[For Seniors] Have Fun with Recreation! Origami Ideas
Origami, which is incorporated into recreational activities at care facilities.
Origami seems familiar to many older adults, as they often folded paper when they were young and it was a common pastime.
Because you can fold while chatting with other seniors, it also helps promote communication!
So this time, we’ll introduce origami that’s perfect for recreation activities for older adults.
Using your fingertips and thinking about what shape it will become when finished also serves as brain training.
Please make good use of these origami ideas in your recreational programs!
- [Recreation] Summary of Recommended Origami Ideas for Seniors
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- Easy origami that delights the elderly. Enjoy a heart-lifting time with seasonal origami.
- Enjoyable for seniors! Easy heart origami
- [For Seniors] Simple Handicrafts Recommended for Finger Exercise
- [For Seniors] Fun Origami That Also Works as Rehabilitation
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- [For Seniors] Simple and Fun: Craft Ideas You Can Make with Everyday Items
- Recommended for seniors! Origami gifts
- [For Seniors] A Collection of Fun Classic Caregiving Activities
- [For Seniors] Fun to Make! Paper Quilling Ideas
- [For Seniors] March Origami: Ideas to Brighten Your Room with Seasonal Flowers and Events
[For Seniors] Have Fun with Recreation! Origami Ideas (121–130)
Wisteria in papercutting
Wisteria trellises swaying in the breeze are so lovely—they truly capture people’s hearts.
Some of you may look forward to visiting wisteria trellises in spring, while others, especially seniors who now find outings difficult, may have fond memories of touring famous wisteria spots.
In this article, we’ll introduce paper-cut wisteria flowers you can enjoy indoors.
That’s the beauty of crafts—you can enjoy them regardless of the weather or your ability to go out! Using blue, purple, and light-purple origami paper, we’ll make small petals.
It helps to draw lines with a pencil before cutting.
Leave the petals unattached without glue on purpose, so they flutter lightly and create a soft, swaying look.
Work together to make plenty of petals and create a beautiful wisteria trellis!
Wisteria flowers made with origami
Here’s an idea for wisteria flowers that will instantly brighten up a room when hung from walls or the ceiling.
Prepare origami paper in purple, light purple, yellow-green, and green, then fold the flowers and leaves.
Make the flowers using origami cut in half.
Fold the paper in half lengthwise, unfold it, and then fold both edges inward along the center crease.
Some of the steps are a bit detailed, but using your hands skillfully can help prevent cognitive decline.
The more wisteria flowers you make, the fuller and more beautiful the result will be, so please have the seniors divide the work and create them together.
Wisteria flowers made with origami or tissue paper
Let’s make wisteria flowers that sway beautifully.
The video uses tissue paper, but you can make them nicely with origami too! For the central stem, cut a strip of purple construction paper.
Prepare three different sizes of origami paper, as shown in the video.
Fold each piece in half, draw a flower shape, and cut along the lines.
Open it, fold it in half again, apply glue, and attach it to the stem.
By alternating and folding back the pieces in order of size, it looks beautiful from any angle.
Try making a vibrant hanging decoration using light purple, magenta, and pink origami paper!
Origami artwork: wisteria flowers
Let’s try making origami wisteria flowers in the style of tsumami-zaiku (pinching craft).
Fold the origami paper in half, then fold again leaving a small gap at the center and glue it in place.
Turn it over, fold in half, and glue the pointed tip side.
Insert a thin, elongated stick into the crease and gently spread it to create volume.
Make many petals using purple or light purple origami and layer them.
Create long, thin sticks, assemble them in a lattice-like structure, and attach the wisteria flowers to finish.
This project helps with hand exercise and rehabilitation, stimulating the brain and potentially aiding in dementia prevention.
How about using it as a recreational activity in a senior care facility?
[For Seniors] Have Fun with Recreation! Origami Ideas (131–140)
Wisteria swaying
How about a hanging wisteria decoration with a realistic, three-dimensional look? Prepare purple, light purple, and yellow-green origami paper, bamboo skewers, and string.
The flowers are made from quarter-size origami sheets, so please cut them in advance.
Fold the colored side in half, then fold in half two more times.
Draw petal shapes with a pencil and cut them out.
Use a bamboo skewer to curl the tips of the petals into a gentle curve.
Make a small stick-shaped piece and attach it to the petals to complete each flower.
Then, adhere the flowers onto a long, narrow strip of yellow-green origami to build up a three-dimensional floral cluster.
Attach a string and hang it by the window—watch it sway softly in the breeze.
Simple wisteria flower
Introducing a wisteria flower made by combining many small flower parts.
Cut a standard sheet of origami paper into quarters and fold it as you would when making a crane.
Once you open and fold both sides only on the surface that will become the front of the flower, the blossom is complete.
Make lots of flowers and leaves and assemble them to create a lovely hanging wisteria decoration.
Because this project requires many parts, it’s perfect for recreational activities in senior care facilities.
Get everyone involved and enjoy making it together!
Paper cutouts of osmanthus flowers
Kinmokusei (fragrant orange osmanthus) is a plant that blooms with orange flowers in autumn and is known as one of Japan’s three great fragrant trees—its scent is very popular.
This project shows how to create a pattern resembling a chain of tiny kinmokusei flowers by cutting folded origami.
Fold the origami into a triangle, mark flower shapes on it, then cut along the marks and unfold to reveal a connected row of kinmokusei.
Since it can look flat on its own, it’s also recommended to layer the pieces, glue them onto a backing sheet, or add decorations like stickers to give it a more three-dimensional look.
