Autumn is full of colors, and a lot of people enjoy decorating; college is no different. Many students at Elizabethtown College want to or already have decorated the doors of their dorms. Some may want to, yet it could be that they have never decorated before now. There are many ways to go about it.
“My roommate and I went to Dollar Tree to get decorations,” first-year Maitland McLorie said. The Dollar Store is a great way to get nice seasonal decorations without spending a lot of money. Plus, like with McLorie’s festive Halloween themed door, the Dollar Tree can provide a great design.
Not everyone has a car on campus, however, that does not mean those students cannot decorate. To celebrate autumn, students can take colored construction paper and print out leaf templates or hand-draw a few.
The students can make a bunch of leaves and cut them out. Then there are many ways to decorate using the paper leaves. One way would be to simply tape the leaves on the door or in their dorm. Another option is to tie a string through the leaves and hang it up as garland.
Decorating using construction paper does not need to stop with leaves. Construction paper provides no limits and can be cut out into bats, cats, pumpkins, cornucopias, etc. If students do not want to hand draw every piece, the internet has templates available. Besides basic cut outs, it can also be made into paper chains or even paper lanterns. Other than construction paper, students could use printer paper and draw a scene. However, not every student is into art, so, in that case, students can print images from online and display those.
Similarly, students can buy window clings and use them on their windows or doors. The clings can be rearranged over and over and transformed into a scene. That way it is like drawing a picture but faster.
Students can also take a trip to the local store such as Giant or Weis and buy a pumpkin. The pumpkin could simply sit as it is to add fall spirit inside or outside of a student’s dorm. Something fun to do would be for students to paint their pumpkins and possibly make a theme.
The only thing with real pumpkins is that students will have to keep an eye on them and toss them out once they start to rot. An alternative would be to get a fake pumpkin, which would last for years. 
Time is limited for college students with their schedules, so decorating elaborately could take too much time. A simple and quick way to change the atmosphere for fall could be stringing up lights. Once plugged in, the lights are finished in hardly any time.
“Pinterest and the dollar store are the perfect tools to decorate,” first-year Erin Knauer said. She gets her ideas off Pinterest to transform her dorm into fall, since the platform is filled with easy decorating tips. Pinterest is a great way to gather inspiration for various types of autumn themes in different materials and styles too.
First-year Gabriella Oliveri agreed that Pinterest is a great source, and it saves time trying to think of what to do. Ideas and inspiration can be found from anything, and first-year Katrina Gambone finds her decorating inspired by her love of Halloween. She went all out with spiderwebs, lights and other decorations on her door to display her passion for the holiday. When creating a theme for a door, students can try to tell a story or show their energy towards a holiday like Gambone does. There are many ways students can decorate for the fall, and there is no right or wrong way.
