Dollar Tree Gift Idea: Trinket Dishes Filled With Candy

These cute little candy-filled trinket dishes make great Christmas gifts for friends, family, coworkers, and nursing home residents and staff, and I had so much fun putting them together. I found the decorative dishes at Dollar Tree, filled them with chocolate candy, and stuffed them into pretty gift bags. Such a simple gift idea, and you can put one together for just a few dollars each!

I made 30 of these sweet gifts for Christmas, but you could easily change the candy and packaging for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, or any other occasion. And don’t worry if your Dollar Tree doesn’t have the same trinket dishes I found. They have plenty of dishes, trays, or boxes that would work too.

Supplies for Candy-Filled Trinket Dish Gifts

You only need a few things to put these gifts together:

• Small trinket dishes, ring holders, or decorative trays from Dollar Tree
• Individually wrapped chocolate or other favorite candies
• Clear cellophane gift bags
• Twist ties or ribbon to close the bags

I filled my trinket dishes with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey’s Kisses, and a few leftover Halloween treats. Use whatever candy you like, or choose something special for the person receiving the gift.

How to Make Dollar Tree Candy-Filled Trinket Dishes

I have a couple of funny stories about how many trips to the Dollar Tree it takes to find ring holders decorated with Llamas and how many pieces of candy are in the peanut butter cup bag. Read on….

Choose Trinket Dishes or Small Trays at Dollar Tree

We’ve gotten to know quite a few of the residents at the nursing home where my Mom lives, and I wanted to give them a little something for Christmas. A gift is just one way to show them we care and think about them.

A couple of years ago, we made goodie-filled coffee mugs for the nursing home staff, and those were a big hit. This year, I decided to try something different.

I went to the Dollar Tree last week to see what they had. I didn’t have a gift plan at all, so when I spotted these ring holders, that was it. The white plates with the gold-tone Llamas, Unicorns, Whale Tails, and Dinosaurs were just too pretty.

I could see them filled with candy. Everyone loves chocolate, right? You could also use hard candies and sugar-free candies, or personalize the candy selection to your recipient’s sweet tooth! But you should always check to see if your gift recipient has any dietary restrictions or allergies.

I love making gifts, really. I’m speaking the truth when I say I would rather give gifts for Christmas than receive them. 

Choose the Candy for Your Trinket Dishes

I’m a big fan of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey’s Kisses, so I chose those for our friends. I got these bags at Walmart. For this gift idea, you need individually wrapped candies.

Choose Clear Gift Bags for Wrapping

I bought gift bags to hold the candy-filled dishes. Each $1 set included 15 bags.

I had an issue with the bags I chose, but I’ll explain later.

Finding Enough Trinket Dishes at Dollar Tree

 

When I have a plan, I will go to any lengths to make sure it happens. The Dollar Tree where I spotted the ring holders only had ten gold-tone ring holders. They had 12 all-white ring holders. The all-white ones weren’t nearly as pretty as the white-and-gold-tone ring holders.

Well, Clarksville has 5 Dollar Trees, and I hit all of them in 3 days trying to find more of the pretty gold-tone ring holders. I ended up with 30 ring holders total, including five white ones. I know that sounds like a lot of trouble for such small gifts, but I didn’t mind. I just wanted the gifts to be perfect.

Fill the Trinket Dishes With Candy

Now that I had all the stuff, the next thing to do was fill the dishes with candy. If you guys want to know how many peanut butter cups and how many kisses are in each bag…..I can tell you……..there are 35 peanut butter cups, give or take 1 or 2, and 66 kisses, give or take 1 or 2. You’re welcome.

I decided I needed more candy, so I raided our leftover Halloween candy and pulled out all the red-wrapped Kit Kats. I had to stay with the theme. I poured all the candy into a cardboard box and put 6-8 pieces in each dish.

I made sure each one had a variety of colors. It would be too blah to have candy in a dish with all the same-color wrap. 

Wrap the Candy-Filled Dishes in Gift Bags

Here’s a tip if you’re making these gifts: Be sure your gift bag is wide enough for the dish. I checked the size of the bottom of the bags but didn’t think about that narrow neck. So when it came time to put the candy-filled dishes in the bag, I ran into a small problem. No way were those dishes going to fit through the neck.

I solved the problem by cutting the seam on one side from the top to just past the narrow neck. That worked!

I could stuff the dishes in the bags, swirl them closed,  and twist the little thingies around the bag, and nothing fell out! I set up an assembly line when putting the bags together: trinket dishes, bag, closing tags.

I made a total of 30 candy-filled trinket dishes. When my sister and I delivered the gifts, we were greeted with a lot of smiles and hugs.

Other Dollar Tree Containers You Can Fill With Candy

You don’t have to use the same trinket dishes I found. Dollar Tree usually has all kinds of small containers and decorative items that would make cute candy gifts.

Here are a few other ideas:

• Small glass bowls: Fill them with colorful wrapped candy.
• Decorative soap dishes: Look for pretty ceramic or glass designs and add a small candle.
• Mini holiday mugs: Add individual packets of hot chocolate or other wrapped treats.
• Small wooden trays: Arrange the candy on the tray and wrap everything in cellophane.
• Holiday candy dishes: Choose Christmas designs for seasonal gifts.
• Little decorative baskets: Fill them with hand and body lotions.

You could also skip the Christmas packaging and make these for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, or teacher appreciation gifts.

More Dollar Tree Gift Ideas

Gift Candle Holders

It was fun sorting through the decorative Christmas-themed votive holders at Dollar Tree. I picked three favorites, placed a votive candle and yummy candy in each one, then wrapped them in cellophane and tied them with curly ribbon. You can find more ideas here: Last Minute Dollar Tree Gift Bags With Decor And Treats For Less Than $5

Dollar Tree Car Geek Gift Idea

The men need a special gift, and this one is right up their alley.

Dollar Tree Gift Baskets Men And All Car Geeks Will Love

Gift-Filled Copper Mugs

You can fit so many useful things into a large cup or mug. Take a look at these cool copper mugs.

 This Last Minute Copper Mugs DIY Gift Idea Is For You Procrastinators

These candy-filled trinket dishes were such fun little gifts to put together, even if I had to visit five Dollar Tree stores to find enough! I love that the recipients can enjoy the candy and still have a pretty little dish to use afterward.

Have you spotted any cute trinket dishes or small trays at Dollar Tree lately? I’d love to hear what you’ve found and how you would turn them into gifts.

As always, thanks for being here. Have a great day, Kathy

This post was originally published on Petticoat Junktion in 2019. It has been updated with new information and photos and republished.