[For Seniors] Liven Up Setsubun Crafts! Handmade Ideas Using a Variety of Materials
As Setsubun approaches, memories of childhood filled with bean-throwing and ogre masks come flooding back.
If you enjoy crafts together with older adults, nostalgic stories will blossom and smiles will naturally appear.
Using familiar materials like paper plates, origami paper, and Yakult containers, why not handcraft Setsubun-themed items such as ogre masks, ehomaki, and bean-throwing cups? With a little creativity, the ways to enjoy it are endless.
Spending time savoring the seasonal tradition while working with your hands will warm everyone’s hearts.
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[For Seniors] Get Excited with Setsubun Crafts! Handmade Ideas Using Various Materials (71–80)
Oni handprint stamp art
Here’s an ogre (oni) version of handprint stamp art! First, paint your hand with acrylic paint or similar and make a handprint.
Once the paint dries, draw in the hair, eyes, mouth, and other features.
If you scribble curly hair around the base of the fingers, the fingers will look like horns, and the shape naturally becomes an oni.
Decorate the background with drawings or stickers, and if you line up everyone’s pieces on the wall, you’ll have a unique exhibition of oni! Even those who find drawing difficult can enjoy this together with simple handprints.
Oni’s Ring
Even an ogre in a villain’s role starts to look a bit cute when you turn it into a ring! Fold a quarter-sized piece of origami paper into a triangle, then fold both ends up to meet at the top.
Fold the corners back diagonally to make a helmet-like shape, and fold the pointed center section downward.
Take the remaining strip of origami paper, fold it into a narrow band, thread it through the back of the ogre, and secure it with double-sided tape to form the ring—done! It’s a good idea to draw the ogre’s face before making it into a ring.
It’s a small craft, so the work is a bit delicate, but slipping something you made yourself onto your finger is sure to feel great! Give it a try during craft time.
Demon-Slaying Bowling Game
“Just throwing beans at the oni is a bit boring.” In that case, let’s turn the oni into bowling pins and make a bowling game! Stick a different colored or patterned piece of origami paper below the center of the main sheet so it looks like the oni is wearing pants, and draw a face in the middle.
Wrap the origami around a paper towel tube (or similar), attach hair parts, and your oni bowling pin is ready! Use a ball made by crumpling newspaper and securing it with tape, and have fun playing.
How about enjoying Setsubun in a slightly different way this year?
Japanese pilchard on holly leaves
Displaying holly and grilled sardines at the entrance is one of the customs for Setsubun.
The holly leaves are said to poke the demons’ eyes, and the smoke from grilling sardines is believed to keep demons away.
It seems the name “holly-sardine” varies by region.
What was it called in your hometown? If you give an elder a holly-sardine made of origami, I’m sure they’ll be delighted.
Holly is easy to make because of its distinctive spiky leaves, and a small fish will do for the sardine.
If you look at an illustration of a holly-sardine, you can picture the finished piece, so first try to find a cute illustration.
Setsubun decorations
This is a wall decoration of an ogre with uniquely curly hair.
Cut construction paper into thin strips and wrap each one around a toothpick to make small spirals.
Apply glue to a piece of construction paper cut into an ogre face shape, then attach the spiraled pieces to create hair that looks like a tight perm! You can draw the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth directly, but using rolled paper for them as well is recommended, since it gives a three-dimensional finish like the hair.
It’s a simple task, but it helps you focus with your hands and can stimulate brain activity!
Mini shikishi decorations for Setsubun from the 100-yen shop
This is a wall decoration themed around the oni (ogres) that appear in Setsubun, a traditional Japanese seasonal event.
Why not make a seasonal decoration using items you can buy at a 100-yen shop? Create the oni’s facial parts from construction paper and attach a soft string to both sides of the assembled face.
Represent the beans using Lezac paper or colored paper, adhere them to mini square boards, then use double-sided tape to add the oni parts as decorations.
Scatter beans and other elements used in oni-chasing scenes across the boards, attach a ribbon at the top, and it’s complete.
Working on these detailed steps also helps train fine motor skills by engaging your fingertips.
Recommended for class activities! Draw your favorite demon
When you think of events in February, Setsubun probably comes to mind.
And when you think of Setsubun, you think of oni (ogres).
How about making unique oni crafts as a recreation activity? Staff can prepare the base parts in advance, such as the oni’s face, horns, and hair.
The rest can be drawn or decorated by the seniors, resulting in oni full of each person’s creativity.
Oni with one or two horns, or even a one-eyed oni—each one uniquely made by the participants.
When these oni are displayed on the facility walls and brighten up the rooms, some seniors may feel the season and grow fond of them.
It’s a project that enhances the Setsubun spirit and brings enjoyment.
