There is nothing quite like decorating your apartment to get into the holiday spirit! It can help lift your spirits, especially after a difficult semester and even harder exam week. However, if you are anything like most college students, you probably live in a rental apartment. For most rental properties, you are not allowed to damage the walls in any way, like taping, tacking, or nailing anything into them, which certainly makes decorating a little bit more difficult. Most college students have tight budgets to put towards holiday decorations too, so it might seem like a really difficult thing to do.
But no fears! Read on for some recommendations that are easy, not damaging, and cheap to help you do your holiday decorating for your rental apartment this winter holiday season!
Photo by Dmitry Zvolskiy from Pexels
Mini Fake Christmas Tree
An easy way to get into the holiday spirits is to get yourself a mini fake Christmas tree! No Christmas is complete without a Christmas tree. However, real trees are big, bulky, and expensive. Most college students do not have the budget to buy a real Christmas tree, nor the space in their apartment to place it. Real trees also shed and make a big mess, which no college student truly has time for. And if you are a student without a vehicle, a Christmas tree is almost impossible to transport (do not even contemplate trying to carry it or move it any other way).
A fake Christmas tree is a much better option in this situation. To keep it even more manageable, get a mini fake Christmas tree. Many dollar or budget stores carry them, including miniature decorations. This gives you a bit of fun decorating and some holiday pep to your home while keeping your expectations manageable and within your budget. When your fake Christmas tree is really small, it also makes it easier to store until the next Christmas, helping you save money in the long run by being able to reuse your tree.
Fairy Lights
A really magical way to celebrate the holidays is to find yourself some fairy lights. You can usually find them pretty cheaply online, or in stores like Marshalls, Ross, and TJ Maxx. Fairy lights are a little bit different than string lights in that they are not so much used for lighting purposes but for decorative purposes instead.
Why are they called fairy lights and are they really that magical looking? The phrase was coined in 1881 the Savoy Theatre commissioned Sir Joseph Swan to create miniature lights to adorn the dresses of the lead fairies on the opening night of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe. These little lights became all the rage and are still very popular today.
String your fairy lights around your bed, your whole room, or even your living room and enjoy watching them twinkle in the darkness, perhaps even as you wait for Santa Claus to make his rounds.
Paper Chains
This one seems a little bit simple, but it is definitely a classic! Paper chains are the ultimate cute but cheap holiday decoration. Just about anyone can make a paper chain. It is a great, repetitive activity to do by yourself while either watching TV or quietly meditating. On the other hand, you can also do it with friends and make the creation of your paper chain a social event that everyone can participate in. It will probably go a little bit faster and you might make a bigger paper chain if you have family and friends join in too.
You can go with basic colored construction paper or you can get fancy and buy interesting colored, textured, or patterned paper from your local craft store. Do you want to go with the classic red and green for your paper chain or the elegant blue and silver? You can celebrate with any color in the rainbow you choose as long as it helps get you into the holiday spirit.
Paper chains are also really easy to put up, are lightweight, and they should not damage your walls when you hang them up. A win-win all around!
Remember, getting into the holiday spirit will differ from person to person, so focus on the things that will make you happy and be festive and work on achieving those. Just make sure that your roommates are on board with the decorating and that you do follow any rules or guidelines that your rental property’s landlord has previously laid out for you so you do not get in any trouble for such a small thing as decorating for the holidays. Hopefully, these suggestions will help you to find a simple, easy, and affordable way to bring some holiday spirit into your life and your apartment while keeping your walls safe from any harm!
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