[For Seniors] Kick Off the New Year with Laughter! Fun DIY Ideas for Fuku-warai
When it comes to classic New Year’s games, Fukuwarai—arranging facial features while blindfolded—is a favorite.
Even traditional pastimes can feel fresh and more exciting when you add handmade twists and ideas.
The possibilities are endless: versions you can eat at the end made from cookies or cake, ones that combine clay and pebbles, or designs based on anime characters.
One of the biggest charms of handmade Fukuwarai is that you can enjoy the time spent creating the pieces together with older adults.
Why not try these easy, handmade Fukuwarai ideas at a senior facility or at home as a New Year’s activity?
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[For Seniors] Kick Off the New Year with Laughter! Fun, DIY Fukuwarai Ideas (31–40)
Real Fukuwarai
Speaking of fukuwarai, you usually arrange the facial parts on a board with an outline of a face, right? This idea is to play that game using a real person’s face.
In other words, you use someone’s face instead of the board! Draw eyes, a nose, a mouth, and eyebrows on paper, cut out each part, and stick double-sided tape on the back.
Then just use them to play fukuwarai on someone’s face! It’s not something you can enjoy over and over, but it would probably liven up a party.
Be sure to size the parts to match the person’s face.
Real-life face fukuwarai
This is a high-difficulty game inspired by Fukuwarai, where you do someone’s makeup while blindfolded and facing them.
Since you’ll be touching the face without being able to see, avoid eye makeup for safety and proceed accordingly.
You’ll repeat the cycle of checking the face shape and adding makeup, which also makes it tricky and fun because makeup can smear from your hands.
It might help to focus on how you give hints so the result gets as close to perfect makeup as possible.
When you’re done, take time to reflect on what parts were the most challenging.
Animal Fukuwarai
Let’s play fukuwarai using cute illustrations of animal faces! You could prepare several types of animals—rabbits, bears, familiar dogs and cats—and choose your favorite to play with.
With multiple animal versions, animal-face fukuwarai would be easy to enjoy not only at New Year’s but also anytime you have a little free time.
Since ear shapes and positions differ by animal, it might be fun to include ears as fukuwarai parts too.
It’s a fukuwarai game that even small children can enjoy together.
Origami for Fukuwarai
Did you know that the “Okame” used in fukuwarai is actually a deity who brings good fortune? Let’s try folding this auspicious Okame with origami.
First, make the creases, then fold along them again.
Some steps are a bit tricky, so please offer support if it seems difficult.
If you also make facial parts for the finished Okame, you can play fukuwarai.
You could glue the parts on and enjoy it as a decoration, too.
Origami has a long history, so it’s a familiar pastime for older adults.
Through origami, some people may even recall memories from their childhood.
Lucky Laugh Omurice
Prepare a neatly rounded omurice, then take on the challenge of drawing a face with ketchup while blindfolded.
A key point is that you can’t redo it if you mess up—it’s a one-shot attempt—so focus closely on your hands and enjoy the tension.
Since you can’t touch the omurice itself, it’s recommended to use a round plate of the same shape as a reference for the outline.
Even if you fail like in a ‘Fukuwarai’ game, you can still enjoy eating it, so first and foremost, have them give it a try—just be careful not to use too much ketchup.
[For Seniors] Start the year with laughter! Fun, DIY Fukuwarai ideas (41–50)
Fukuwarai Cookies
Fukuwarai has long been a classic New Year’s game.
How about trying a slightly different, handmade version this year? Introducing “Fukuwarai Cookies.” You can make them authentically with powdered sugar and food coloring like icing cookies, but using chocolate pens available at 100-yen shops or in baking sections makes it easy.
It’s fun to prepare store-bought cookies and make them together with older adults, and staff-made, hand-crafted Fukuwarai Cookies also make delightful gifts.
Fukuwarai Cookies bring smiles when you play and taste great when you eat them—double the fun.
Give it a try for inspiration.
Fukuwarai cake
This cake is inspired by fukuwarai: you draw an outline with cream and chocolate, then arrange facial features made from cookies.
Its big appeal is that you can enjoy it in three stages—making it, playing fukuwarai, and finally eating it.
It’s important to adjust the cookie sizes to match each facial part and to design the whole cake with ease of play in mind.
Since it’s a large cake meant to be shared, remember that everyone will eat it in the end, and be sure to pay close attention to hygiene during the fukuwarai stage.