Dollar Store Equestrian Gift Basket – DIY

The holiday season is in full swing. As is trying to find the perfect gift for every person on our lists. And while I was at the dollar store the other day, I thought it would be fun to see if I could come up with a neat gift basket for an equestrian. The only stipulation is that everything had to come from the dollar store.

So after I had found what I had intended to buy, I started searching for things that an equestrian might find helpful to have.

And the best part about this gift is the thought that goes into it. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to give a thoughtful gift that someone will appreciate. You can put together a dollar store equestrian gift basket for less than $20.00. Let me show you how.

The Basket

All great creations start with the big idea, right? So the first thing I needed to find was something to put everything in.

I found these festive bins, and thought the green would be festive and fun. And the basket itself is pretty sturdy. And once the recipient has received their gift, this bin could be very helpful in the barn!

Decorating the Gift Basket

Now you could wrap the basket, but depending on what you are filling it with, that could prove to be a challenge.

An easier way is to simply buy a pretty bow to attach to the basket itself. And thankfully, the dollar store has many different bows to choose from! Personally I like anything shiny, which is why I chose this bow.

Finding the Treasures

And when deciding what to put in the basket, I decided to find things that would be practical as well as fun for the recipient.

You can never have enough towels in the barn. And I found a set of 2 utility towels, and a microfiber cloth that is super soft.

These socks were really fun, and seem to be pretty nice. The purple ones are knee high socks, which really look like fun tall boot socks to me. And for a dollar? Way less expensive than the trendy boot socks!

The cute dog ones have another pair with them, and they feel really nice. They are crew length, so while not ‘true’ boot socks, they do come up high enough to protect your ankles from being rubbed by your boots.

And of course we need some sort of horse treats right? These starlight mints are perfect! And if you wanted to do a little baking, you could make some homemade horse treats and top them with a mint or two.

And just like never having enough towels, you can never have enough hooks in the barn. This is probably my most favorite thing to buy at the dollar store for my tack room. These over the door hooks make a fantastic way to hang up everything from halters to ear bonnets, and even girths.

The dollar store always has a great selection of hair ties and brushes. And this paddle brush is a great mane and tail brush. The hair clips could be used for the rider, or holding a mane out of the way for braiding. And the hair ties work great for both horse and rider!

If it’s cold where you live, like it is where I live an extra scarf is always nice.

And you can never have enough gloves right? These little beauties are heavy duty! They also had ear muffs, hats and fleece headbands which are very nice to have to protect your ears when the weather turns cold.

And it won’t always be cold, right? So how about some practical helpers like a big bottle of shampoo and conditioner? Finding a hydrating shampoo and conditioner works just as well for our horses as they do for people!

And thinking on the practical end of the spectrum, this Dawn dish liquid has been a life saver for cleaning nasty buckets and water tanks for me. A little bit goes a long way too. You could also buy a scrub brush to toss in to the basket as well.

These baby wipes are wonderful. You could buy the little resealable pack, and then toss in a back up package. I use baby wipes all the time in the barn, and these work really well.

Then you can find a special photo frame for your favorite equestrian to frame a favorite photo or two of their horse. If you are a real planner, you could add in the photos yourself! That in itself would be a very thoughtful and treasured gift.

Assembling the Basket

Now for me, this is the fun part! You can play around with the basket and all of the inclusions until you have created an awesome gift basket!

And I was able to make this basket for $21.00. That includes the basket, and the bow. This is the gift that will keep on giving! There are personal items, horse treats, grooming items, and even something they can hang on their wall.

I enjoy coming up with thoughtful gift ideas, and I like it even more when I know I have gifted something someone can really use.

And this is just one example of an equestrian gift basket. You could make one like a horse show ringside basket, or a leather care basket, or even a horsey spa day basket. The possibilities are endless! You just have to put a little thought into it, and presto! You will have a thoughtful and useful gift to give!