I shopped for holiday decor at Five Below and Dollar Tree. Both impressed me, but only one is catering to Gen Z.

My first stop was a Five Below location on Long Island, New York.

I visited this location in October to check out its Halloween offerings and was pleased with the selection.

So I decided to return in December and see what was in stock for the most wonderful time of the year.

Before I stepped inside, the Christmas spirit was on display. There were oversize ornaments and tinsel-covered candy canes for $5 each.

Do I know what these are for, exactly? No, but I liked them. I could see these working in a dorm room or in a home with young kids.

In the entryway, I saw these gingerbread homes, as well as villages and trains, for $5 each.

They seemed like a perfect holiday activity for children.

For $5, you hopefully won't get too annoyed if the kids make the ugliest and most structurally unsound gingerbread home … which wouldn't necessarily be the case with a more expensive kit, like one selling at Williams Sonoma for $35.

The wrapping paper section ranged from $1 to $5.

Wrapping paper adds up! A few rolls at $1 apiece is a bargain.

The more expensive ones were either licensed characters from properties like "Super Mario" and "Star Wars" or thicker paper than the $1 ones.

There were wheelbarrows filled with holiday lights and socks.

I already have so many Christmas string lights, but in a pinch, these $4 lights would be great.

A bin filled with tinsel is for anyone who needs a bit of sparkle in their tree or home.

Five Below offered different colored tinsel, including white, gold, hot pink, and red.

The holiday section had a huge table filled with hot-chocolate bombs, candy, and regular chocolate.

I bought one of those hot-chocolate bombs as a stocking stuffer last year, and the gift was a big hit.

The decor was split into three sections. This was "glitter decor."

This is where it became clearer who Five Below's holiday-decor audience is: children and teenage girls — or really, any teen who loves sparkles.

According to the brand's website, its target demographic is "tweens, teens and beyond." As early as 2015, Business Insider warned that Five Below should have other discount retailers concerned regarding teens' preferences.

In the store I visited, there were glittery reindeer, sparkling ornaments, twinkling earrings, fairy string lights, a white glitter-encrusted tree-topper, and sparkling fake mistletoe, ranging from $3 to $5. If I were in college, I would've done a clean sweep for my dorm or apartment.

Next to it was "disco decor."

As you can see, "disco decor" really means disco ball ornaments and those plastic light-up trees on the top shelf. I purchased one for $3.

Overall, vintage decor that leans into nostalgia seems to be back, between '70s disco balls, metallic tinsel, and light-up trees.

There were also "Lilo & Stitch" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" stockings in this display, although I'm not sure what's disco about them.

Finally, there was "glam decor," which, to be honest, I didn't really understand.

There's nothing here that's particularly "glam." The mini upside-down trees are cool, but I wouldn't call them glam.

While in this section, I noted that stockings were half-off and now priced at $2, but I don't need any more stockings.

There were lots of $1 ornaments.

These mini-ornaments were cute. There were classic orbs, disco balls, crowns, plushies, rainbows, watermelon slices, and even metallic hamburgers.

Again, these items seem best for young kids or teens.

When I visited this store for Halloween, this section was all pumpkins. It's now all Christmas tree and peppermint mocha candles.

I grabbed one of the green Christmas tree candles with a detachable top for $3.

Another section offered festive headbands and a red nose for anyone wanting to channel their inner Rudolph.

Any holiday gathering or ugly sweater party would be made better with these.

Besides decorations, there were also general holiday goodies, like holiday pillows and blankets.

They all felt very soft to the touch.

And rows of pajamas and slippers for a cold night.

I considered snagging a pair of the green reindeer slippers.

Not even pets were left out. This sweater was also the first piece of Hanukkah memorabilia I spotted at this location.

I was so taken in by all the Christmas decor that I, a Jewish person, had almost forgotten about Hanukkah entirely — though, in my defense, Hanukkah doesn't even start until Christmas at sundown this year.

I was fond of these sock advent calendars.

I usually associate advent calendars with chocolate, though I know many others exist.

It should be noted that I visited the store on the first day of December, and these were all still available — though they are only 12 days, so if you secure one at any point before December 14, you can join the fun.

I didn't buy this one, but I might go back for it.

I was particularly fond of the llama socks.

