This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Minnesota chapter.
The holidays are a time full of festivities and traditions. Many people enjoy warm
fireplaces, brightly lit Christmas trees, and the smell of home-cooked food wafting
through the house. These aspects are glaringly missing from the dorm environment
however. The sterile dorms can increase the feeling of homesickness, but here are
some ways to bring a touch of the holiday season into the dorms.
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1. Deck the dorms with boughs of holly. Spend some quality time with the roommate and create
some inexpensive and festive decorations. Check out the
DIY Network
for plenty of ideas to decorate every corner of the dorm room.
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2. Watch a holiday movie. Noting helps make the dorm feel like home than
cuddling with a warm blanket, a cup of hot cocoa, and popping in a DVD of Elf
or Miracle on 34th Street.
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3. Make homemade presents. These are easy for a college student’s budget and mom always said she liked presents made with love the best. We like searching Pinterest and searching “crafts” and “homemade” to get some ideas.
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3. Have a dorm floor dinner. Gather some friends and cook a meal that doesn’t
have the word ‘instant’ on the package. Assign a different food to each person
and enjoy some potatoes, turkey, and pie that will feel just like home.
Punchfork is a website that has easy recipies & mouthwatering pictures..our two favorite combinations.
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4. Bring a scent of home into the room. Most dorms do not allow candles but a
cinnamon scented reed diffuser is an easy way to bring a nostalgic smell into
the room without breaking any rules. A reed diffuser can be bought from any
major store for as low as $10.
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5. Plan a gift exchange with your hall. It might be hard to coordinate everyone’s schedules but we like, http://www.doodle.com, where everyone can vote for the time and date that works best for them. Set a limit of around $10 and under and have everyone bring a present. You can do a rob your neighbor, white elephant (where all the presents are funny) or a secret santa.
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6. Go downtown Minneapolis to the Holidazzle Parade. If you get there early enough you can snag a spot in the warm skyways. Otherwise bundle up and bring the hot cocoa and watch the nightime parade!
November and December can be a stressful time for college students. It’s full
of finals and students are anxious to return home. With these tips however, it’s
easy to turn the dorm into a home away from home.
