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As the holiday season approaches, it makes sense you want to decorate your college housing before break as a distraction from finals, but you’re on that tight college-life budget. Luckily, you can decorate while keeping things affordable. Your money should go towards savings or fun presents this year, not your decorations!

Hopefully, you’re using GradGuard to help save money and protect yourself this holiday season. In case of a terrible winter storm that ruins your housing, they have you covered! Their renters’ insurance even protects your items once you leave for break, just in case something were to happen. They are much cheaper than other insurances, so when you’re trying to be affordable, use GradGuard.

Without further ado, here are some great and fun affordable ways to decorate your college housing for the holidays before the break.

via Pexels

Repurpose Old Decor

The best way to save money while decorating for the holidays is, of course, to not buy new things at all! If you have decor from other holidays or occasions, see if you can reuse them in another way that fits the holidays. For example, did you have fairy lights to decorate your space? Now is a perfect time to use those same lights by the window or wrapped around a small tree. Do you happen to have extra white sheets from dressing as a ghost for Halloween? Use those as fake snow by the window sill!

You can even get really creative using what you have. While small plastic pumpkins may not look like they can be reused in winter holiday decor, neatly cover them in wrapping paper to have DIY ornaments! Take some time to look through your closets and see what decorations you have that you don’t use. Do this before buying anything else. You don’t want to risk having old holiday decorations in there that you forgot about!

DIY What You Can

In addition to reusing and making things with your current possessions, you can also DIY, or do-it-yourself, to create the decorations you really like. If you want a well-lit tree, do not buy a pre-lighted one; rather, buy a plain tree and the lights separately. This is only a small example, but it still cuts the costs you end up spending, though maybe just a bit more time. However, spending time decorating makes it all the more fun and can really help you get into the holiday spirit! You and your roommates or friends can spend hours watching seasonal movies while creating everything.

One great and simple DIY is to simply wrap boxes to use as decor. These can either be empty boxes that you were going to recycle or the actual boxes you were going to wrap as gifts! Adding some wrapped boxes, with or without presents, can add a really festive vibe, regardless of where you place them for decoration! They could be under a tree, on the windowsill, or in an extra nook that you’re not sure how to fill.

Look online or around town for inspiration and see what really calls to you. Things might be more doable than they seem! Even if it does not look exactly like the inspiration, it will be fun, and festive and you’ll have great memories making it.

Take Advantage of Sales and Coupons

As the holidays get closer, many stores have great sales and coupons for holiday and Christmas decorations. You should use these as much as you can! Take a look at the kind of decorations that you want to buy and keep an eye on the price, and advertisements, and even consider signing up for their email list to get updated on any sales. If they are not already on sale, they probably will be very soon! If you get coupons like $10 off of a $30 purchase, use it! When you’re decorating on a budget, these deals and coupons will be your friend. However, be careful when using these types of coupons. If you were originally only going to append $10, do not spend extra just to make the coupon. You won’t be saving, even if it feels like it.

Shop at Cheaper Stores

Some stores with holiday decorations are much more than expensive. When you’re trying to decorate in an affordable fashion, dollar stores and Five Below are your best friends. They keep everything at a lower and more reasonable price. While the quality may not always be as sturdy, it is usually just as good. Price does not always dictate quality. Plus, these decorations will only be up for a bit and you can still reuse them year after year so long as you are not putting them through intense use.

Consider shopping at your local thrift stores as well. While stock varies from place to place, they put out their holiday decorations, which are usually priced very cheap. Buy something second-hand to give it a new life!

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to decorate your college housing while not breaking the bank this holiday season. Don’t be afraid to get creative!

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