Dollar Tree's $5 Sink-Side Essential Is An Affordable Williams Sonoma Alternative

The fun of Christmas decor is that you can go far beyond the traditional garland, tree, and red bow. Sneaking holiday cheer into small functional details makes all the difference when decorating. Brands are going beyond the traditional holiday-themed kitchen towels and throw pillows, and making cute items like Christmas tree-shaped soap dispensers. But while these have been commercialized by high-end and expensive brands like Williams Sonoma, there is a cheaper alternative at Dollar Tree that's just as cute and far more affordable.

The original Williams Sonoma Christmas tree soap dispenser is stunning, we'll admit. But when choosing holiday decor that only gets displayed for a few weeks every year, it's natural to hesitate on spending nearly $35 on a hand soap dispenser. Instead, Dollar Tree offers a similar tree-shaped soap dispenser for only $5 from its holiday collection. At that price, you can even splurge on several soap dispensers to use in the kitchen and multiple bathrooms.

Of course, there are some differences between the two models, and this isn't an exact dupe. Specifically, the more Williams Sonoma model features garlands, ornaments, and birds on the tree's green foliage. The Dollar Tree model is a bare tree, with deep green strokes to highlight the dimension of the tree's branches. In addition, its pump mechanism is silver, whereas the one from Williams Sonoma is gold — which might matter if you care to match your fixtures. Despite these small differences, the competitive price makes the Dollar Tree model a fantastic option for families looking to add a bit of holiday decor to their kitchen or bathroom counter while on a budget.

The Dollar Tree holiday collection features a few other stoneware soap dispensers, including a snowman, a red snowflake, and a truck hauling a tree. The green tree, however, has the added advantage of looking high-end and sleek. It's subtle and not overly Christmasy, which means it will also work if you're looking to decorate for the holidays while maintaining a minimalist aesthetic or you're trying to achieve a more pared-back and elevated look.

You can pair this soap dispenser with holiday home decor from other affordable stores to decorate while staying on a budget. For example, add some simple red and green plaid hand towels to your rotation to tie everything together without breaking the bank. For an extra holiday touch, fill the dispenser with peppermint-scented hand soap. You can even use homemade hand soap that smells amazing to customize the ambiance of a guest bathroom with unique scents ahead of holiday dinners and family sleepovers. That way, guests will get a whiff of holiday spirit with every hand wash. This dispenser isn't just for hand soap, either; you can also use it for dish soap or hand lotion, for example. When the holidays are done, you can store the dispenser away in a safe place, even if there is still soap inside it. Hand soap has a shelf life of up to three years, so you should be able to take it out and use it again next holiday season.