[For Seniors] Let’s Make New Year Decorations by Hand! A Collection of Easy Ideas Using Everyday Materials

Origami kadomatsu (New Year’s pine decoration)

[Origami New Year] How to Fold a Kadomatsu / How To Make an Origami Kadomatsu

Kadomatsu made by folding origami can be used in various ways, such as attaching them to wreaths or calendars you’ve crafted.

Let’s use our fingers and hands a lot as we make them.

Not only does it help train fine motor skills, but it can also be expected to have brain-training benefits.

Many people probably create kadomatsu pieces toward the end of the year.

If you make them while chatting with older adults about how they used to spend New Year’s, the conversation will likely liven up.

Seniors may enjoy reminiscing and share many stories.

It’s also recommended to mount them on backing paper to make cards or to display them on the wall.

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Nakajima Junko

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[No-Sew] Handmade Kadomatsu Decoration with Felt

[No-Sew] Handmade Kadomatsu decoration with felt #felt #NewYearDecoration #feltAccessories #NewYearDecor #feltHandmade #kadomatsu #felt #100YenShopDIY #handmade #kadomatsuDecoration #beginner #craft

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.

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Nakajima Junko

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Kadomatsu Sand Art

How to Make Kadomatsu Sand Art #GlassSandArt #linonature #LinoNature #NewYearDecoration

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.

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Nakajima Junko

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Pine, bamboo, and plum made from tissue paper

kimie gangi #shorts NEW New Year wall decoration: 'Tissue Paper Pine, Bamboo, and Plum' #tissuepaperart #fluffy #easyandbeautiful #DIY #walldecor #NewYeardecorations #NewYear

These are decorations of pine, bamboo, and plum made with tissue paper.

Each piece is simple, but arranged together like this, they make the wall look very festive.

The parts aren’t too difficult to make, either.

For the pine, fold the tissue paper in an accordion, fold it in half, cut off two corners, tie the crease with a pipe cleaner to form the branch, then make slits and fan it open to finish.

For the bamboo, fold the tissue paper into a rectangle, fold the left edge up to meet the top edge twice, unfold one layer back, twist the remaining right section, attach it to the folded part, and shape it.

This makes one bamboo leaf; make three and attach them together.

For the plum blossoms, accordion-fold the tissue paper, round both ends, and cut the center (along the folded side) into a triangle.

Then bundle it together with a wire along with the stamen piece made by cutting slits with shredding scissors, and peel apart the tissue layers one by one to shape the plum blossom.

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sasashina

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Shichifuku Daruma (Seven Lucky Gods Daruma)

[Wall Decoration] Origami Paper Craft: 'How to Make the Seven Lucky Gods Daruma' – Activities for Elderly Care and Preschool Crafts | How to Make a Japanese Daruma Doll

Perfect for New Year party wall decorations! How about making Seven-Lucky Daruma dolls? In this idea, you create the daruma pattern by folding a rectangular sheet of construction paper and making slits along the creases.

The remaining opposite section becomes the daruma’s face—attach a white paper base there and draw the expression with a pen.

The slit sections pop out in 3D, so they really catch the eye when displayed on the wall.

Be sure to make a variety of colorful Seven-Lucky Daruma and decorate them together with New Year-themed elements like plum blossoms.

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sasashina

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Ema made from an envelope

Cute origami decorations for an easy envelope-made Ema (with audio commentary) — How to make paper decorations for a Japanese Ema

Let me show you an idea for making an ema (votive plaque) using a brown envelope.

First, place the envelope with the back side facing up, and fold the left corner of the flap toward the center line.

When you do this, make sure to fold it neatly so that the right corner comes to a sharp point.

Next, open the folded section and cut off the left corner along the crease.

Then, fold along the cut line twice, each fold 2 cm wide, and cut off the left side of the remaining envelope to the same width.

Also cut off the glued margin along the bottom, then unfold the parts you folded.

Cut along the crease on the left side where the envelope is still connected and open it up, then shape it into an ema by aligning it with the crease on the flap side.

Decorate it with flowers or Mt.

Fuji made from origami, and your ema decoration is complete! You can also have people write their wishes on it.

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sasashina

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Three-dimensional wall decoration: Shishimai (lion dance)

[Craft Idea] Shishi-gashira (Lion Head) / Shishimai (Lion Dance) lion head (January, October, New Year, Festival) (with template) (3D wall decoration, senior recreation, day service, occupational therapy OT, childcare) (construction paper assembly craft) (Finished size: 363 mm × 257 mm)

There’s a custom that having a shishimai (lion dance) bite your head wards off evil, right? So how about incorporating a shishimai into your New Year wall decoration? With this idea, you can create a three-dimensional shishimai.

You can download a template for the shishimai’s head from the description, then cut out the parts to match and glue them together.

For the shishimai’s body, use a daisy craft punch to cut pieces and glue them onto green construction paper.

Display it together with plum blossoms made from tissue paper to brighten up your room.

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sasashina

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