College students have a unique opportunity to decorate for the holidays. It’s a time where domestic traditions can be put aside and decorations that exude school pride, alcoholism or campy irreverence can take center stage.
Over the course of my four years at K-State I have seem some pretty interesting decorations ranging from a Christmas tree adorned with purple Bud Light fan cans, to unique interpretations of nativity scenes. I remember decorating my house as freshman; we put decorations up before Thanksgiving and they stayed up until we got back from break. It was really fun bonding experience and we made a big event out of it.
Here in the newsroom, the Collegian staff has decorated for the holidays with a Festivus pole. None of us actually celebrate Festivus, but it seemed like an appropriate way to celebrate the holiday season without a pointless debate on religion. We took our own spin on it and printed off our own ornaments and taped them to the pole. It was a really great staff bonding moment. I proudly displayed my EcoKat ornament at the top of the pole, where I feel she belongs.
I asked my friends for some suggestions on what they do to decorate for the holidays on Facebook, and here are some of the more interesting tips and suggestions they came up with:
“I think smells are equally important to decor at Christmas time. Candles or oils with holiday scents are great for small dorms or apartments.”
“Since many of us can’t put lights up outside, just put a strand around your window(s) inside. Your neighbors will still be able to see your Christmas spirit. Plus, if you get purple, you can leave them up long after the holidays.”
“Paper chains to count down to the end of finals week are fun, too.”
In my opinion, there are many ways to go about decorating, and the best ones seem to work because the decorators really take ownership and make it their own. I have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree with a single red bulb and a Powercat in my room. Whatever you do this year to celebrate just remember to have fun with it.
Tim Schrag is a senior in journalism and digital media. Please send comments to edge@spub.ksu.edu.