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Ideas for Easy Winter Origami Crafts That Even 2-Year-Olds Will Love

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

Since it’s the cold season, how about enjoying some indoor origami play? Here, we’ll introduce simple winter origami ideas that you can do together with two-year-olds.

From Santa Claus and Christmas trees to snow bunnies, there are plenty of creations that capture the season! The activities also include elements that promote children’s fine motor development, such as aligning corners and using glue.

All of the projects feature simple steps, making them perfect for fun, hands-on creation in childcare settings—so give them a try.

Because the children’s work is regarded as “artworks,” we use the term “seisaku” (制作) in the text to refer to their creations.

Ideas for Easy Winter Origami Crafts That Even 2-Year-Olds Will Love (11–20)

Reindeer made with torn-paper collage

@chuwakosan.hoiku
Reindeer craft for 2-year-olds! 🤭IT and Nature #Nursery school Christmas crafts Nursery teacher / Childcare worker
♬ Christmas – gn_yxs

A fun craft for 2-year-olds! Here’s how to make a reindeer.

You’ll need reindeer-face-shaped construction paper, a backing sheet, origami paper, glue, paint, and round stickers.

First, tear the origami paper and stick the pieces onto the reindeer’s face.

Next, put paint on the child’s hands and make handprints on construction paper.

Cut the handprints to resemble the reindeer’s antlers.

Use round stickers for the reindeer’s eyes and nose, and finish by painting falling snow with white paint.

It’s also great to let the children draw the eyes and nose with crayons!

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Instant Santa Claus

@nicoakochan
#2 years 6 months #2-year-old's craft #Santa craft #LifeWithATwoYearOld #toddlerchristmascraft
♬ Deck the Halls – Lofi – Gentle State

Here’s a Santa Claus craft that’s perfect for 2-year-olds! First, prepare a Santa face cut out of construction paper.

Fold a piece of origami paper in half into a triangle and glue it onto Santa’s head.

Next, crumple some tissue paper and stick it on as a beard.

Finally, draw Santa’s face with crayons—and it’s done! It’s very simple, but it includes many steps toddlers can do on their own, like matching the corners of the origami and applying glue.

Give it a try!

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Mount Fuji and the first sunrise of the year

@poccle
Easy 6 steps!! Origami Mount Fuji 🗻Origami Production #Childcare Crafting Nursery teacher / Childcare worker #Nursery school #Kindergarten #AtHomePlay #EducationalPlay Childcare Parenting Origami folding instructions #HandprintArt
♬ เสียงต้นฉบับ – Chickdog Pet Shop – Chickdog Pet Shop

Recommended for New Year’s origami! Here’s an origami Mount Fuji you can make with just six folds.

First, place the paper face up, fold it into a triangle twice, then open it once.

With the edge facing you, fold the top corner of the top layer down about 2–3 cm.

Fold the corner back up so that about half of the triangle shows, then fold it down again.

Fold the tip to the back, and you’re done! Use red or orange paint to make a handprint and create the first sunrise, too.

Try sticking it on construction paper along with Mount Fuji and displaying it for the New Year.

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mandarin orange

[One sheet of origami] Easy! Cute fruit: How to fold a mandarin orange (mikan) | How to fold an orange with origami. Easy! [Fruit]

mandarin orange

A sweet-and-tangy winter fruit! Here’s an origami idea for making a mandarin orange.

You’ll need one sheet of orange origami paper and a green pen or crayon.

First, fold the paper into a triangle twice, then unfold it.

Next, tuck about 1 cm of the top and bottom to the back, and fold the left and right sides in toward the center.

Finally, use the pen or crayon to color the stem area green, and you’re done! Each finished piece will have its own personality, which sounds fun.

Give it a try!

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stick candy

[Origami] Stick Candy – Easy! Cute! Christmas Ornament

stick candy

You can decorate your room with colorful flair! Here’s an idea for making stick candies out of origami.

Prepare origami paper in your favorite colors, glue, and clips to hold the glue in place.

First, place the paper on the table with the back side facing up, and fold up the bottom so that about 7 mm of the white side remains visible.

Next, flip it over, fold it to make a 1 cm-wide strip, and roll it up.

When you reach the end, glue the paper down for a neat finish.

Finally, bend the stick’s handle and apply glue.

We recommend using a clip to hold it in place while it dries!

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A torn-paper collage wreath and an origami Santa

By the time they’re two, children can start deciding for themselves how to arrange colors and patterns when tearing and pasting paper.

Here’s a wreath craft that makes use of that thinking skill with torn-paper collage.

As a prep step, lightly draw a wreath outline in pencil on white construction paper.

Let the children freely tear origami paper, and have them paste the pieces with glue, using the wreath outline as a guide.

If you use patterned origami, the wreath will look very lively! Finally, glue a ribbon on top of the wreath and add a Santa made from origami to finish.

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Ideas for Easy Winter Origami Crafts That Even 2-Year-Olds Will Love (21–30)

a one-horned ogre

February brings a sharp chill, but according to the traditional calendar there’s Setsubun, an event that heralds the arrival of spring.

When it comes to Setsubun, you can’t forget the starring role of the oni (ogre).

Oni can be scary for children, but the ones you make with origami are super cute! The folding method is very simple, and if you take it slowly, kids can fold them without mistakes.

The little horns that pop out when you fold it back are adorable, too.

It’s also a fun idea to play with colors—use red origami to make a red oni, blue origami to make a blue oni, and so on.

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