Decorating for the Holidays

Teresa Prytko

Arts & Entertainment and Opinion Editor 

With the Christmas season now upon us, it is important to think about decorating for it. Decorating helps set the mood and can improve one’s Christmas spirit. Instead of a barren tree left out in the darkness, you can put lights on it and suddenly it is the cutest thing ever. Although there may be some who are willing to spend up to one thousand dollars or more on decorations, some prefer to do it on a budget. It does not matter how extravagant your decorations are, as long as you put effort and pride into them. 

If you’re looking for somewhere to get all your greens and find some unique gifts, the Farmer’s Daughter in Auburn, MA is one of the many places in the Worcester County area to go to. If you are looking for a tree they have a wide variety of trees in an even wider variety of shapes and sizes. If you’re all set with your tree then you can look at everything else they have to offer. They have wreaths that you can get plain or have an employee decorate it with bows, pine cones, bells and more. There are also different types of garland and mixed greens that you can use in any way you want for any decoration. My sister picked up some balsam and juniper to use in a wooden sled that she just got and it looks incredible. 

 If you want to escape the cold you can go inside to find Christmas decorations galore and ornaments. You can grab some local apple cider or eggnog and of course the famous apple cider donuts which are freshly made daily. If it sounds like I am advocating for them, it’s because I work there! Also I make the donuts, so you better like them. 

There are also other farms in the area where you can get trees such as Maple Hill Christmas in Leicester, Oakwood Farm Christmas Barn in Spencer, Frommers Christmas Trees in Lancaster, Evergreen Haven Garden Center in Hopkinton and more. It is great to support small businesses and farms in the local area, their support means a lot! 

If you’re looking for other places to get decorations you can look at the Dollar Tree if you’re on a budget. Michael’s has very cute things as well, from fake greens to ornaments to foam to use in decorating and more. The Christmas Tree Shops in Shrewsbury and Natick is also a must visit. They have a sale for $10 off your purchase of $50 or more from now until December 4th. 

 It might be a bit of a drive (or flight), but the best Christmas store I have ever been to is absolutely Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. There were decorations and ornaments everywhere, it was the biggest Christmas store I had ever been to. My family and I spent hours in there and we still didn’t look at everything. 

Once you’ve gathered all your decorations you just have to find the time to actually decorate! You should get your family or friends to do it with you, because it makes it go by faster and you get to spend some quality time with them. They also bring a different set of eyes to any display you might be struggling with. You can even put on some Christmas music to set the mood. This weekend looks like it will be rather warm (if you consider the mid-40s warm) so it will be a great time to decorate outside. Since it gets dark really early now you can decorate outside during the day, hanging lights from trees or around your garage doors, then you can move inside during the day. You can wrap garland around bannisters, put up all your little Christmas figurines, put up lights everywhere and whatever else you want to do. 

If you are decorating in your dorm, you can find a small tree from Target with your roommates and get some cheap ornaments for it, or make your own! A polaroid with a cheap frame is a easy way to personalize it. You can get cheap lights and some command hooks to bring some light to your common area and there are some Assumption themed stockings at the bookstore. 

Overall decorating is whatever you make it to be. You can continue family traditions or start new ones with your friends. You might end up arguing over which ribbon to use or get anxious as your dad crawls up the ladder to hang something up, but at the end of the day you’re helping to boost your own and others spirit for the Christmas and holiday season. It is all worth it when you can sit down at the end of the day and bask in it all.