[For Seniors] Wall Decorations to Enhance the Tanabata Atmosphere: Ideas Compilation
For craft activities in senior care facilities, we recommend making seasonal projects that let everyone feel the changes of the four seasons.
Among these, wall decorations are especially useful: they help with fine-motor rehabilitation and can also spark deeper communication with those around them.
This time, we’re sharing wall decoration ideas for Tanabata, the major event in July.
We’ve gathered many ideas featuring classic Tanabata motifs such as Hikoboshi and Orihime, bamboo decorations, and the Milky Way.
Use this article as a guide to create lovely wall decorations together with the seniors.
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[For Seniors] Wall Decorations to Enhance the Tanabata Atmosphere: Idea Collection (31–40)
star
When it comes to classic Tanabata decorations, stars are an essential motif.
They’re easy to make with just origami, and because they’re simple, you can try all kinds of ideas—cutting out star templates, folding 3D stars, and more.
It’s also nice that you can manage with things you already have around you.
We also recommend having seniors make stars, stringing them together with thread, and hanging them on the wall as a garland!
shooting star decoration
Let’s make shooting star decorations and have everyone make wishes for Tanabata! Cut star shapes out of construction paper and attach several colors of raffia ribbon to create a shooting star.
If you stick small star-shaped pieces onto the raffia ribbon, it will sparkle even more—highly recommended.
On the paper star itself, write your wishes or draw and paste pictures of Orihime and Hikoboshi to decorate.
You can use the finished piece as a wall decoration, or attach a string and hang it on bamboo.
wastebasket
At first glance, you wouldn’t think it’s a wastebasket; it’s decorated like a net wrapping a crumpled ball of paper.
While a wastebasket might carry a negative image as something that holds trash, as one of the “Seven Decorations” of the Sendai Tanabata Festival, it embodies wishes for cleanliness and frugality.
The process is simple: make slits in origami paper, gently open it up, and spread it to envelop a crumpled paper ball.
How you make the cuts with scissors and the choice of origami paper are key points for training your creativity and adding originality.
lantern
The Tanabata season, when you can feel the beginning of summer, is also when festivals start to pop up.
How about making lanterns—an essential part of summer festivals—and incorporating them into your decorations? You can easily create a lantern by rolling a sheet of construction paper into a cylinder after making a slit down the middle, then shaping it.
Encourage originality through choices like color and top-and-bottom embellishments, so you can nurture not only hand coordination but also creativity.
A row of unique lanterns will lift everyone’s spirits for Tanabata and the summer ahead.
panda
Speaking of Tanabata, it’s customary to decorate bamboo branches with tanzaku slips bearing written wishes.
And when you think of bamboo, it’s the classic food of pandas.
Based on that association, how about incorporating pandas into your Tanabata decorations? They’re beloved across generations, so it’s an easy way to add simple cuteness.
Because this craft is as simple as assembling cut-out parts, the most important thing is arranging the pieces with a good sense of balance.
It could also be fun to depict a scene where a panda, holding bamboo adorned with tanzaku, hesitates to eat it.
[For Seniors] Wall Decorations to Enhance the Tanabata Atmosphere: Idea Collection (41–50)
drawstring pouch
As one of the seven decorations of the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the kinchaku (drawstring pouch) symbolizes wishes for wealth, savings, and business prosperity.
Because it’s strongly associated with being carried when wearing a yukata, it’s an item that evokes the feeling of summer.
How about a decoration using origami with a kinchaku motif? The key point for conveying that it’s a kinchaku is how you create a sense of three-dimensionality through clever creases and embellishments.
If you use patterned origami paper, it should also clearly convey the traditional Japanese aesthetic of the kinchaku.
Since this craft involves making many fine folds, it’s also perfect for finger dexterity practice.
cow
In the Tanabata story of Orihime and Hikoboshi’s long-awaited reunion, an essential element is Hikoboshi’s other name, Kengyū, and the important role of the ox at his side.
There is a tale that the ox willingly sacrifices itself to help Hikoboshi, enabling the two to meet again.
How about expressing your Tanabata wishes with decorations themed around this ox? Using an animal motif makes the idea easy to grasp and adds a cute touch.
If you also decorate with bamboo leaves and other Tanabata-inspired elements around the ox, it will create a romantic atmosphere—highly recommended.