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[For Seniors] Perfect for winter events! Easy craft ideas

Here are some simple craft ideas perfect for winter events, especially for seniors!

Winter is full of events, and seasonal motifs are cute—not only is making crafts fun, but displaying them afterward is another thing to look forward to.

We’ve gathered only easy-to-make projects, making them ideal for recreational activities in senior facilities.

There are also options that are simple to make at home.

Be sure to enjoy winter together in a warm room while trying these crafts!

[For Seniors] Perfect for Winter Events! Easy Craft Ideas (71–80)

Felt Fukuwarai

If you make a fukuwarai game out of felt, you can enjoy its soft texture.

Cut out the face base and each facial part like the eyes and mouth, then add expression by layering different felt pieces or using embroidery on the eyes and mouth.

You can also draw directly with a marker pen if you like.

The detailed handiwork will serve as good finger dexterity training.

Once it’s finished, everyone can of course play fukuwarai together, and above all, the soft look is just adorable!

Felt ema (votive plaque)

This project involves attaching decorations—such as zodiac animals and lucky charms made of felt—onto a felt base shaped like an ema plaque.

While ema are typically thought of as flat, using felt for both the base and the decorations creates a soft, three-dimensional effect.

A key point is to finish the decorations with a soft feel by adding stuffing inside or layering pieces when gluing them on.

If making each decoration from scratch is challenging, another recommended approach is to prepare the parts in advance and have participants arrange them to create their own design.

Pine cone wall-hanging decor

When it comes to autumn flowers, cosmos definitely come to mind.

This time, let’s make a wall-hanging interior decoration that recreates cosmos using pine cones.

First, use nippers to cut off the scales of the pine cones.

For safety, it’s recommended to wear gloves.

Have a staff member assist with the hard parts.

Attach each pine-cone piece, decorated with acrylic paint, onto a cutting board available at 100-yen shops.

A cosmos wall-hanging made with autumn materials will instantly fill your entryway or room with an autumn atmosphere.

cardboard ema (votive tablet)

Cut cardboard into the shape of ema (votive plaques), then decorate them with New Year–themed illustrations such as the zodiac animals and with each person’s wishes.

By making use of the cardboard’s natural brown color, you can evoke the soft, wooden feel of real ema.

You can certainly have everyone draw their own design on the front, but if you prepare illustrations in advance and let participants choose from them, they can focus more on thinking about their wishes and writing the text.

Selecting an illustration that perfectly matches each wish is another enjoyable part of the process.

100-yen shop snowman and reindeer

[Easy Christmas Decoration] How to Make a Snowman with a Reindeer on Top - Winter Craft Project, 100-Yen Shop DIY, Activity for Seniors | How to Make a Felt Christmas Ornament
100-yen shop snowman and reindeer

It’s an adorable mascot where a reindeer is peeking out from behind a snowman.

Attach evenly spaced strips of paper, cut into long, thin pieces, around the base of a plastic cup to form the snowman’s round shape.

Then stack two circles and add facial features and other parts to complete the snowman.

The reindeer is a simple design made by cutting and layering parts from construction paper; use the layered paper to create a three-dimensional feel.

Leaving small gaps in the snowman is also an important point—the way light passes through conveys a soft, gentle look.

A Christmas tree you can make with 100-yen shop items

[100-Yen DIY] A Parent-Child Project: Wall-Mounted Christmas Tree
A Christmas tree you can make with 100-yen shop items

This craft involves arranging small tree ornaments to make them look like one large, dazzling tree.

The base of each small tree is simple: just cut a circle from construction paper, add a few slits, and roll it up.

That way, even people who find complex scissor work challenging can enjoy it easily.

Including pom-pom decorations, it’s also recommended to have everyone focus on making their own small tree and then display all the creations together as a single tree.

Encourage participants to think about how to make their own tree stand out among the arranged trees, and bring together a variety of unique styles to create a tree full of individuality.

A life-sized ema made from A4 copy paper

This is an easy-to-make ema (votive plaque) using A4 copier paper that doesn’t even require scissors.

You trim both ends of a rectangle into roof-like shapes, fold it in half, and tuck it in, resulting in smooth finishes on both sides.

You will need small creases as guides for shaping, but to keep the final product looking neat, it’s best to make these guide creases as inconspicuous as possible.

If you insert a piece of cardstock while shaping, it will turn out sturdier and should also make it easier to write your wish.