar Tree find Texans post about all summer.
Boutique look, dollar-store price.
The designer glass tumblers come with a lid and straw and pass for the pricey ones from a home-decor boutique.
Fill one with sweet tea on the porch and nobody guesses what it cost.
They come in the same milky pastels the boutiques charge twenty dollars for.
Buy a set of four and you've spent less than one boutique cup would run you.
Hand-wash them, since the thin glass isn't built for a hot dishwasher cycle.
8. Flip-Flops
In a Texas summer, flip-flops are a disposable good, and Dollar Tree prices them like one.
Keep a spare pair.
Toss a couple in the beach bag, the truck, and the pool tote, so a busted strap never ends the day.
At this price, you retire them the second they get gross.
They won't last a hiking season, but for the pool deck they do the job fine.
Grab a size up for the kids, since young feet outgrow a sandal faster than they wear it out.
9. Travel-Size Sunscreen and Aloe
Nothing punishes a Texan like the July sun, so this Dollar Tree aisle earns its spot.
Stash it everywhere.
Travel-size sunscreen and aloe gel are cheap enough to keep in every bag, glovebox, and pool tote you own.
Check the label for a current expiration date before you buy, then grab a handful.
Don't lean on the small tube for a whole Gulf Coast beach day, though, so pack the big bottle too.
10. Luau Party Supplies
Every Texas summer means a backyard party, and Dollar Tree is where the theme comes from.
Leis and all.
The luau aisle stocks flower leis, tropical decorations, cups, and tablecloths that turn a plain patio into a party for a few dollars.
Paper lanterns, grass table skirts, and pineapple cups all live on the same shelf.
Decorate the whole backyard for what one set of party plates costs at the grocery store, then throw it all out when the ants find the watermelon.
That's the Dollar Tree summer math Texans count on every single July.
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