The holiday season is quickly approaching, and with it comes the urge for festivity. Decorating an apartment or dorm room can be a challenge, especially with limited funds, but it is definitely possible to bring holiday spirit into any space.

The first thing to consider is what to set aside in terms of time and money. There are affordable ways to make a room feel homey for the holidays with minimal effort, but there is also a lot of fun to be had in crafting and repurposing materials that are already lying around.

One of the first places to scope out when in search of affordable and easy decorations is the dollar store. It has a wide variety of snowflakes, wreaths, and do-it-yourself craft sets. A couple of really simple ways to decorate is to hang up Christmas lights and just add a simple wreath on the door.

Lighting always adds some charm. Stringing some lights along the ceiling is a staple, but another idea could be filling used bottles or jars with lights for a candle-like glow. A Christmas tree silhouette can even be made from string lights if there is not space for a full-sized, real one.
Alternatively, half trees can be bought at places like Target. Miniature wreaths can be made from sprigs of rosemary with a small ring and some thin wire. Washi tape can be used to make holiday designs on empty wallspace.

A simple, but effective idea is to hang ornaments at varying levels in the window. Snowflakes can be made out of painted popsicle sticks, or cut out of paper and hung as well. Snowflake designs can even be drawn onto windows with a hot glue gun and be removed easily.

If crafting sounds more appealing, Pinterest has hundreds of clever Christmas crafting ideas. Some examples include placing lace over a styrofoam cone and using Mod Podge, letting it dry, then removing the cone and spray painting the “tree” whatever color is preferred.

Other crafty ideas could be to find some pinecones and spray paint them in silver, gold, and white for a glamorous vibe. They can be displayed in a vase or just around the room.

If there are wine corks around, bits of evergreen can be taken from outside and wedged in to make mini “trees.”

A big part of the holiday feeling comes from ambiance. Aside from decorations, other ideas to consider could be scented candles, like balsam or peppermint, and plush throw blankets and pillows give off a cozy feeling.

A stock of hot chocolate or apple cider mix on hand will make the room welcoming to guests, and keeping baked goodies around never hurts either.