[For Seniors] Celebrate Children's Day: Make Your Own Koinobori (Carp Streamers)
When talking about Tango no Sekku on Children’s Day, koinobori (carp streamers) come to mind.
Many families raise koinobori to wish for their children’s growth.
Along rivers and in parks, there are also events where you can enjoy countless koinobori swimming leisurely in the wide sky—beloved as a seasonal tradition of early summer in Japan.
Let’s try making koinobori by hand, something very familiar even to seniors.
We’ve gathered a variety of ideas, from easy ones made with origami or paper plates to more elaborate versions made with felt.
Koinobori that double as decorations also make perfect gifts for your grandchildren.
By all means, handcraft some koinobori and celebrate Children’s Day!
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[For Seniors] Celebrate Children's Day: Making Koinobori (1–10)
Wobbly paper-plate carp streamer
Would you like to make a gently swaying carp streamer using a paper plate? First, fold a paper plate in half.
Staple only one side; the stapled side will be the tail.
Trim the head end slightly.
Cut a colorful sheet of paper a little smaller than the body, and glue it onto the body.
Then cut another sheet slightly longer than the tail portion of the plate and glue it on, offsetting it.
Add an eye using an eye part or a round sticker, and it’s done.
When you display it, it will sway in the breeze and look very charming.
Koinobori chopstick sleeve
To help seniors feel the seasons, some senior and nursing care facilities offer special seasonal meals, don’t they? In those moments, we’d like to introduce a carp streamer–themed chopstick sleeve that’s lovely to set quietly on the table.
Let’s fold a chopstick sleeve using origami.
If you use gold or red origami paper for the sleeve, you’ll end up with a festive design perfect for celebratory occasions.
Attach a carp streamer made from origami to the sleeve as well.
As you fold, some seniors may recall past Boys’ Day (Tango no Sekku) celebrations.
Besides carp streamers, you can also attach other seasonal decorations to the sleeve so it can be used throughout the year.
Please try arranging and customizing your own version.
Carp streamers made of felt
Let’s try making a carp streamer (koinobori) using felt, which is known for its soft touch.
If you attach craft pom-poms to a rectangular piece of felt fixed to a stick, you can create the look of the carp’s scales.
Add eyes and a tail fin to the carp, and try attaching a windsock and a decorative pinwheel as well.
How about also making the banner top in felt to go with it? Another key point is that the overall impression of your koinobori will change depending on the color of felt you use.
Seniors, too, are sure to smile while creating these cute koinobori crafts.
[For Seniors] Celebrate Children's Day: Make Your Own Koinobori (11–20)
Stained glass-style koinobori
Stained glass is used in churches and public facilities, too.
The sunlight filtering through stained glass creates a lovely atmosphere indoors, doesn’t it? Let’s make a carp streamer that captures that stained-glass look.
Draw lines on a clear file folder with a black permanent marker, then color it in with various permanent markers.
After coloring, roll it up, secure it with clear tape, and form the tail fin.
Punch a hole near the head, thread a stick through, and it’s done.
You can also decorate the top of the stick with a paper samurai helmet or a streamer.
This stained-glass-style carp streamer—something you don’t see very often—seems like an activity older adults would enjoy as well.
Carp streamers with plump, scaly patterns
Here is a carp streamer (koinobori) you can display indoors at your facility.
Many places change their wall decorations each month, don’t they? Some older adults seem to feel the season through wall decorations related to the month’s representative events and celebrations.
Seeing koinobori decorations may remind them of Children’s Day in May and the Boys’ Festival (Tango no Sekku).
A koinobori with charmingly plump scales is fun not only to make but also just to look at.
The puffy scales, made with two sheets of origami paper, aren’t difficult, so many older adults should be able to create them.
By admiring the wonderful koinobori they made themselves, they can also feel a sense of accomplishment.
Message Card
Let’s try making a message card for Children’s Day.
We especially encourage older adults who have grandchildren to make a Children’s Day message card.
Create items that evoke Children’s Day or the Boys’ Festival using origami or construction paper, and attach them to the card.
For example, carp streamers (koinobori), iris flowers, or Kintaro are great motifs.
Besides crafting with paper, you can also write a message with a brush or draw a picture.
A heartfelt, handmade card is sure to delight the recipient.
If you like, please use this as inspiration to create a wonderful message card.
A large carp streamer wall display
Let’s make a large wall decoration of a koi-nobori (carp streamer) using chiyogami with traditional Japanese patterns.
We’ll create each scale of the carp using two sheets—one plain origami sheet and one chiyogami sheet.
Since the koi-nobori is big, the scales will be on the larger side as well.
It might be nice to have seniors make the scales one by one; while seated, they can work on the scales and naturally enjoy conversations with others during the process.
Use a large sheet of paper to create the body of the carp and attach the scales.
Make the carp’s face and tail fin too, and display it on the wall.
You could also try making a female carp and child carps in the same way.