With Thanksgiving Break right around the corner, and finals right after that (aaaah!), there’ll only be two weeks to hang up awesome Christmas decorations in your dorm! Which, while I’ve never been one of those over-the-top-let’s-create-a-power-surge Christmas decor fanatics, I do love crafts. And decorating. And things that sparkle. And hot chocolate. And marshmallows. And –
Okay. Getting off topic here.
So, with there being such a short amount of time to showcase your cool decorations, I decided it would be great to do a combo here: Christmas and Winter. Considering we’ll be back on campus in January, and winter isn’t over until March, it would make total sense to have non-specific decorations that looked great, were inexpensive, and you could have up much longer than two weeks to showcase them. Plus, with that small two week window, you don’t want to spend a lot of money for decorations that no one’s going to see. Well, I don’t want to spend a lot of money, so I’m sure you don’t either. And, I want people to see my handiwork.
Plus, like the entire point of this series, Christmas decorations are known for being filled with lights, which use up a lot of energy/plugs. According to Reader’s Digest, Christmas Trees/Decorations are one of the top 10 reasons household fires start. And no one wants to be that person as to why everyone is woken up at 3 a.m. for a dorm room fire the morning finals start.
But, for those two weeks, here are a couple of inexpensive crafts you and your roomies can do that 1) increase roomie bonding and 2) look great and 3) are totes inexpensive. Then, after you all get back from break, remove the Christmas ones and keep the winter ones up until March! Click on the pictures for links to the artsy blogs that tell you how to make them.
1. Large Jar Centerpiece For those of you who have extra space on the very top shelf of your desk, or you live in upperclassmen housing with a coffee table, having a centerpiece is great. Fill up a plain, clear, glass jar with ornaments, pine cones, and holiday berries, all from the Dollar Store, to have a quick, festive, and inexpensive decorative piece that will help transform your dorm into a scene right out of a Christmas movie!
2. Make a Hot Chocolate Station Every dorm comes with a microwave, mini fridge, and microfreezer, so why not use it to your advantage? Buy a large amount of hot chocolate supplies (milk, hot chocolate mix, candy canes, marshmallows, etc.) from Sam’s Club, Wal-mart, or Harris Teeter (whichever fits your budget better), and fill glass containers from the Dollar Store with them, arrange them on a shelf or on top of the microwave in your room, and enjoy! And buy a chalkboard while you’re at it! The image below leads to a printable that you can print and put into a frame, but what if you want the arrow pointing down instead of up? Buy a mini chalkboard, and write the same message with your own flare.
3. Snowflakes on Your Front Door! This one definitely takes way more time because of spray paint drying time, but if you want to go for it, then I highly encourage it! Instead of hot gluing the snowflakes to the stickies on your door, use regular tape to attach them instead! You can use all different types of wintry colors, and snowflakes of all different shapes and sizes. After they dry, you could even use craft paint with a nozzle to put yours and your roomies names on a couple of the larger ones!
4. Hang Ornaments From Your Window! Now, I looked through the ResLife Guide, and nothing was said about having things hanging from your window. So, when I saw this, I thought it was super cute. Get a large bulk pack of ornaments, ribbon/string, an extension rod, and fake garland to attach all of this together. Use different lengths of string so the height of the ornaments varies, and this way you have a neat Christmas decoration without having to worry about a tree!
5. Shadow Box This one will definitely be more expensive, but it’s really cute! Buy a plain shadow box, glue in a glittery paper backdrop, fill with mini ornaments, and attach vinyl letters to the front! You could also put in fake snowflakes or a couple of battery operated candles with vinyl letters saying “Let it Snow” or something more wintry in order to use it beyond Christmas.
6. Wooden Letters Wooden letters are great for everything. From phrases to initials, wooden letters are easy to design and quick to create. The only problem is that hanging them can be a bit tricky. My advice is to buy some thick mesh ribbon, and tie a knot or some intricate design in order to make sure the ribbon holds the letter, and then put a heavy duty Command hook on the wall. For your res hall, you can either do short words like “Joy” or “Merry” for Christmas, but I’d encourage words like, “Snow,” or “Cold.” Also, buy smaller wooden letters to hang on your door or around the room to put up longer phrases like “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.”
Decorating can be a super fun stress reliever. And, even if you don’t think you’re the craftiest person on the planet, just buy some supplies and let the ideas come to you. It sounds like something you have to be born with to do, but use this as a guide to help the ideas start flowing, and see where things go from there.
Stay classy, Captains!