The Holidays are a beautiful time of year. It’s a time for friends and family to get together, celebrate the new year, decorate your house, have an ugly sweater party, or just lay around being lazy with some hot cocoa by the fireplace. Whatever you choose to do this holiday season, decorating your campus house is definitely a must.
The most common decorating items:
Bad: More than 3 inflatables, inflatable Christmas trees, and real Christmas trees.
Living in a college campus housing apartment often makes the decorating area very limited. Also, too many giant decor items will make the room look smaller and busy. In addition, decorating with too many real Christmas trees will waste more water than necessary.
Good: Candles, decor items that complement the theme of your house (for example on St. Patrick’s Day, decorate your house green and orange), decor items that are low to the ground.
Candles are an inexpensive decorating item that can provide much needed light in decorating areas. Low decor items won’t obstruct the view of any rooms, and decor items that are appropriate to your house’s theme will make decorating interesting.
The 3 must-have decorating elements:
Curtains/blinds (in every room), Christmas lights (all colors), and ornaments (appropriate to your house’s theme).
Curtains/blinds allow you to create a dark decorating atmosphere in rooms where the lights are off. Also, decorating with only Christmas lights, like white or red bulbs, is boring and plain. Lastly, decorating with ornaments that are appropriate to your house’s theme will add color and decor.
Decorating on a budget:
- Know what you have at home, before going out to buy anything new.
- Using old decor from previous decorating themes is always good. For example, using green decor items left over from St. Patrick’s Day decorating for decorating during the “green” week of decorating.
- Buying decor from a dollar store is always good, as it will be very inexpensive and still look great! However, simply decorating with items from a dollar store alone will most likely make your decor look cheap.
- Try to decorate with what you already have before spending all your money on decor. You can decorate with what you have already purchased, by taping Christmas lights to various items in your house for decor.
- Asking friends, family members, or roommates before purchasing new decor is always good decorating etiquette. It will allow them to give their input and it is a polite gesture that shows you value their decorating opinions.
- If decorating a “red” themed house, make sure to decorate with red decor from various stores. For example, if decorating your room in a red theme, don’t just decorate with items from the dollar store that are all from one store. Shop around for decor containing the color red.
- Putting decor into a holiday decorating theme is always good decorating etiquette. For example, decorating with green and orange decor items during St. Patrick’s Day decorating will give the house a festive Saint Patrick’s Day look.
- Decorating with ornaments that are appropriate to your house’s theme for each decorating week will make decorating more interesting and colorful.
- Finally, decorating with items that are colorful is always good decorating etiquette. Even decorating with simple decor containing primary colors will make decorating less boring and more interesting!
Examples of what to decorate with:
Christmas lights (all colors), silver balloons/decor, green decor items (for decorating a “green” themed house), candles, decor items from the dollar store, fabric/decor from other decorating themes (like Christmas decor for Christmas decorating)
- Don’t decorate with fake snow! It looks horrible and won’t add anything to your house’s decor.
