The decorations are up when you board. They are nice....but because I wanted the decorations to go up on DD's birthday, I brought them along and decorated myself.
DD was turning 13. I did the door in pink and purple (pink is her LEAST favorite color), and it got lots of attention from the little girls in the hallway. Of course, I remember that when I was 5 the 12 year old next door seemed like a princess.......it was neat seeing all the 4-7 year olds saying, "Is that YOUR door?" and wishing her a HB. Her birthday hit on formal night, and she had her first real "big girl" formal.