It’s that time of year again! The Distillery District Christmas Market is open once again, Christmas lights line the streets of nearby towns, and my family has set up their Christmas tree! I love Christmas time, and seeing all the pretty lights and decorations always makes my days a little brighter.
But we’re students now, and getting festive is sometimes a cost we can’t afford. How can we do things like decorate apartments and dorms when so much money goes into bills, groceries, and other important things? Here’s a few tips my family has developed over the years to save money during Christmastime!
First, check out your local dollar store for decorations! If you can’t afford a large tree, dollar stores often have miniature trees you can place on a table and still put presents under! Usually, these trees come with miniature decorations as well, so you don’t need to worry about finding things to decorate with! Dollar stores are also great locations to find artificial strings of holly and pine needles to put up around your home, and cheap candles that can really bring the smells of Christmas to your room. Dollar stores have been a long-time favorite of ours for holiday decorations, and it’s so easy to store the decorations so you can re-use them from year to year.
Second, make presents for your loved ones, or give “memory presents”. If you’ve seen The Office (spoiler alert here for those who haven’t), there’s an episode where Jim gives Pam a teapot at the Christmas party. At first glance, Pam thinks it’s just a teapot, but when she opens it she sees that he’s collected little reminders of special memories they had shared together. Try putting together photo albums for a friend, or a memory box for your significant other. Sometimes the simpler gifts can go a long way.
Third, don’t feel like you have to go to every holiday party you’re invited to. As amazing as it would be if we could go to every event, eventually we need to prioritize some over others. Spread out your money between events, gifts, and decorations and find the areas that can give a little.
Budgeting during the holidays and making sure you can cover all your bases is really tricky, especially with the constant stream of advertisements we get, telling us we need everything. But With a bit of cutting corners and prioritizing, you can still have an amazing holiday season as a student. Good luck!
Image Source(s):
http://www.interiorlandscaping.co.uk/artivy.htm
https://www.bustle.com/articles/130007-the-office-christmas-party-episod…