[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 (51–60)
Otafuku mask
Beauty ideals change with the times.
The so-called beauties of the Heian period were a bit different from what we consider beautiful today—the standard was said to be people with plump cheeks. The image is like the “Otafuku” face, right? Written in kanji, Otafuku can also be “お多福,” and it’s an essential mask for Setsubun, the festival that invites good fortune.
Some people make it using colored paper in an origami or papercraft style.
Others go all out and make it with papier-mâché.
There are plenty of videos that carefully explain how to make one, so use various tutorials as references and create an extra-special Otafuku mask.
If you wear it as a surprise, it will surely bring smiles to the faces of older adults.
den-den daiko (Japanese pellet drum)
This is an ogre-themed version of a den-den daiko (a hand drum toy you shake)! First, cut out the parts like the ogre’s face, hair, and horns.
Glue the round face piece onto thick paper, cut along the outline, then attach the other parts and draw the face details.
Secure a chopstick firmly to the back with tape, and make holes on both sides of the face.
Thread strings with crumpled aluminum foil balls through the holes and tie them, and it’s done! Since it’s just paper and aluminum foil, it won’t make sound, but the way the ogre’s face spins around is surprisingly cute—you might find yourself wanting to keep shaking it!
horn headband
Get into the Setsubun spirit with a demon-themed headband! Prepare two strips of thick paper—such as construction paper or cardboard from an empty tissue box—each 30 cm long and 2 cm wide.
Glue the two strips together, then curve them into a rounded shape, clip with clothespins, and leave them for a day to set.
Once it holds a headband shape, cover it with black paper and attach the horn pieces to finish.
Swap the horns for a hat or animal ears, and you can adapt it for all kinds of events!
An ogre ornament made from a paper tube core
The cardboard tubes from toilet paper rolls are something you’ll find in any household.
We tend to throw them away, but they actually have some unexpected uses.
So here’s an idea: a little oni (demon) figurine made from a tube.
First, cut a piece of thick paper to the same diameter as the tube to make a lid.
Then treat the whole tube as the oni’s body: create horns and hair for the top, and add facial features below using yarn and felt.
Finally, wrap yarn around the lower part of the tube to make pants, and you’re done.
[For Seniors] Get Excited with Setsubun Crafts! Handmade Ideas Using Various Materials (61–70)
Handmade pachinko oni-slaying game
Defeat the ogre with a handmade slingshot made from chopsticks and rubber bands! Cross the colored chopsticks and secure them with rubber bands.
Next, thread a rubber band through a small, hole-punched piece cut from a milk carton and connect it to the chopsticks to complete the slingshot part.
For the target, make an ogre using a toilet paper roll.
Even after Setsubun, you can swap out the target and enjoy the game year-round.
Since you can’t predict where the ball will fly, be sure to use safe, soft projectiles like kneaded erasers or ping-pong balls!
plum blossoms
This is a cute hanging plum blossom papercraft.
Cut two colors of construction paper into 2 cm-wide strips, layer the shorter one on top, roll them into a petal shape, and staple.
Make five identical pieces, glue them together so the centers align, and finish by attaching a small circle of paper in the middle.
Another recommended method is to cut construction paper into plum blossom shapes, add slits to create curvature, and make it look three-dimensional.
Hang them in your room to get an early taste of spring.
Ehomaki made of paper
Speaking of Setsubun, it’s all about ehomaki! Making real ones can be difficult due to hygiene concerns, but paper ehomaki are great fun to make as a recreational activity.
Cut yellow, green, red, and other origami papers (for the fillings) in half, and roll each one so it gets crinkled.
Do the same with a sheet of kitchen paper to represent the vinegared rice.
Open one piece of the filling origami, roll it up tightly, and tape the edge to secure it.
Then open the kitchen paper, wrap it around the rolled fillings, and finally roll everything with black paper to look like seaweed—done!