The time is finally here. The time when everyone will finally accept that it is Christmas season (while in my mind its been Christmastime for over a month now). Either way, it's time to start decorating. This guide is by no means comprehensive, and may seem redundant to the seasoned decorator, but might have some good information for the less experienced decorators.

Lets Start Outside

*those in dorms and other living spaces without an exterior may want to skip to the second half*

There is a lot to consider for people who don't have a base of decorations. For me personally, this is my first year having a house to decorate the exterior of by myself, so it has been very exciting but slightly daunting. There are a few steps you need to take before you head to the store.

1. Plan

Every house/exterior is different, and you will have a lot of options even if you don't have a big house. My house is very small, and there were still so many options for decorating. So you need to think through where you want the lights, if you want garland or things other than lights (signs, inflatables, etc), and how much lighting you want. You don't have to decide types of lights or colors yet (although you can), simply because the store(s) might have more options than you thought or options you like better than your original plan. But the important part is to have a general idea of how your setup will look.

2. Measure

Measuring everything. This seems ridiculous, but you need to know exactly the amount of extension cords you need, the amount of lights you will need and distances between outlets and connections. If you go to the store not knowing this, you will leave with much too little, or way more than you need.

3. Outlets

You have to know where the power is going to come from. Most houses have exterior outlets, but some don't, including mine. You will need to figure out how to get power outside if you don't have exterior outlets. For example, I will be cracking a window and running a power cord out of it. Also you need to make sure you don't overload circuits, and make sure than your electrical components will be safe in case of inclement weather. (Simply buying the "outdoor" version of things usually works well.)

4. How To Hang

You need to know how you are fixing up your lights. There are a lot of ways, but light clips seem the easiest. You need to know what surfaces you will be putting lights on, and that will help you make the decision on how to hang them.

Once you have these things done, you are probably ready to head to the store. Now knowing myself, I HAVE to set a budget, otherwise I will just keep adding components to my display without any regard for the small amount of money in my bank account. If that resonates with you, you may want to do the same. Either way, once you head to the store you will get all the lights and power cords, and it's usually a good idea to get some sort of timer/surge protector type thing. For example, I have a power strip that has a stake to put into the ground, through which I can also turn the lights on and off. Lastly, with decorating the exterior of your house, be very careful when on ladders or roofs. Good luck!

The Interior

Now the interior. With so many different ways to decorate it becomes dizzying.

The Tree

Lets just start with the most important part of decorating. Your preference on real/fake, height, width, and the rest are easily figured out if you just go look at your options. Once you have your tree, make sure you know where it's going, color/type of lights, and ornaments/tinsel/ribbons/themes, or however else you decide to decorate it. Set it up and plug it in to feel accomplished!

The Rest

Now the rest is very subjective and very dependent on what sort of living space you have. For a lot of great ideas, I will shamelessly suggest Pinterest, which has a plethora of awesome ideas for any living space.

So this is a brief guide for Christmas decorating, but the interior section is less specific because there are so many different ways to go depending on your set up. You figure out your space, and you can make any space burst with Christmas spirit. Have a wonderful Christmas season!