The holidays can be a tough time of year for college students living away from home. Finals season is looming, it’s getting dark out earlier and earlier and you’re not with your loved ones during this time of family togetherness. In order to avoid being a total Scrooge this season, you can easily get into the spirit by sprucing up your dorm room with some festive decorations.

One important aspect when decorating your dorm is to work with the space that you have. Senior Maureen DeGregorio said that she likes to use window clings as decorations since the rooms in the North Avenue Residence Hall have floor to ceiling windows.

“North is bigger and much easier and more fun to decorate,” DeGregorio said. “Loftus was small, but we decorated our front door and the windows with gel clings and tinsel.”

The small size of the rooms in Loftus isn’t deterring any freshmen. On the sixth floor, it is a battle of boys versus girls for the best decorated room. Freshman Zenaida Perez and her roommates incorporated a 6-foot-tall tree into their decor. From there, they worked to make their mix-and-match decorations from home work together.

“I think if you don’t decorate, then you’re depriving yourself of the greatest things about Christmas: the lasting ecstasy of the season,” Perez said. “It’ll sneak up on you, and you might just miss it.”

Besides working with the space you have and bringing decorations from home, there are other ways to make your dorm rooms look great on a budget. If you are a fan of white lights in your room, consider switching to colored lights. Making the change will make your space look more festive. Lights can be found both online or in the local hardware or home decor store at varying price points.

Another great way to decorate on a budget is to make your own decorations. Not only does this save money, but it’s fun too! Sophomore AnthonyTortorello said he was making custom, personalized sketches for his roommates to decorate their door. For example, one drawing he made was of Pikachu wearing a Santa hat.

There are lots of different crafts you could make, even if you’re not good at drawing. A fun decoration that can be left up for most of the winter season are paper snowflakes. Intricate and complex designs can be made from a single sheet of paper, creating decorations that are extremely personal to you. Not to mention, they cost very little to make! Another great decoration is God’s eye. This decoration is great because of its ease and need for few materials: yarn and wooden sticks.

Make some holiday snacks, play some Christmas music and start decorating and crafting with your roommates! The holidays are a special time of year, and as DeGregorio suggests, decorating your room with your roommates can brighten your moods and help you bond.