Experiencing the holidays at college can feel weird for the first few years, especially if you are used to family traditions at home. However, decorations, good roommates, and some holiday baking can cure all of your homesick holiday blues! Here are 11 ideas to help make the most of your holiday season during the stressful experience that is college:

1. Door decorations

Decorating your door, whether it be to your individual bedroom or your overall dorm/apartment is a super simple way to add festivity to your living space. It can be as simple as wrapping your door in festive wrapping paper and adding a bow, or as complex as crafting a fireplace and hanging up stockings. Here are some of my favorite ideas courtesy of Pinterest:

Snowman: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/562950022150411622/

Buddy the Elf: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/434386326538831788/

Wrapped present: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/85357355411532135/

2. Baking cookies with roommates

Cookies and Christmas go hand-in-hand. Baking and decorating Christmas cookies is a holiday tradition that never grows old. There are so many options, too! Pillsbury pre-made cookies, using holiday cookie cutters, or specific recipes that feature flavors such as peppermint or eggnog. Here’s an easy link for starters that features four different types of holiday cookies: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/178666310197349823/

3. Mini Christmas trees

It’s no secret that college students most likely cannot find the money or space to have a big Christmas tree in their room. Thank goodness places like Target exist where you can buy mini Christmas trees for around $10. There are even mini ornaments and tree skirts that you can buy for your tree! And if you’re feeling homesick, you can always bring ornaments from home to decorate with. I’m sure everyone has ornaments they made as a kid or ornaments that hold other significance to them. Another idea is making picture ornaments so that you can remember your favorite memories. Here’s an easy DIY craft to make picture ornaments with Washi tape: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/175358979219741242/

4. Christmas lights

There honestly is no bad place to put Christmas lights. Around your TV, around your bed, on your balcony, in your kitchen. Christmas lights can be utilized wherever there is a power outlet. Feel free to get creative, just don’t overdo yourself and regret it when your electricity bill comes the following month. (if you live on campus and don’t pay an electricity bill then you can act like Martha May and her Christmas lights.)

5. Candles

I don’t know about you but the smell of spruce/pine always puts me in the Christmas mood. So many places sell candles in various holiday scents; TJ Maxx, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, well you get the point. If you want to be RA/dorm-friendly, there’s always reed diffusers, wax melts, and room sprays!

6. Holiday shows and movies

Having movie nights or watching holiday specials is a perfect way to get in the holiday spirit. I could personally watch The Grinch at least 15 times every December and never get tired of it. ABC Family is notorious for their holiday spirit. Their 25 Days of Christmas schedule can be found here: http://www.countdownuntilchristmas.com/abc-family-25-days-of-christmas-schedule/

7. Crafting

Ideally, we could make any craft we wanted off of Pinterest. However, money and time often gets in the way of that. Luckily there are many cheap alternatives to making crafts. Two super simple ideas are cutting snowflakes out of white paper and creating a paper chain out of red and green construction paper! For other ideas, here is a list of dollar store craft ideas just in time for the holidays: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/495184921513210841/

8. Cleaning with Christmas music

This is a win-win for everyone you live with. Cleaning is always much more bearable when there is music playing, so obviously cleaning with Christmas music makes sense during the holiday season. Decorating a clean apartment is more fun and there’s much less tension between roommates if an apartment is clean and everyone pitched in to help. You no longer have parents to do the majority of the cleaning so it’s time to establish a routine for yourself.

9. Window clings

Shout-out to the dollar store for having an endless supply of festive window clings. Be creative with where you put them! You can put them on your window (obviously), but also on your mirrors, screen doors, oven, and microwave door.

10. Gingerbread houses

Another timeless classic. Grocery stores typically have gingerbread kits that are ready to be put together and are relatively cheap, especially if the cost is split between people! Bonus points if you use this as a bonding activity with your roommates and play Christmas music or a movie in the background.

11. Stockings

More thanks to the dollar store; stockings and fabric paint can both be found there. You can decorate stockings with your name (or whatever else you want to put on it) and hang it on your door or in a common space in your apartment!

Don’t let the distance between you and your family keep you from going all out for the holidays! It’s so much fun to create new traditions for yourself and it will also help take an edge off the stress that happens before finals. (And it’s even possible while on a college budget; the Dollar Store will become your new best friend.) Happy holidays to all!