Decorate your dorm for the holidays

Amanda Suarez, Reporter

December 5, 2013

Sometimes when you’re away from home it can be hard to feel the joy of the holiday season. Here are some tips for sprucing up your apartment or dorm to make it more homey for the holidays (while following your landlord’s and Residential Services’ safety regulations, of course).

Make an advent calendar to keep a countdown to Winter Break, Christmas or any other holiday you celebrate. You can make one out of felt or fabric with square pockets for each calendar date leading up to the big day. For an added bonus, you can keep candy or small presents in each day’s pocket. You can also just use a small whiteboard to keep track of the days. Make sure to decorate it!

Create an indoor winter wonderland by purchasing white, glittery candle holders and electric mini candles. The flickering of the light inside the white shimmer will make it easy to imagine your whole room is covered in snow, without you having to worry about bundling up. To imitate even more snow, make paper snowflake chains to hang on the walls or across your doorway (which, by the way, is a satisfying way to recycle that 20-page midterm essay you’re tempted to toss out).

Use holiday-scented air fresheners, like cranberry, sugar cookie, spruce tree or peppermint. Scent is one of the best ways to stir up memories, making this a great technique to evoke the holiday spirit.

Deck out your dorm bed with tinsel. It’s a small way to add a festive touch to your room.

Make some white hot chocolate with candy canes, the perfect treat for a night in with your roommate. You can even use plain mugs and decorate them with red and green Sharpies.

Invest in a miniature Christmas tree to fill your whole room with a holiday aura. Department stores have dozens of cute styles and colors. Whole Foods also sells small, inexpensive rosemary bushes that look like little Christmas trees. You can even purchase or make mini ornaments to adorn it or small presents to put underneath it.

Transform your hall refrigerator into a snowman. All you have to do is use construction paper to cut out a carrot nose, two button eyes and a corncob pipe (if you’re feeling really festive), tape them up and voila! You don’t even have to worry about him melting.