Easy Winter-Themed Origami Ideas for 5-Year-Olds
Origami is a big hit for recreation.
It’s perfect for free folding to spark imagination, and the fine finger movements help develop dexterity and concentration.
In this article, we introduce winter-themed origami designs and how to make them, tailored for five-year-olds.
Let’s fold winter events like Christmas, New Year’s, and Setsubun, as well as winter foods, animals, and seasonal motifs with origami.
Kids can even use the origami they fold to make Christmas ornaments.
Enjoy it as an indoor recreational activity during the cold season.
[For 5-Year-Olds] Simple Winter-Themed Origami Ideas (1–10)
Snow fairy! Adorable long-tailed tit (Shima-enaga)
Why not try making the popular long-tailed tit as a “snow fairy” with origami? All you need is a single sheet of your favorite origami paper and a black pen, so preparation is super easy.
Fold by creasing and flipping the paper as you go: use the white front side to represent the body and the colored back side for the wings.
Finish by drawing the eyes and beak with a black pen to enjoy different expressions.
With few steps, it’s easy even for a 3-year-old, so it’s highly recommended.
After it’s done, you can show them to each other or line them up on the wall to create a cute atmosphere.
Easy with just one sheet! Snowman
The charm of this origami is how easy it is—you can make a snowman with just one sheet of white paper.
There are many small, detailed folds, so try tackling it together with your child.
Each step is simple, but because it involves lots of precise finger work, staying focused is important.
As you go, guide them with prompts like “This part is next,” or demonstrate each step so they can work with confidence.
At the end, draw the face with a pen or add patterns, and each snowman will have its own unique expression.
When you line up the finished pieces for display, you can clearly see how different their expressions are—even though they’re all snowmen—making them even more fun to look at.
Easy! Origami Snowman
This is an origami snowman you can make with simple steps.
Choose the color of your origami paper based on the hat you want the snowman to wear.
Once you’ve decided, place the paper with the colored side facing up and fold it in half by bringing the left and right edges together.
Next, fold it again by matching the top and bottom edges.
Then, using the second crease, make a step fold (accordion fold), and fold the two ends of the stepped section inward, opening them into triangles.
This creates a waist, giving you a two-tiered snowman.
Finally, tuck the remaining corners at the top and bottom inward to round the shape, and you’re done.
One corner will become the hat, so fold only one layer inward so that a triangle of the colored side appears on the snowman’s surface.
Cute snow bunny
Here’s an origami idea for a snow rabbit that you’ll want to make whenever it snows, just like a snowman.
Prepare one sheet of white origami paper, fold it in half diagonally once to make a crease, then unfold.
Fold the left edge in half along the crease, then fold the remaining right corner inward to form a triangle.
Next, fold the triangle’s three corners inward while checking the shape to create the snow rabbit’s base.
Once the base is done, attach ears made from green origami paper and add eyes using small red round stickers, and you’re done! With these simple steps, you can make a snow rabbit that looks just like the real thing—give it a try!
Santa Claus
Making a Santa Claus out of origami is a wonderful idea.
If you use red paper for Santa’s outfit and white paper for his beard, you’ll instantly be surrounded by a Christmas atmosphere.
As you fold together with your child, it’s nice to enjoy conversations like, “What kind of person is Santa?” or “What presents will he bring?” The finished Santa can be hung on the Christmas tree or displayed around the room.
Through origami play, your child’s imagination and creativity are likely to grow.
penguin
I’ll show you how to fold a cute penguin! First, place the origami paper with the back side facing up, fold along the diagonal, and crease well.
Fold the top corner to align with the center line, unfold, then fold along the crease you just made.
Fold the top edge down to meet that line.
Turn it over, then fold the top left and right edges in to meet the center line.
Fold the boundary between the white and colored areas at the top down to align with the line below.
Turn it over again, fold about 1 cm from the top-right corner toward the left, then fold the right corner in to meet the center line.
Next, fold the left corner in to meet the right corner.
Fold the bottom corner up to the same position.
From the inner corners of the left and right triangles, fold so that the edges line up with the boundary between the white and colored areas.
First, fold the left and right sides of the two triangles so their edges meet the boundary.
Fold from the notch down to the bottom corner.
Fold down the top corner.
Finally, draw the eyes and beak with a pen or crayon, and you’re done!
ogre
During the Setsubun season, try making ogres (oni) out of origami! Use any color you like—red, blue, yellow, and more.
With a single sheet of origami paper, you can make the oni’s face and even its horns.
Fold it into a triangle, and use one of the pointed parts as the horns.
Once you’re done folding, draw the oni’s face with a pen.
Make it scary or cute—design the face however you like! You can also make a separate body for the oni.
Create lots of oni in different colors and turn them into lively Setsubun decorations!
