Festive Living: Decorating Your Dorm Room For The Holidays

For as long as I can remember, my mother has decorated our house according to season and whatever holiday is closest. Come Halloween, you can find plastic skeletons hanging from the trees in our front yard. Around Thanksgiving, turkey centerpieces adorn every table. Now that I’m off at college, she regularly sends me care packages bursting with seasonal decorations. Here are some tips for decorating your own room to get in the holiday spirit—and, as a bonus, boost your spirit during finals.

Window decals

Window decals are a great, low-commitment way to add some cheer to your room. With Hanukkah drawing to a close and Christmas approaching, it will be easy to find clings for your dorm window that look like menorahs, Christmas trees, and other related markers of your winter holiday of choice. Sites like Oriental Trading and Amazon are good sources for these. Not only will seeing decals on your window brighten your mood, but they will also be a nice surprise for anyone with a view of your window. (It’s the little things, as they say.)

Banners

I like to make the window in my room the focus of my holiday decorating—after all, the window is where my eyes stray when I get distracted from whatever I am working on at my desk. Banners are another fun decoration that you can use to liven up the window area. (On that note, it is probably time for me to take down my “Happy Thanksgiving” banner). They make a bold statement; they will be the first thing people notice when they enter your room. Check out the Party City website for cheap options, or Etsy if you want something a bit more unique.

Homemade paper snowflakes

This is a broad category, but then again, you probably do not have time to create a ton of decorations for your room unless your procrastination is out of control. Remember folding up pieces of paper in half and cutting them to create symmetrical and (what seemed like) intricate snowflakes in elementary school? It’s still just as fun! You can use lined paper you have lying around if you’re feeling lazy, or level up and go for colored construction paper. Upgrade your snowflakes even further with glitter glue. Tacky, but fun. Tape them to your walls, door, floor, anywhere the fancy strikes.