[For Seniors] Fun Crafts Recommended for December
December brings fun events and major occasions like Christmas and New Year’s.
Let’s help older adults feel the season with crafts that capture the spirit of December! We’ve gathered many projects that are easy to prepare and simple to make, using recycled materials and items from 100-yen shops.
Moving the fingers during crafting can also have brain-training benefits.
You can display the finished pieces, or take them home to use if they’re practical items.
Enjoy a wonderful time with crafts that are perfect for wrapping up the year.
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[For Seniors] Fun Crafts Recommended for December (81–90)
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.
Santa and the Reindeer
When you think of Christmas, you often picture Santa Claus and his reindeer in the starring roles.
There are lots of songs about Santa, and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is the most well-known reindeer song in the world.
Wouldn’t it be fun to cover an entire wall with these popular characters? It’s best to create Santa while keeping a good balance of red and white.
Be sure to design it so the white parts of his hat and outfit don’t overlap with the white of his beard.
Using cotton for the beard will give Santa a three-dimensional look, and making the eyes big will create a youthful, childlike Santa.
To make them look like good friends, give the reindeer the same hat as Santa, too.
Santa hat-style kusudama
Santa hats turned into a kusudama ornament!? This time, we’re introducing a fun decoration with a big impact.
First, make Santa hats out of origami.
Since there are some intricate parts, take your time.
We recommend using larger origami paper.
After making a total of 30 hats, glue them together.
The key is to assemble slowly, letting the glue dry as you go.
The finished piece looks like Santa hats arranged around a star, creating a festive touch for Christmas.
Santa paper fan
This is a three-dimensional Santa paper fan that you can decorate your room or door with for Christmas.
Why not make this cute item that uses a paper fan to represent Santa’s white beard? After folding a sheet of construction paper in half, crease the center, then accordion-fold it from both the top and bottom.
Connect the accordion-folded pieces with clips and fishing line, then attach the printed Santa cutouts on top to finish.
Because it can be made in just a few steps, it’s also recommended for use in recreational activities and events at care facilities.
Try adding arrangements that seniors can enjoy, such as drawing Santa by hand, and put it into practice.
Cyclamen
Cyclamen flowers bloom facing downward, yet they also resemble blazing flames—a duality that makes them truly captivating.
How about crafting cyclamen out of origami and using them as Christmas decorations? With a wide range of colors available, choosing your favorites—beyond the classic red, white, and pink—will make them even more vibrant.
The flower part takes on a crane-like shape midway through, so the folding will feel familiar.
Then just make the stem and leaves, connect them, and you’re done! Their three-dimensional form is lovely, so displaying them in a bottle or similar container is also recommended.
Tree
When it comes to essential Christmas decorations, the “tree” is a must, right? It’s the main feature of Christmas decor, and many places—like senior care facilities—create large wall-mounted trees when December comes around.
There are many ways to make tree decorations, but here’s a super simple one: a tree made from origami.
Fold the origami paper into a triangle, make cuts with scissors, then open it up.
You’ll get strips that you glue one by one toward the center.
Finish by adding a star and a tree trunk, and it’s done! It’s a great idea for a small craft to take home, too.
[For Seniors] Fun Crafts Recommended for December (91–100)
Toilet paper Christmas wreath
Cut toilet paper rolls into thin strips, shape them like leaves, and assemble them into a wreath.
In addition to painting the rolls green, you can also apply translucent origami paper to enhance the leafy look—this is highly recommended.
Incorporating various colors of origami adds accents to the arrangement of leaves, resulting in a more beautiful wreath.
Finally, attach small decorations to finish it off; since the overall color is green, adding red will further emphasize the Christmas vibe.