Mentally, it’s fall for me. I’m listening to Midnights by Taylor Swift. I’m watching Mike Flanagan’s The Midnight Club while curling up next to my stinky dogs. I’m in my favorite yellow crushed velvet accent chair lazily reading a whodunit mystery.
But it’s the end of August. It’s not fall yet. Midnights and The Midnight Club won’t be out until October. Still, I am trying to infuse bits of autumn here and there with little trinkets around my work space, pretending that it’s blustery and chilly when it’s ridiculously hot.
Anyway, I haven’t really gone thrifting much lately, but I do go grocery store shopping regularly, and there’s conveniently a massive Dollar Tree store right next to it. Every so often, I find myself wandering around there to pick up cleaning supplies or decorations. And do you know what always gets me? The seasonal stuff.
As summer and back to school season goods are on the outs, autumn and Halloween tchotchkes are hitting the shelves at full speed. It looks like a Spirit Halloween at Dollar Tree right now! I haven’t been much of a Halloween enthusiast since college, though. In the winter years of my 20s (not autumn, I’m old lol), I’ve been more focused on getting lasting pieces that can be used throughout the course of a season. What’s great about Dollar Tree now is that their quality has gotten better over the years — I actually get a lot of gardening supplies there.
So, without further ado, here are a few Dollar Tree autumn decorations that I’ve picked up so far and how I’ve been using them.
Gold metallic flowers
These sunflowers aren’t strictly autumnal. I feel like I could work them into my winter and summer decorations, too! I love flowers, but I really can’t handle them in my space year-round because of the pollen, so these faux flowers are great for adding some elevated cozy flair to my space. I popped them into my pink ceramic vase and left them by my window. It breaks up the overwhelming amount of green that I have going on.
Maple leaf garland
I bought a garment rack a while back. I enjoy how it simplifies the thought process that goes into picking out my clothes for the day, but it really isn’t that cute. To make it look a little less dreadful, I wrapped this sparkly maple leaf garland around it! I’m hoping to find more, as I only found one strand at my local store. My mom’s very dubious about the aesthetic value that it brings, telling me that I might as well pick up dead leaves from her garden.
Gold streaked polyresin pumpkins
These polyresin pumpkins were honestly a steal! They’re painted with muted brown and terracotta colors, but they have stunning gold highlights. I feel like they’re something you’d find at a World Market or Pier 1 Import! They’re sitting on my work desk to help me get in the spooky season mood.
Velvet pumpkin
Dollar Tree also has a ton of velvet pumpkins right now. Honestly, these feel a bit flimsy, as they’re essentially velvet stretched over styrofoam. I have, however, found some use for them! Since I’ve been really into cross stitching lately, I’ve found that the body makes the perfect push pin for my needles. My local selection only came in gray, navy, and pink, so I picked up the gray one.
Woodland creature
I used to think woodland creatures were kind of gauche, but honestly, they’re kind of cute! Owls, foxes, squirrels, chipmunks — I’m not trying to be twee here, but they add a bit of clever sneaky fun to any cottage-inspired decor scheme! I found this fox quite charming, and it makes for a nice paperweight with its hefty clay material.
I should also mention that Dollar Tree had some other decorations as well — you can peruse their site to get a feel for what’s available.
To be frank, I’m not as big a fall decoration person as I am a Christmas one, but these little autumn decor pieces were too cute to pass! They don’t take up as much space as Christmas wreaths, lights, and trees, either, so I don’t anticipate having a hard time packing them up once November comes to an end.
Anyway, cheers to a cozy, relaxing autumn, everyone! Hope you find some steals, or at least a small trinket or two to enjoy this fall.
