TIP OF THE MONTH: How to decorate your office for Christmas...using only office supplies.

December 8, 2009 | Posted by Carolyn Pikoulas
It's a recession, and your office probably doesn't have a budget for extravagant Christmas decorations this year. Don't fret! We have a bunch of cost-saving decorations you can make right at your desk. The only thing needed here is a tree. You probably have one in the storage room somewhere. If not, you can just use one of the big floor plants from your office.

• Download a free faux fireplace screensaver. Let it play continuously on an extra computer you have lying around.
• Make paper snowflakes.
  
  1. Use white computer paper and any round object to trace a circle (in my case, I have a can of cashews).
     
  2. Cut out the circle.
  3. Fold the circle three times, until you get an 1/8 circle.
     
  4. Draw some jagged edges. Be creative - cut triangles on the folds, use a hole puncher or cut off the tip to make a center shape.
     
  5. Cut out the shape.
     
  6. Unfold it, and punch a hole at the top.
     
  7. Reshape a paperclip to use it as a hook.
     
• Create ornaments.
  
  1. Press 2 Post-it Notes back-to-back, so that the sticky sides are together (making it a slightly stiffer ornament).
     
  2. Draw an ornament shape.
     
  3. Cut and decorate with a Sharpie.
     
  4. Punch a hole at the top and hang with a "paperclip hook".

• Make a star.
  
  1. Glue about 10 sheets of yellow legal paper together to create one thick sheet, and draw a star.
     
  2. Cut out your star.
     
  3. Staple the star to an upside-down plastic cup.
     
  4. Place it on the top of the tree.

• Hang stockings.
  
  1. Cut out a stocking shape on paper. Use this as a pattern to cut out one more stocking.
     
  2. Find some old magazines and start cutting random shapes.
  3. Glue the magazine scraps onto one of the stockings, so that it resembles patchwork.
     
  4. Stitch both stockings together, using staples.
     
  5. Punch a hole in the top corner of the stocking and hang with a rubberband.
  6. Fill with scrap paper to add some stuffing.

• Create fake presents.
  
  1. Cut 2 manila folders into squares.
     
  2. Decorate them to look like wrapping paper.
     
  3. If you want to be really creative, you can add a bow made out of rolled-up Post-It Notes or curled strips of computer paper.
     
  4. Open the folders and stand them up to form boxes. Use tape to hold the sides together.
     

• Build a snowman.
  
  1. Take 3 white paper plates from your office's kitchen.
  2. Cut 2 of the plates to create 2 smaller circles.
     
  3. Staple each plate together and decorate with a Sharpie.
     

Bam! You now have a fully decorated office, and you saved your company lots of money!


SOME OTHER SIMPLE TOUCHES:
• Use old CD-Rs as ornaments. You can stick the branches right through the holes.
• Place a bunch of shredded paper under the tree to look like snow.