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[Christmas & New Year] Craft Ideas for Day Services in December
December is a month when you can feel the Christmas atmosphere, including through decorations at day-service centers.
Christmas, New Year’s, and other major events come one after another.
In Japan, December is written as “Shiwasu,” reflecting how bustling this time of year can be.
Older adults may also be sensing the arrival of December.
So this time, we’re introducing craft ideas for day-service centers that are perfect for December.
We’ve assembled a wide variety of projects—decorations to brighten up Christmas, pieces that boost the festive mood, and New Year’s items, too!
They’re great to make and display in your own room, and would surely delight family members as gifts.
Enjoy a wonderful December with heartfelt, handmade items!
[Christmas / New Year] Craft Ideas for Day Service in December (1–10)
Glowing SnowmanNEW!
How about making a fun Christmas-time snowman using just empty Yakult bottles, round stickers, and decoration lights from the 100-yen shop? Peel off the outer label from the empty Yakult bottle, then use round stickers to create the snowman’s features.
For the nose, cut a large round sticker into a triangle—it works great.
Put the decoration light inside, and you’re done.
Even if it’s not a snowman, you can add any pattern to the empty bottle and pop in a decoration light to use it as various kinds of ornaments.
Various Daruma decorations
Why not try making New Year decorations featuring the lucky Daruma motif? It’s easy to get started with familiar materials like origami and construction paper, making it a great option for day-service recreation activities as well! You can paint the Daruma’s face with a brush like a first-calligraphy exercise, create pieces inspired by the traditional Daruma-otoshi game, or make a three-dimensional Daruma with just a few simple cuts—there are countless ways to enjoy Daruma-themed New Year decorations depending on your creativity.
Use them as wall hangings or tabletop ornaments to brighten up your space and welcome the New Year in style.
Making a calendar
By December, we’ve already finished using this year’s calendar, right? So for our December recreation activity, let’s make next year’s calendar! Twelve months might sound like a lot, but if we all work together, it’ll come together quickly.
You can print out a free calendar template for the date sections, and in the margins, paste illustrations of seasonal foods, flowers, and events.
It’s also fun to think about the design and layout, so be sure to share ideas and create it together.
Christmas rose
The Christmas rose is a plant that blooms with beautiful flowers during the cold Christmas season, which is often thought of as a time when few flowers are in bloom.
Let’s try making this flower using origami, which will brighten up Christmas in a variety of colors centered on pink and white.
The process involves using reverse folds to create star-shaped points and then folding them sideways to recreate the overlapping petals and soft appearance.
By paying attention to the finer steps to achieve a three-dimensional finish and intentionally incorporating the white on the reverse side, you can create a beautiful Christmas rose.
Try making it in different colors and use it as part of your Christmas decorations.
stand snow globe
Let’s create a festive standing snow globe with a snowy town or Christmas theme.
First, glue the prepared photo onto a piece of thick paper.
Next, put your choice of decorations and glue into a zippered plastic bag.
Spread the decorations and glue evenly inside the bag, then attach it to the item you just made.
Finally, place it in a photo frame, and it’s complete.
You can enjoy watching the decorations slowly fall within the beautiful illustration.
This is a craft idea that seniors can work on safely without using scissors or box cutters.
Christmas card
Open the card and a three-dimensional Christmas tree pops up like a pop-up book! How about making a Christmas card to get into the seasonal spirit? Measure and mark the base, cut slits with scissors along the guide, then fold those sections—that’s all there is to it! Glue it onto the backing and decorate it cutely, and you’re done! It would make a lovely little gift or a wonderful letter for your grandchild, for example.
If handling scissors is difficult, please do the preparation up to that point for them.
Christmas tree
A perfect activity for fine motor skills is making a Christmas tree using yarn.
The structure is simple: wrap yarn around a triangular piece of thick paper and decorate it.
The fun part is that the look changes depending on how you wrap the yarn and which colors you use.
It’s also great for fostering creativity.
For decorations, I recommend using small yarn balls.
They give a warmer feel than using hard materials like jewelry parts.
One more tip: the sharper the tip of the triangular card, the easier it is to wrap the yarn around it.
New Year’s card (illustrated postcard)
How about making your own New Year’s cards for the coming year? First, decide on a design, then choose what to draw with.
As for designs, the zodiac animals and Mt.
Fuji are classics.
For drawing tools, I recommend a pencil or a brush pen.
A pencil gives a soft feel, while a brush pen creates a bold look.
Some of you may already have New Year’s cards prepared, but in that case, you can turn it into an art postcard.
If you do, change the design and try a winter theme.
New Year’s decorations
When it comes to New Year’s decorations, fan ornaments are very popular.
So this time, I’m introducing a handmade fan wall decoration idea.
It’s a bit of work since you’ll be making the fan from scratch, but the finished piece will be striking and gorgeous—definitely worth a try.
You’ll make five parts: ornamental cabbage, sasanqua camellia, bamboo leaves, an origami crane, and the fan.
For the ornamental cabbage, the key is to soften the origami paper by crumpling it first, then cut out the pieces.
The sasanqua and bamboo have many parts, so fold the origami and cut multiple pieces at once.
You probably already know how to fold the crane.
The fan is made by accordion-folding origami paper.
Once the parts are ready, have fun arranging and decorating.
Kadomatsu
Once the fun Christmas events are over, Japanese people quickly switch into New Year mode, don’t they? For the wall decorations that brighten up the space after Christmas motifs, it’s best to go with something that evokes the New Year.
If Christmas means Christmas trees, then for the New Year…
that’s right, kadomatsu! In the featured video, they skillfully create a three-dimensional kadomatsu using simple materials like colored paper, scissors, and glue.
If making perfect cylinders is tricky, you can use toilet paper rolls, and there are also websites that offer free templates.
Try making a lovely kadomatsu using whatever method is easiest for you!
