Humidifiers

One thing that can make a huge difference in the environment in your room is a humidifier, air purifier or a dehumidifier.

In terms of humidifiers, it can really help your room in the winter when it gets really dry... I personally know people who occasionally get nose-bleeds from the really dry weather. A humidifier can also help when you get really dry skin in the winter by not drying your room out even more.

An air purifier can also really help you out by clearing the air in your room. This is really good for people who have allergies. You do not have to get a man-made machine to be an air purifier because there are some that occur in nature, such as the spider plant. However these are not as heavy duty as an actual air-purifier that you would buy form the store.

Lastly is a de-humidifier. A dehumidifier comes in handy for the summer when it can get really humid outside. I do not suggest running a humidifier and a dehumidifier at the same time, because I am pretty sure that they will wind up cancelling each other out.

These items can be bulky and difficult to store so I suggest only having one at a time in your room, and also they are typically seasonal so that can be good for storing them.

Keeping Warm

I know that I really do not need to state the obvious, but as we get farther and farther into winter one cannot help but notice that it is getting very cold outside. In order to prevent frostbite, I suggest taking several simple measures.

The first of which is to make the purchase of a hat, or earmuffs. Now there are pro's and con's for each. For example, a hat does give you hat hair depending on how long that you are wearing it for. However it does keep your head warmer. On the other hand earmuffs do not keep your entire head warm and can be difficult sometimes because they shift during travel and if you have gloves on, then they can be very difficult to readjust. But unlike a hat, earmuffs are easier to deal with in regards to hat hair. They make a person look less like they have something on their head. It really all just depends on what look you are going for. I personally have a hat and earmuffs, and on days that it is really cold I wear the hat over the earmuffs. I also suggest getting earmuffs that wrap completely around the back of your head.

The other measure that I suggest taking is wearing gloves. These can be expensive or inexpensive depending on the quality. It doesn't really matter as long as they are warm... even though I have a pair of gloves I still typically leave my hands in my pockets while walking to class for the extra warmth.

One more thing that can go a long way is to wear a scarf. This is useful not just because it keeps your neck warm, but it also can be used to cover your face on those really cold days when you feel like your face is going to fall off from the cold.

Also, learning your bus schedule can really change a lot... I personally have classes that are close enough for me to walk to so I only ride the bus on the days that are really cold. If you are going to do this though, you should really learn the bus schedule. I suggest printing out a copy of the schedule until you really get the hang of riding the bus. Also, you should really be polite to the bus driver, because they decide whether or not they shut the doors on you before you get on the bus (really, I have seen bus drivers who have shut the doors on people before).

And of course, you should really get boots, preferably water proof for days when it is snowing outside. With boots, the region that you go to school in really affects what kind of boots that you should purchase. Just get a pair in the right price range for you.

Last but not least, do not skip classes because you do not have the right cold weather wear, that is not a good excuse (unless you go to school in Canada).

Spreading Holiday Cheer

There are very simple ways to spread the Christmas cheer in your dorm, other than singing loud for all to hear. For example you can give people candy canes. Not the big expensive candy canes, but the small ones that come in packs of 40. These are best because they are cheap and really easy to pass out. You have to figure that this is a good way to meet new people too because the rule that was present for children doesn't really ware off until you are out of college. That candy makes kids trust perfect strangers. It's a sad fact but it's true.
You can also slip a hand-made card under all of you floor mates doors. This can get creepy so I would just slip it under the doors of people that you know pretty well. You can also decorate, which always puts me into the christmas spirit.
You could also go caroling around the hall with a group of people. This can also be really weird and if you are going to do it then you should probably do it during hours that are reasonable.
One more option is to get some people together and bake cookies. This can really get people in the mood for christmas. Then you can give the cookies to your friends or neighbors. This can be difficult because it means that you need sprinkles and frosting, which can be difficult to get a hold of.
Whatever you do though, make sure that you have fun doing it and make sure that you are never short on holiday cheer.

Decorating your Room for Christmas

Just because you are at school does not mean that you can not decorate your room for the holidays. Like many people, my mother is responsible for decorating my house for the holidays and as a result my decorating skills may be a little bit below average. However, I have come up with several tips that are easy and that almost anyone can do.

The most important thing to do before decorating your room is to ask your roommate for permission.

First, inside of your dorm room you can put up a Christmas tree. Now the size of the tree should be decided by the amount of space that you have inside of your room. I would not put up a 10 foot tree seeing as how it will make your life difficult until you take it down. Instead, I suggest putting a 2 or 4 foot tree up instead. These save room and are easy to decorate. I have a 2 foot tall tinsel tree sitting on my dresser and it is very practical as well as cute.

When purchasing a tree, you should most likely go fake, especially for a dorm room, seeing as how getting a small real one is a bit of a pain. You also do not want to buy a tree bigger than the space that you have. When in doubt, buy it a size smaller.

You also want to make sure that the tree that you buy has the proper accessories. This means that you want to include a topper, ornaments, garland, tinsel, and a skirt, among other things. You should buy these at your discretion and remember that some of this stuff could easily get broken so something made of glass or that is expensive is a bad choice. You also want to think about whether or not you will be using the items that you purchase again next year. If you do intend to reuse them, then you should take special care to save the boxes for storage.

Another easy decorating idea is to buy garland and place it around your room. After Thanksgiving some stores sell Christmas decorations with a large price reduction. I purchased many of my decorations at Michael's which is a craft store. I suggest going to Michael's other craft stores to look for decorations. I was able to buy ribbon and garland half off. You can easily transform the inside of your room into a festive christmas wonderland (thats can only fit maybe 8 people comfortably).

You can easily decorate the outside of your room with lights and ribbon. On my door I wrapped the ribbon around and made the door look like it was gift-wrapped. To do this one should make sure that the ribbon reaches, and then cut it. Next just make sure that it is evenly pulled across your door and aligned properly so that it is perpendicular to either the edge of the door or the bottom of your door. I did this so that the ribbon forms an off-center t. I then placed a bow on the section where the ribbon overlaps.

When it comes to placing lights outside of your door you want to make sure that there is an outlet somewhere near-by. You also want to make sure that you do not have to big of a length. This means measuring. After you have done all of this you should put them up. Not much explanation is required. You should be aware though, that some dorms do not allow lights to be put up around your door because it is a fire-hazard.