Office

Door decorating contests are a December tradition in offices, schools and dorms, and searches for ideas are up sharply this month. A good contest door is bold enough to read from down the hall, and simple enough to put up in an afternoon. Before you start Measure the door. Most interior doors are 30 to 36 inches wide and 80 inches tall. Ask what you can stick to it. Many places don’t allow tape on painted doors. Painter’s tape or washi tape (on Amazon) is usually safe; packing tape often pulls paint off. Ask about fire rules. Some buildings don’t allow paper covering the whole door, or anything near the handle. The easiest winner: wrap it like a present Cover the door in wrapping paper or kraft paper (on Amazon), then add a giant ribbon cross and a big bow. A wide wired ribbon (on Amazon) holds its shape. Add a gift tag with the team’s name. ...

Searches for office Christmas decorations jump every November. If you spend most of your day at a desk, a little decoration there does more for your mood than another thing at home you see for an hour each evening. The trick at work is to stay small, tidy and easy to take down. Check first Before buying anything, find out: Whether your office allows plug-in lights. Many don’t, because of fire rules. Battery lights are almost always fine. Whether you can attach things to walls or cubicle panels. Whether there are rules about candles, real greenery or scents. Assume no. A small tree A 2 ft tabletop tree (on Amazon) fits on most desks without getting in the way. Pre-lit and battery powered is the easiest. If your desk is tiny, a set of bottle-brush trees (on Amazon) grouped in one corner gives the same feeling in less space. ...