Strands of colorful lights are festive decor items that you can string up around bulletin boards, classroom windows and ceiling borders. Attach the lights to the bulletin board using staples, making sure the staples do not pierce the cord. If the cord is pierced by the staple, the lights pose a danger. Binder clips are another option. As extra touches, wrap blue, white or silver tulle around the lights.
A can of spray snow adds a winter-like feeling to the classroom. This option works best on a paper background that you plan to discard. Place about 1 foot of white paper around the ceiling borders of the room, then carefully spray the snow material around the edge of the paper so it covers about 3 to 4 inches all around the display. Create small waves and dips with the snow to resemble snow-covered hills.
Winter-themed ribbons are mess-free options that are also easy to hang around the blackboard or window frames. Look for ribbons printed with snowmen, snowflakes or general winter colors. Staple or pin your winter ribbon around the edge of the display.
Fake icicles are another way to incorporate the winter theme into your borders. Cut a long strip of white paper at least 6 inches wide. Cut one edge of each strip to resemble a row of icicles. Varying the length of the icicles makes the border visually interesting. A light spray of glitter adds a shiny finish to the icicles. A similar option is to cut out individual snowflakes from paper. You can also have the kids make their own paper snowflakes. Staple the snowflakes all the way around the ceiling borders so they slightly overlap.
Strips of pine boughs add a fresh, winter feeling to the classroom. Fresh pine boughs will work, but they can be sticky and could cause irritation for those students with environmental allergies. The pine needles also tend to fall as the boughs dry out. An artificial pine garland is an alternative that is easier to work with. Staple the pine garland around the edge of the bulletin board, window frames or ceiling borders.