As you prepare to welcome the New Year, why not try making a handmade kadomatsu? In this article, we introduce ideas for kadomatsu you can create using various materials such as origami, construction paper, yarn, and felt.
The time spent crafting seasonal decorations while working with your fingers provides stimulating benefits for the brain and naturally encourages conversation with those around you.
There are also unique creations, like edible kadomatsu and mini kadomatsu that can be displayed in a photo frame.
With clever use of items from 100-yen shops, it’s easy to give it a try.
Feel the joy of welcoming the New Year with your own handmade kadomatsu.
- [For Seniors] Let’s Make New Year Decorations by Hand! A Collection of Easy Ideas Using Everyday Materials
- For Seniors: Auspicious Handmade Zodiac Ornament Craft Ideas
- [For Seniors] Craft Ideas Recommended for New Year’s and the New Year
- [For Seniors] January Craft Ideas: Boost Your Luck with New Year Decorations and Good-Luck Charms
- [For Seniors] Recommended Wall Decorations and Crafts for January
- [For Seniors] Recommended Origami for January
- Take-Home Craft Ideas for Winter: Perfect for Day Services for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Brighten Up Your New Year’s Party: A Collection of Handmade Decoration Ideas
- [For Seniors] January Craft Ideas for Day Service Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Simple, Recommended Crafts
- [For Seniors] Heartwarming Handmade New Year’s Cards: Fun Ideas Using Everyday Materials
- [For Seniors] Lovely Christmas Crafts: Easy Ideas Using Recycled Materials and 100-Yen Shop Supplies
- [For Seniors] Try Making a Handmade Christmas Wreath! A Collection of Ideas Using Everyday Materials
[For Seniors] Try Making Your Own Kadomatsu! A Roundup of Ideas Using Origami, Felt, and Yarn (1–10)
Cute kadomatsu made of paper

This is a kadomatsu made with paper cups that instantly gives a bright, festive impression when displayed indoors.
Use construction paper and tissue paper to make pine needles, bamboo, and plum blossoms.
Then assemble the parts by placing them into the paper cup.
If you also decorate the paper cup—the base of the kadomatsu—with washi-patterned origami or construction paper, you’ll create an even more beautiful piece.
As you make it, conversations about the coming New Year are sure to liven up, especially with older adults.
The impressive result, which hardly looks like it’s made of paper, is sure to satisfy seniors as well.
3D origami kadomatsu: easy folding method

With simple folding methods, you can make a kadomatsu craft.
Many older adults are skilled at or enjoy origami.
Because origami uses the fingertips a lot, it stimulates the brain and helps keep it active.
For this reason, it is also used in senior facilities as a recreational activity that can help prevent dementia.
A kadomatsu craft with few complicated folds should be easy for older adults to start.
Since you can make the craft while chatting, it also helps promote communication.
Tabletop kadomatsu
@yuumaama2022 Production of how to make a tabletop kadomatsuTranslationHandmadeKadomatsuChildcarechildNew YearHandmade Kadomatsu
♪ Original song – Yuumaaama – Yuumaaama
Let’s make a tabletop kadomatsu (traditional New Year’s pine decoration) using a milk carton.
We’ll place decorative elements that form the kadomatsu inside pieces cut from the carton.
There are detailed steps such as folding origami or construction paper and cutting short lengths of plastic ribbon.
Because it uses fine motor skills extensively, it can stimulate the brain and may offer brain-training benefits.
It’s also a project that can help improve concentration.
Starting from a simple milk carton and building it up into a splendid kadomatsu is likely to delight older adults as well.
Kadomatsu wall decoration
@haruharo_made TikTok document New Year’s Craft / [Kadomatsu Wall Decoration] [Materials] • Ribbon • Japanese-patterned paper plate (Seria) • Scissors • Paper doily • Construction paper • Double-sided tapeCrafts for 4-year-olds Crafts for 5-year-olds#3-year-old crafts#2-year-old's craftCrafts for 1-year-oldsCrafts for 0-year-oldsProduction#Nursery schoolWall decoration#StayHomeTime#AtHomePlayProduction ideas#Nursery School CraftWinter Craft#KindergartenKindergarten craftNursery teacher / Childcare workerKindergarten Teacherwall surface #ChristmasTreeProduction for children under age (infants and toddlers) Simple craftMade in December # January productionMade in February New Year’s craft #Daruma making Tatsu Production#Mask making Mask#paint Sticker application Round stickerSticker-pasting craft Hanging ornamentdrawing paper #ConstructionPaperArt Paint making paper plate Paper plate craft Paper Plate Craft Threading (a cord/strap through a hole)
♬ Cute marimba heartwarming kids(1035757) – ROUGHTY PRODUCTION
When kadomatsu decorations are displayed on the indoor walls, even older adults can feel the arrival of the New Year.
With paper-plate kadomatsu, each person’s creation can easily be hung on the wall.
Create a kadomatsu by attaching construction-paper bamboo, ribbons, and other elements onto a paper plate.
We recommend using a New Year–themed paper plate with a lace doily attached as the backing.
It will result in a festive piece suitable for the New Year.
Since you’re using a paper plate, it can also look like a kadomatsu wreath.
[No-Sew] Handmade Kadomatsu Decoration with Felt
![[No-Sew] Handmade Kadomatsu Decoration with Felt](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M1N7WajLPm8/sddefault.jpg)
Creations made from felt convey warmth through the nature of the material.
Even a New Year’s decoration like a kadomatsu, which is often associated with the chill of the season, can feel cozy when made from felt.
You might think felt crafts require sewing with needles or a sewing machine, but you can make them without sewing.
Instead of stitching, you attach the felt using a hot glue gun.
While handling a glue gun does require care, it seems accessible for many older adults to participate in making these.
The result is an adorable kadomatsu that would be perfect to display at home, and it would surely be appreciated as a gift for family as well.
Making a Kadomatsu with everyday materials

Let’s collect toilet paper rolls and transform them into a lovely kadomatsu decoration.
Although we usually throw away toilet paper cores, repurposing them turns waste into something eco-friendly.
Cut the toilet paper rolls and cover them with patterned origami paper to create the base of the kadomatsu.
Because the base circle is small, make the bamboo, pine needles, and fan decorations inside on a smaller scale.
This project should be quite enjoyable for people who are good with their hands or who love origami.
If crafting parts like the bamboo is difficult, ask someone nearby to help.
Seniors are likely to enjoy making these adorable, palm-sized kadomatsu too.
Kadomatsu Sand Art

Let’s try making a kadomatsu (New Year’s pine decoration) using sand art with colorful sand.
By layering several colors of sand in a glass, you can create sand art with a uniquely personal style.
The choice of sand colors, as well as the layers and patterns you form with the sand, will enhance the originality of each piece.
It seems like each older adult can finish a creation that reflects their own ideas.
The sand, glass, and kadomatsu decorations used for sand art can all be sourced from items sold at 100-yen shops.
Since many of the materials pose minimal risk of injury, please consider this as a reference for making wonderful kadomatsu together with older adults.


![[For Seniors] Try Making Your Own Kadomatsu! A roundup of ideas using origami, felt, and yarn](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/QmLf7CeTVpA/maxresdefault.webp)

