With the holiday season fast approaching it is the time of year that we start to get homesick for Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Chanukah or Christmas decorations. In order to make up for the lack of decorations Brandeis does, you can easily do your own cute, cheap and spirited decorations.
Thanksgiving is quickly approaching but if you want to get in the mood here are some easy, fast decorations for your dorm!
1) Leaf Wreath – cut out leaves of any color, glue them on top of each other and then hang it on your dorm room door or on your wall! This is easy, cheap and all you need is colored paper, a glue stick and a scissor.
2) Thanksgiving cards – make a leaf out of paper, cut it out, write a nice message to a friend and then give it to them before leaving for break! Tell them what you are thankful for or wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. Any sentiment will go a long way after a stressful season of midterms that never seem to end.
After Thanksgiving comes the best three holidays to decorate for (in my opinion)! Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa all arrive in close proximity to one another, which can make decorating difficult if you don’t want to limit yourself to one holiday. If you want to do a general holiday decoration, make a card saying happy holidays and stick it on your door. Make it in the shape of a snowflake or a snowman, both generic symbols of winter and the holiday season.
A card that looks like this with the words “happy holidays” on it will brighten anyone’s spirit as we come back from break and jump right into finals. These are also a great way to put that holiday spirit into the dorms with paper! You can deck your room with these paper snowflakes, buy some wall decals for a cheap price and stick them on your windows or make a paper snowman. Don’t forget his hat and scarf! It can get cold in Waltham really fast.
If you want to bring in the Christmas spirit, a lot of the local stores sell small fake trees you can put in your room. Make a sign saying Merry Christmas from individual letters. Maybe your parents can send one or two of your favorite ornaments from home to put on your little tree.
If you want to celebrate Chanukah get an electric menorah or a real one but make sure to okay it with your CA first. Put up a festive sign. Find some wall decals in a store nearby for your windows. This sign is a great inspiration for a super cute idea!
If you want to celebrate Kwanzaa this flag banner is a super cute, colorful and festive way to do so in your dorm! See if your family is willing to send something special for you from home to decorate your room until finals end.
However you decide to decorate your room don’t hesitate to be creative and express yourself! If you want to do a large-scale decoration project make sure to okay it with your roommate or suitemates if you think it should expand into the common space. Holiday decorations can be a lot of fun but respect people’s personal beliefs. It might be safer to save the religion specific ones for your own room if you live in a suite style. That doesn’t mean you can’t make the common space a winter wonderland! If you are in a double or a triple, don’t be afraid to represent where you come from. If it is a holiday you don’t know then ask your roommate or suitemate about it! Happy Holidays and happy decorating!