Festive Décor – Where To Buy & How To Style

With the festive season starting to ramp up as we get into December, it’s time to think about how you can spruce up your space to get those Christmas vibes going! However, we know it can be expensive to get the things you want, especially when it comes to decorative things and general homeware, and for many students, it’s not financially feasible to splash out on this stuff. Here I’m going to list the best places to get affordable decorations, as well as give a few tips on how to make styling your space fun!

Home Sense

At Lincoln’s Home Sense, situated in the Tritton Retail Park, they never fail to stay up to date with the change of the seasons. From decorations to festive foods and homeware goods they have everything you could possibly want to bring Christmas to your home. Their products are mostly very affordable, but they also often have discounts going on plenty of their items which you can take advantage of (also, personally this is one of my favourite places to come when I’m looking for unique Christmas presents for my loved ones!).

Charity Shops

Right from the base of The Strait all the way down Lincoln High Street there are countless charity shops including St. Barnabas, Scope, British Red Cross, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, and Oxfam. The bric-a-brac sections in these shops will have lots of great festive features at extremely affordable prices, and many have their own particular range of Christmas cards too! On top of their affordability, there’s the obvious added perk of your spending going towards their charitable causes, which is always a wonderful thing but especially at this time of year.

Supermarkets Big & Small

At places like Morrison’s, Tesco’s, Sainsbury’s, The Co-op or wherever you usually shop, you can be sure to find a dedicated festive section! Though they will mostly feature food, the larger supermarkets do have decorative items which you can browse – these will certainly be on the more affordable side compared to décor-specific retailers and online shopping sources, and have far more convenient opening times so you can shop flexibly around whatever studies or work you have going on day-to-day.

Styling Ideas

The festive period is all about coming together whether it’s with family or friends, and if you find you’ll be spending time with your flatmates this year then this is a great chance to do something together.

First of all, when buying decorations for your flat you can all split the costs together, making it even less of a strain on your finances! Then when you have all your décor bought you can put it all up together – especially if you find you won’t be spending time with family at Christmas, having moments like these will really help to bolster your spirits.

Great places to place decorations in uni digs can be your window sills and curtain rails, along with staircase bannisters so it really feels like the whole house is involved. Another place to do a great display is definitely your dining area, since it’s already the main communal space in the home it’s the perfect place for you all to work together to decorate. Tinsel, LED/plug-in lights, elf on the shelf and artificial foliage are great for decorating bigger spaces with fewer items, but another great addition (especially if you’re not allowed candles) are reed diffusers! Stock up on your favourite festive scents like pine and peppermint, and it’ll add the perfect finishing touch to your decorations

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to really have fun with it and just enjoy the process! If you make your space festive this year then we would truly love to see it, so if you post pics on social media make sure to tag us @uolstudentlife so we can enjoy it too. Happy decorating!