[For Seniors] Handmade calendar for December: motifs that make you feel excited and joyful
When it comes to making December calendars, Christmas motifs are by far the most popular! Decorating with origami Santa Clauses, reindeer, poinsettias, and more gives your creation a wonderfully seasonal feel.
Did you know that Christmas decorations actually have lovely origins and stories behind them? One of the charms of making calendars is being able to share these fun tales with older adults as you work together.
This time, we’re introducing simple handmade calendar ideas that anyone can enjoy.
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[For Seniors] Handmade Calendar for December: Motifs That Make You Feel Excited and Happy (1–10)
stick candy
Stick candies shaped like canes are a Christmas classic—used not only as treats to eat but also as decorations.
This content shows how to make those colorful stick candies using origami.
The method involves tightly rolling the origami, alternating between colored and white sections.
The way you roll is the most important point: keeping each stripe the same width leads to a beautiful result.
Finally, bend it to look like a stick and add some dimensionality, and it’s complete.
Mickey Santa
Let’s have fun decorating for Christmas with a Mickey Mouse mascot dressed like Santa Claus.
The base is made from red origami paper, folded into a triangle to create the hat and outfit.
You’ll then decorate the folded sections and edges to complete the Mickey Mouse look.
Adding the scarf piece is also an important step, as it enhances the overall softness and three-dimensional feel.
Since the overall color is red, it’s recommended to use accent colors that make the red stand out even more in your decorations.
star
When you think of Christmas, you probably imagine nighttime parties and stars shining in the night sky.
How about using the classic star mascot—also a staple decoration for Christmas trees—as a decoration for your calendar? The process involves combining pieces of origami to form a star shape, and the key is to make firm creases and use them as guides as you go.
The size of the star will change depending on the size of the origami pieces you combine, so adjust it to suit your calendar.
[For Seniors] Handmade December Calendar: Motifs That Make You Feel Excited and Happy (11–20)
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is said to be modeled after Saint Nicholas, and that Nicholas is in turn modeled after “Nicholas of Myra,” a Christian bishop who actually lived around the year 300.
It’s more intricate than you might have thought, isn’t it? Even if the stories differ a bit, there’s no doubt he’s someone who brings smiles to everyone.
How about folding a Santa out of origami and placing it at the center of your calendar? Since you’ll make the head and body separately, the difficulty level is a bit high.
gingerbread man
Do you know the Gingerbread Man? It’s the brown, person-shaped figure you often see during the Christmas season.
That’s called a Gingerbread Man, and it’s a human figure made from gingerbread or ginger cookies.
These days, it appears not only at Christmas but also at Halloween and Easter in different shapes.
How about folding a gingerbread man with origami and making a calendar? Adding small accents like a ribbon or a hat is the key to making it extra cute!
reindeer
Did you know that Santa’s animal companion was originally a camel? It’s the kind of tidbit you’ll want to share, right? Influenced by Christianity that emerged in northern regions, the companion shifted to the more familiar reindeer instead of a camel.
Come to think of it, their colors and presence feel somewhat similar.
Making a reindeer out of origami sounds fun, doesn’t it? It could even steal the spotlight on your calendar, outshining Santa! There’s also a video that gives a detailed tutorial on how to fold it, so please check it out for reference!
Simple Christmas decorations
These days, supermarkets and convenience stores start putting up Christmas decorations even before December.
It’s exciting how the year-end mood suddenly ramps up, but there’s also something a bit lonely about the year coming to a close.
How about you all? I think a calendar featuring all the Christmas characters—Santa, reindeer, snowmen—would be a lot of fun.
You can make them all, including the Christmas tree, by arranging triangles.
If there’s a chance to make it together, you could even divide up the tasks—like having Yamada-san make the reindeer.