Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

How to decorate your dorm for the holidays

Courtesy of Kate Casler

It’s time to get in to the spirit for the holidays, but in college and it can be a little more difficult to do that. I’ve been working on finding the best way to decorate my suite with my roommates, and we’ve had a great time doing it! So I’ve come up with another round of dorm decorating ideas. You can use these tips even if you’re off campus too. Best of all, everything is cheap!

1. Snowflakes

Snowflakes are great, simple decorations that can be put up no matter what holiday you celebrate. I bought a stack of 160 coffee filters from the dollar store, which is far more than I’ll ever need, but who knows, the extras could come in handy. Just fold the coffee filters in half and the keep on folding until you can’t anymore. Then cut out whatever design you want! You can do it free hand or look up patterns. If any of you are nerds out there like me, here are some links to Doctor Who and Star Wars snowflake patterns.

Star Wars: http://anthonyherreradesigns.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56:star-wars-snowflakes&catid=34:anthonydesign-blog

Doctor Who:

http://www.geeksugar.com/How-Doctor-Who-Snowflakes-20909447

2. Lights

My roommates and I still have our lights up that I talked about in my Halloween decorating blog (if any of you are actually following) and I’m so glad we got them. They’re blue, so they’re perfect to keep up for all of winter. Ours are up in our common room bordering the walls. Feel free to put yours in your room, around your desk, on the door, or if you have your own place, outside (gee, who would have thought of that). This is probably the most expensive thing on this list (but still under $20), but its well worth it and reusable.

3. Stockings

Okay so this only really applies to those of you who celebrate Christmas, but hang tight everyone else, there is still more to come for you!

Target has felt stockings that you can get for just a couple of dollars (or if you’re really creative you can make your own stocking). The best part about this is everyone gets to decorate their own stocking! My roommates and I even made a night of it. All we had was glitter glue, coffee filter snowflakes, and some extra pieces of felt. We put on Christmas music and got creative with each of our stockings. So on top of a cute decoration, it’s fun to make!

4. Construction paper is your best friend

Get a big stack of construction paper, and you have endless options. For starters, you can make a paper chain, simple but still decorative and you can make it with whatever colors are appropriate for you! Also, cut out some block letters and spell out whatever fun messages you want. “Let it Snow” is on one of my walls, while “Merry Christmas” is on the other, but you can make it say whatever you like! Get creative!

There are so many simple, fun, and cheap decoration ideas out there, but these are just a few to get you started. Happy holidays and have fun decorating!

Kate Casler can be reached at [email protected].

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