For college students with holiday spirit, decorating our dorms can be an entertaining undertaking. With Halloween and Thanksgiving right around the corner, it is time for us to start thinking about how we want to style our rooms.

The trick is to learn how we can successfully spruce up our living quarters without breaking the bank. We all gawk at the dorm decor available at stores like Dormify and Pbdorm, but the reality is that we can’t all afford to shop at these pricey outlets. What we can do is find other items that are equally as accommodating at stores that are much more price-friendly.

The first step in this process is determining how you want to decorate your dorm. Choosing a style is important because it’ll define what kinds of items you’ll be shopping for.

“I love using cool and unique themes because it makes decorating more fun,” said sophomore Amanda Cortlery.

You can take a few routes when it comes to decorating. Victorian Halloween decor focuses on a gothic theme. It’s spooky and dark and elements like skulls, skeletons, black spiders, ravens, cats and candles are a central focus. You can also go with vintage Halloween decor, which takes Halloween back to the older styles and fashions. Vintage Halloween decorations focus on artwork that would be commonly found in decades as early as the 1920s and range from a ton of different designs that include witches, black cats, bats, owls, spiders and jack-o’-lanterns.

“I love creepy Halloween decorations,” freshman Jennifer Pizarro said. “That’s what Halloween is all about! Forget about the pumpkins and all the cute stuff.”

If you are looking for something more eerie, consider a haunted house theme, which includes creepy props, scary faces, blood and tombstones.

The best part about decorating for Halloween is that you can easily decorate for the general fall season and Thanksgiving as well. Thanksgiving decorations are centered around fall colors such as orange, yellow, red and brown. Pumpkins, pinecones and different leaf garlands can be used to create a cozy environment. Warm scents are also a great way to set the scene and bring the outside in.

Just because Thanksgiving decorations usually incorporate fall colors doesn’t mean that you have to stick with them. You can use any colors you want and can even stick to the color scheme you currently have set in your dorm. For example, if you are looking to put some pumpkins in your dorm, you can buy ceramic pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, and colors, or you can even decorate your own pumpkins and paint them different shades while adding your own unique touches.

The second step in this process is determining where can you shop for these decorations and find affordable prices. Party City has a variety of Halloween decorations to choose from, and they even have fall and Thanksgiving decor. Once December rolls around, it is also a great place to get some winter holiday decorations. The best part is that they also have a website (partycity.com), so you do not have to go through the trouble of leaving campus and can get the task done directly from your computer instead. You can buy details for as low as $0.99. In other words, with as little as $20 you can decorate your dorm.

Amazon.com is also a great website to find cheap but appealing decorations. They have a range of items you can choose from, allowing you to really focus on the theme you decide on. They sell decorations for as low as $0.25.

Target is a department store that sells everything you could imagine. Currently, they have a number of items under the “clearance Halloween decor” section on their website that would go great with any style. It is a ten minute car drive to the Target located in Mount Vernon and a 27 minute train ride. A similar store to Target, Walmart also sells Halloween decor at low prices. There’s a Walmart located in the Bronx in the Bay Plaza Shopping Center, approximately 15 minutes from the Iona campus.

Homegoods is another great resource for decorations. Although their items can be a bit pricey, they always have great sales. Unfortunately they do not have a website you can shop from, but there is a location about five minutes from campus on Petersville Road in New Rochelle.

If you do not want to spend any money but still want to decorate your dorm, there are also a number of DIY (do it yourself) Halloween decorations. Gather your roommates and some friends and make a night out of it! All you need is some supplies to get the crafts done. You can find great ideas at hgtv.com and diynetwork.com, but feel free to roam the internet for more inspiration.