Many people decorate for the holidays, including freshman Gretchen Gardner, who says, “I put up, like, mini Christmas trees on my vanity”. Most people buy their Christmas decor from Target, Homegoods or Walmart. But let’s not forget the art of DIY.
I’m sure people have decorations made by younger siblings, and while these decorations are endearing, they give DIY a bad reputation. DIY doesn’t have to be a purple handprint on a clear ornament or green paper snowflakes. You can DIY almost anything, from garlands to wreaths, however because of overconsumption trending, many people buy new Christmas decorations yearly, Freshman Addyson Phillips says her family goes the whole nine yards with “Lights and everything… Two Christmas trees in our house.”
Tiktok has both simultaneously brought back DIY culture and squashed it even further. “Sad beige moms” and “millionaires” with large platforms on TikTok have expensive, elaborate, but boring decorations, typically from large name-brands like Target. Massive ceiling to floor Christmas trees and perfectly medium sized orbs that all have a cohesive color scheme seems to be the deal these days, coinciding perfectly with the little villages often filled with animals or elves that line a buffet under a 65” flat screen TV.
This often sets unrealistic expectations of what people’s homes should look like. Truthfully, a house is meant to look like a home, not a dentist waiting room. A house needs to be clean not sterile and should have some individuality that DIY or thrifted decorations add.
There is however another side of TikTok that shows people how to DIY. I stumbled across a video that showed people how to make their cabinets look like wrapped presents with just two types of ribbon. I’ve watched how to make your own wreaths, and your own snowflake garlands.
Many families make popcorn and cranberry garlands to hang on the trees for birds. There are also many groups or clubs such as Creating in Recovery at Peer 180 that make DIYs for the holidays.
Thrifting is also a way to cut back on the overconsumption of goods. While I understand the desire to buy new things for friends and family, you can always thrift decorations. Many thrift shops have candles, lights, and fun Christmas/ winter dinnerware. These thrift shops also tend to go on sale during the holidays.
Overconsumption is rampant during the holiday season, especially with all the sales going on. We as consumers can slow the cycle by thrifting and DIYing some of the simpler decorations we want to see.