In college, we all have limited money, and hardly ever do we think of spending it on things that get us in the holiday season. Whether it be holiday decorations, supplies to make a Thanksgiving feast, or even gift giving before winter break, there are many solutions to make your pennies stretch farther.
For spooky season and winter holidays, you have lots of options to decorate your dorm rooms at low costs. If you’re feeling creative, you can check out simple DIY decorations on Pinterest, like making yarn pumpkins or stencils to make bats and ghosts for Halloween. You can also find hundreds of cheap costume ideas to make for all the Trick or Treating and activities around campus. For winter holidays, you can make decorations as simple as paper snowflakes to add some holiday cheer to your room. You can find stencils and patterns on Pinterest as well, and other ideas, like turning your brown door into a gingerbread man, all while keeping it campus safety approved. Also make sure to look for the Campus Activities Board Pinterest Nights where you can make and take your own decorations for free! Last year we made snow globes near the holidays and other crafts, as well as most clubs and organizations on campus have pumpkin carving or painting for Halloween.
Maybe you’re more of the head-to-the-store-buy-pre-made-decorations person? Fear not, there’s TONS of places just off campus to get cheap decorations, including dollar stores that you can take the bus to for free. With window clings, holiday ornaments, ribbons, and so much more available, you can easily turn your room into a winter wonderland, all without emptying your bank account. If you want higher quality decorations, there’s Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Michael’s Craft store located within walking distance from campus in Pittsford Plaza.
When Friendsgiving is upon us, it can be daunting to try and cook a meal in the dorm kitchens, let alone afford to do so. Instead of going out and buying all of the supplies and pots and pans you might need, try asking around first. My freshman year, I wandered the halls of O’Connor and borrowed a suite’s pasta pot to make my family’s mashed potato casserole in. In the rare case you can’t borrow a pot or pan, head back to the dollar store and get some aluminum tins to bake in and then toss them if you don’t want to clean them after. You can take a 15 minute walk to buy cookie sheets and pans at Wegmans, but for the occasional dinner you cook, it’s much cheaper to borrow from friends or get disposable containers.
Instead of buying presents for all of your friends, get together and decide on a gift exchange. By only needing to buy for one person, you can likely get something that they would enjoy that’s a little pricier than if you had to buy something for each of your six friends and still save some money. Shop holiday deals online or head over to Pittsford Plaza around Black Friday for your friends, or take the bus provided by Naz to check out the nearby malls. Barnes and Nobles in Pittsford Plaza is huge, and one of my favorite places to get holiday gifts. Plan in advance so you don’t end up spending extra money when it comes down to last minute shipping costs and other unavoidable procrastination issues.
Saving money in college doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate the seasons, it just means you can look for cheaper ways to still be festive and use the resources around you to do so before opening up your wallet.