For most college students, now is the time for finals and stress. However, for most other people in this world, it is a holiday celebration. So as a way to help students de-stress a little and also, have some holiday cheer, let us look through ways to making the environment around you a little festive.

Knowing my suite, we love to decorate, especially our common living space as that is the place we all gather and study or watch television. We went all out for Halloween this year, making sure most of our fall decorations stayed in place to give it a homely look. Now, we also decided to change it to some holiday/winter decor to leave behind and come back to on a happy note.

One thing we knew we wanted was a small tree, though not all of us celebrated Christmas, we wanted something small and cute that we could put lights onto and let shine. So we went to CVS and got ourselves a $4 tree with decorations already on it. Now it sits on our coffee table with fluffy cotton to makeshift a snow appearance and fairy lights intertwined on it from the dollar store. We maintained our budget while also adding a bit of festive cheer in the room.

Another way to get us through these tough days, I had thought we could put up a few stockings and each day each one of us would put in a motivational note to each us while slipping in tiny gifts like lip balm or a chocolate, anything really. We had kept the rule of opening it right before finals as a way to incorporate positive vibes.

With the room appearing to look festive, we also have some warm vanilla sugar wallflowers from Bath and Body Works to keep the warm, homely scent as well. Any scent would do, but this one seemed to be a suite favorite.

Considering we have a birthday as well within the suite, we had decided on throwing a little party or hangout with each other. This allows us to release some stress, eat together, and bond over movies or fun times. Really gets us all in the mood for the break coming up and looking forward to the next semester together.

Remember, it's not always about whose suite has better decorations, but whose suite feels more like home. After all, this is your home away from home.