There were also classic chocolate advent calendars.

In addition to the Reese's calendar, there was a Hello Kitty calendar and a Marvel Comics calendar.

Before I left, I checked out the lone Hanukkah display.

There was special Hanukkah wrapping paper, banners, menorah decorations and headbands, gift bags, and candles.

Five Below did not respond to a request for comment regarding its Hanukkah options.

I bought three rolls of wrapping paper, a light-up Christmas tree, and a candle for $14.50.

This added a touch of non-green or -red to my apartment.

There is a Dollar Tree around 2 miles from the Five Below I visited.

Christmas decorations and holiday gift items were being advertised on the windows.

Just as I had at Five Below, I first saw oversized candy canes for $5.

Even though Dollar Tree is known as a "dollar store," some items cost more than that, like these $5 candy canes.

One of the other few items I found over $1.25 was this $3 wrapping paper.

Perhaps it was more expensive because it's reversible.

The ornament selection was overwhelming.

These ornaments were priced at $1.25 each.

If I were to compare the ornament selection at the two stores, I'd say the Dollar Tree ornaments were more classically Christmas. They were all red, white, or green and were of traditional winter things like snowmen, reindeer, snowflakes, or elves.

At Five Below, they seemed a bit more random.

There were also cute DIY ornaments for $1.25.

This seems like a fun craft for kids.

I noticed immediately that the toys and ornaments in this store represented diversity more than in any other store I've been to.

Representation in toys and ornaments hasn't always been the best — Barbie is perhaps the most notable exception, and even that took decades, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the ballerina ornaments weren't all white.

There were even non-white elf plushies.

There weren't any human plushies I could spot at Five Below, just animals or characters, so this was nice to see.

The decor selection was wide, if not a bit basic.

To me, it seems like Dollar Tree is the place to go if you're stocking up on holiday staples or prefer to keep your decorations on the simple side.

I did like the huge fake flowers display, but I don't have anywhere to put these in my apartment.

Maybe if I had a stoop, a yard, or a balcony to perch these on, I would've grabbed a bouquet.

While walking around, I thought this aesthetic was perfect for someone who loves a classic Christmas look.

Again, basically everything was red, white, green, or gold — and there's nothing wrong with that! But if you're a teenager, this might not be your vibe.

There was a huge aisle of just different colored tinsel.

The tinsel aisle at Dollar Tree put the tinsel bin at Five Below to shame, but I don't need this much as someone who doesn't have a ton of space to decorate.

I have too many cups as it is, but I was tempted by an ornament cup — for just $1.25, I still might go back and get it.

Imagine how satisfying it would be to drink mulled wine or a hot peppermint mocha from an ornament-shaped mug.

There were shelves upon shelves of chocolate and candy.

This was similar to the candy and chocolate available at Five Below.

I was particularly fond of the holiday-themed Mike and Ikes and the Fun Dip.

I liked that the Fun Dip looked like a little book.

I was less than impressed with the candle selection.

While this might not be as chaotic as the candle selection at Home Goods, I certainly preferred Five Below's organization to this haphazard shelf. Barely any of them were wintery or seasonal.

I felt the same about the Hanukkah display — it was just this lonely stand of greeting cards.

Even though Five Below also had just one display, at least it had things other than greeting cards.

Dollar Tree Inc. did not respond to a request for comment regarding its Hanukkah selection.

I didn't buy anything at Dollar Tree since I already had equivalents of what they were selling, but I would recommend it to people looking to stock up on the basics.

I'd go to Dollar Tree if I had a house and yard to decorate. It had all the holiday staples and a lot for less than $5.

For example, if I had a huge tree with no ornaments at all, I'd head to Dollar Tree to get all the basic ornaments, the tinsel, and lights.

Five Below, on the other hand, is for someone who wants to add a little sparkle.

I'm more likely to return to Five Below since my roommate and I already have all the holiday staples like tinsel and basic ball ornaments and don't need any lawn decor. Plus, it's just us, so we don't need any crafts like DIY ornaments or plushies that kids would be into.

Five Below also fits my aesthetic (read: glitter and metallics) more than Dollar Tree did.

I think both stores are a solid option for holiday shopping on a budget — it just depends on what you need.