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[Recreation] Summary of Recommended Origami Ideas for Seniors
Origami is a seated group activity that everyone can enjoy.
Because origami uses your fingertips, it also serves as brain training and can help prevent cognitive decline.
If you don’t fold regularly, it’s easy to forget how to make certain models, isn’t it?
In this article, we’ve gathered seasonal items, animals, plants, and more—from easy folds to more advanced designs.
You can make lots of pieces to decorate the wall, or stick them onto fans and other items to create your own projects.
Why not read this article and try folding together with older adults?
[Recreation] Summary of Origami Ideas Recommended for Seniors (1–10)
Origami Totoro paper balloonNEW!
https://www.tiktok.com/@hoikuno_hondana/video/7501289090969521416Would you like to make a Totoro paper balloon that also looks cute as a decoration? The folding method is the same as the classic paper balloon.
Fold the origami paper into a square twice, then squash the pocketed part into a triangle.
On both sides, fold the two bottom corners up to meet the top corner, then fold the left and right corners toward the center line.
Tuck the two folded corners into the flaps you just made.
Blow air into it to inflate, then attach the ears and facial parts to finish it as Totoro.
Totoro comes in large, medium, and small sizes, so try using different colors and sizes of origami paper.
Origami: a paper balloon that looks realNEW!
Let’s try making a paper balloon using origami.
First, cut the origami paper into a strip, then mark the designated points, draw curves, and cut along them.
This will transform the strip so that only the central part bulges.
Next, make fine slits along the curved edges to create glue tabs, and attach these sections to form a sphere.
Finally, attach a circular mouthpiece, and you’re done.
Paper balloons usually come in classic colors, but with this idea, you can make one in any colors you like!
Rose
This is a cute origami rose that instantly brightens up a room when displayed on the wall.
After creasing the origami paper along the diagonals and in a cross, hold the corners and fold them toward the center to make a triangle.
Fold the edges into a square, then open the whole piece into a square and flip it over.
Stand up the paper so the petals become three-dimensional, and gently twist and gather it to complete a rose from a single sheet of origami paper.
The key is to carefully open the petals without crushing them.
Try making lots in different sizes and colors and decorating your room with them!
box
Let’s make a very handy origami box for holding small items and snacks! Fold it into a triangle to make a crease, then bring all four corners to the center where the creases intersect.
Open it once, fold along the creases on all four sides, flip it over, and add more creases.
Finally, open the top, fold the bottom corner up into a triangle, do the same on the back side, and open the top section—the small square box is complete.
It’s great to place on a table while chatting with friends, perfect for holding little treats or items like stamps used for crafts!
Origami Photo FrameNEW!
Some older adults may have a favorite photograph.
It might be nice to display it in a handmade photo frame.
Take a sheet of origami paper and roll it up from a corner into a tube shape.
Using patterned or printed origami paper is recommended.
Leave the clear file large enough to fit the photo, then cut it to your preferred size.
Glue the tube-shaped origami pieces onto the cut clear file using wood glue.
Older adults may feel deeply moved when they place a cherished photo in a photo frame they made themselves.
Try adding a stand to the frame, or decorating it with paper lace or ribbons.
ginkgo
In autumn, when the mountains are beautifully colored, how about decorating your wall with ginkgo-leaf origami? Fold a yellow sheet of origami paper in half twice into a square, then cut it while imagining the ginkgo’s split and the outline of the leaf.
Take the two separated pieces, accordion-fold each one, tape them together at the base, and fan them out to create a ginkgo with elegant wavy lines.
Add some origami cut into branch shapes with gentle wrinkles, plus little “ginkgo nuts” made by crumpling paper into small balls, and decorate your room.
Decoy boat
Let’s fold a trick boat that forms the same boat shape no matter which way you fold it.
Fold the origami paper in half, then align the left and right edges to that center crease to create three guideline creases.
Rotate the paper and make the same creases, then fold it into a triangle to add diagonal creases as well.
With the front side up, fold all four corners to the center, flip the paper over, and continue folding along the creases you’ve made to shape it into a boat.
Your origami boat is complete.
The key is to firmly set the basic creases before shaping it!