When it comes to holiday preparation, your holiday-prep timeline is based on the type of person you are and what holiday is coming up.
It ranges from the people who prepare for holidays just before the actual day, starting maybe a week or two from the holiday, to the fun people who decorate and are constantly excited months in advance.
The quantity and quality of decorations also depend on what holiday is coming up.
The next major holiday coming up this year is Halloween. The most spooktacular holiday season deserves to have houses and apartments maxed out with pumpkins, paper bats, witch hats and more.
Along with having your whole house full of spooky decorations, you also get to plan how to decorate yourself for the actual day by picking your Halloween costume. This is a fun expression of creativity you get to show off to all your friends at Halloween parties.
If you throw your own Halloween party, making fun Halloween-themed foods is also a good idea. Hot dog spiders with spaghetti legs, ghost cookies, mummy pies or whatever your college-level cooking skills can manage.
Next is the best holiday for people who love to eat basically all afternoon and into the evening: Thanksgiving. Decorations for Thanksgiving aren’t really a priority, but are nice to have. However, you can easily pass with just having some fake leaves, a wreath and basically any general fall decorations.
The vital part of preparing for Thanksgiving is the food. A traditional meal for Thanksgiving includes some variation of turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole, rolls and a pie or two.
Many college students go home for Thanksgiving to spend time with family and get free food, so the only things you really need are basic fall decorations and pumpkin spice lattes.
The next holiday, Christmas, occurs when college students have already left for winter break, but it’s still fun to put up decorations to keep you happy during exam week.
Christmas is one of the best holidays to decorate for. You get to put up Christmas trees. Mini-Christmas trees for college apartments are very easy to do, and then decorate them with either your family, loved ones or roommates depending on where your tree is. A simple Christmas wreath and Christmas lights also look very festive.
Before most people return home for the break, it's also nice to have a Christmas party with friends. Christmas-themed snacks aren’t too hard to do, even for college students. You can make sugar cookies to decorate, peppermint bark, gingerbread man cookies, fudge and many more. You can also do a white elephant or just a regular gift exchange with your friends.
You can also decorate for holidays like Easter, Independence Day and even Valentine’s Day. Decorating and preparing for holidays is a nice way to lift your spirits and make you happy as you navigate the stress of college and holiday seasons.