[For Seniors] Craft Ideas Recommended for New Year’s and the New Year
In winter it’s cold and you tend to feel reluctant to do anything.
At times like that, try adding some fun, absorbing craft activities.
In this article, we’ll share New Year–themed craft ideas you can enjoy, perfect for the season.
New Year’s brings a festive image, and it’s the perfect time to make New Year decorations.
As a New Year craft activity, enjoy origami with auspicious motifs, or try making New Year decorations at the end of the year in preparation for the holiday.
Each idea is sure to result in a gorgeous, delightful creation!
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[For Seniors] Recommended Craft Ideas for New Year’s Holiday (81–90)
Stamp calendar – first sunrise of the year
@hoiku.labo [Craft for ages 3–5] January means… a sunrise calendar 🌅#Childcare Crafting#Nursery school#KindergartenNursery teacher / Childcare workerKindergarten Teacher#Drawers of ChildcareWith childrenEasy to make#Stamp playStampCalendarNew Year#SunriseNew Year's Day# January production⭐↓Detailed steps and instructions are in the comments↓⭐
♬ Original Song – Hoiku Kyujin Labo | Delivering Useful Information for Nursery Teachers – Hoiku Kyujin Labo | Nursery Teacher Job Changes and Helpful Information
Let’s draw a picture suitable for a January calendar, imagining the first sunrise of the year as seen from the seaside.
First, use crayons to draw a half-sun rising from the horizon, then use stamps below it to represent the sea.
You can make the sea a single shade of blue, or layer white and yellow to show the reflection of the morning sun.
Once the picture is finished, attach it toward the top of the backing, and then stick the calendar date section below it to complete your piece.
For the dates, either write them by hand or print and use a free downloadable image.
Coloring calendar – Daruma Otoshi
@yuka__memo08 I made a January coloring calendar ☺️❣️ You can download it for free from note, so if you’d like, please download it and try coloring it ✨ ↓note URL ↓https://note.com/yuka__memo/n/n6cb4259dba46Coloring bookColoring Book CalendarHandmade CalendarColored pencil illustrationhand-drawn illustration
♬ Have It All – Jason Mraz
The classic New Year’s game, Daruma-otoshi, is a perfect motif for a January calendar! In this idea, you can enjoy coloring using black-and-white illustrations.
You can find free coloring pages if you search, and simple illustrations can probably be hand-drawn as well.
Enjoy coloring in your favorite colors, then paste it onto a backing sheet to finish your calendar.
As you make the calendar, memories of New Year’s games may come flooding back.
If you’re making it with family or friends, be sure to chat and have fun while you work together!
Mount Fuji and Kite Flying Calendar
Attach a calendar to the lower part of a rectangular backing sheet, and use the remaining upper area to depict a kite-flying scene.
In a New Year’s style, the kites are flying with Mount Fuji in the background.
Make the kites and Mount Fuji using origami or construction paper.
Once finished, paste them onto the backing, then use yarn to represent the kite strings on top.
Glue cotton around Mount Fuji to suggest clouds.
It’s recommended to make the kites with your favorite traditional Japanese patterned origami.
You can also add color to the date section to match the origami’s colors.
Origami Calendar – January

While enjoying origami, why not try making a January calendar? You’ll create three items: ornamental cabbage, a celebratory crane, and a New Year’s pine decoration (kadomatsu).
You’ll make several ornamental cabbages and cranes in different sizes.
Once everything is finished, arrange them on a backing sheet in any balance you like.
Attach the calendar section in the blank space, and you’re done.
There are many other origami projects you can make, so look for various New Year–themed ideas.
For the calendar portion, using free downloadable materials makes it easy.
Origami Calendar: Daruma

The daruma, a popular New Year’s decoration symbolizing good luck, is a perfect motif for a January calendar as well.
You can make this idea with a single sheet of origami: leave space for the face, then simply fold the corners and edges inward.
There are no complicated folds or steps, so give it a try.
For the expression and patterns on the daruma, use round stickers or draw them with a pen.
While daruma are traditionally red, the charm of handmade crafts is in the ability to customize—so feel free to make it in any color you like.
Origami Calendar: First Sunrise of the Year

Let me show you a New Year’s first sunrise scene expressed with origami.
You’ll make three parts: Mount Fuji, the sun, and clouds.
For Mount Fuji, fold the origami into a triangle to make a crease, open it, then make a step fold on the top corner to represent snow.
Fold the remaining edges and corners inward to shape it like Mount Fuji.
For the sun, start with a cushion fold (zabutons), then fold the corners into triangles to round it off.
For the clouds, fold into a triangle to make a crease, then fold the two left edges in along the crease, fold the left corner into a triangle, and form an isosceles triangle.
From there, offset the fold slightly from the crease and fold in half, then fold the corners twice to refine the cloud shape.
If you make them with origami sized to fit your backing paper, you can also use the design for a calendar.
[For Seniors] Recommended Craft Ideas for New Year’s and the New Year (91–100)
Origami Calendar: Maneki-neko (Beckoning Cat)

How about incorporating the maneki-neko, a classic good-luck charm, into your calendar design? In this idea, you’ll use two rectangular sheets of origami paper cut in half to make the cat’s head and body.
Once you’ve made the head and body, glue them together, then use a pen to add the body’s patterns and the facial expression to finish.
It’s said that a maneki-neko raises its right paw to invite wealth and its left paw to invite people, so make yours with whichever paw you prefer.
It’s also recommended to design it together with other New Year’s motifs like kadomatsu or plum blossoms.


