As the winter holiday approaches, those wanting to deck out their residence hall room in decorations can do so while staying on a budget.

The traditional evergreen with decorations has become a popular icon for the Christmas season. However, most rooms on campus are a tad too small for even a medium-sized tree.

The good news is one can generally find a tiny fake tree that will easily fit on a desk or dresser. If someone wants a small real tree, then they must remember to water the tree and sweep up the pine needles that fall off. Some decorations are made especially for tiny trees, including miniature ornaments.

Christmas lights aren’t just for the outdoors. Several styles of lights, such as a string of regular lights, icicle lights or colored light, can be hung up around the room using painter’s tape or transparent command hooks. Lights are festive and won’t damage walls if done right. However, lights should not be hung off fire sprinklers or near smoke detectors.

A cheaper way to decorate for the holidays while still staying festive is by making paper snowflakes. Folding and cutting pieces of paper is fairly easy, and students can hang the most simple or elegant of snowflakes around the room with, yes, more painter’s tape. Make as many as possible and turn the room into a winter wonderland. However, keep the snowflakes away from the smoke detector lest they accidentally set it off.

For those wanting to bring back a little bit of home, favorite stockings can hang on a wall or desk. Stores sell stocking hangers that sit on any flat surface. These hangers often come in fancy, Christmas-themed shapes or spell out words like ‘noel.’

There’s also bound to be an ugly Christmas sweater dance before everyone leaves for break. Even if there’s not, there’s something about ugly Christmas sweaters that can make them fun to wear.

Although most of the students are only here for about two weeks before break, there’s still no reason rooms can’t look festive for the season. Taking the time to decorate for the holidays gives an outlet for a little stress relief while studying for finals.