[For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Simple, Recommended Crafts
Here are some recommended winter craft ideas that are perfect for seniors!
Winter brings lots of fun events and occasions, such as Christmas and New Year’s.
You might also think of seasonal foods, games, weather, and the cold.
So this time, we’ve gathered many craft ideas that help seniors feel the winter season.
Why not enjoy some craft activities in a warm indoor setting?
Using your fingers and brain can also provide cognitive training benefits.
If the crafts are practical, you can take them home to use or display and enjoy.
Please make use of these ideas in your daily recreation activities.
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[For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Simple Recommended Crafts (41–50)
A scarf woven from milk cartons
With an empty milk carton and some disposable chopsticks, you can make a knitted scarf.
Cut several chopsticks in half and attach them to the milk carton.
Now you’ve got a simple loom.
You can also use thin black bobby pins instead of chopsticks, but the chopsticks are easier to knit with.
By threading the yarn through the chopsticks in sequence, you can knit, so even young children can make a project.
As the knitting progresses and the scarf grows longer and longer, kids will probably get excited watching it.
When you’re finished, add yarn pom-poms to complete a cute scarf.
[For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Simple Recommended Crafts (51–60)
Stand it up and display it! Santa Claus
Christmas decorations look lovely as wallpaper, but standing them up makes them a joy to look at.
This time, we’ll show you how to make a stand-up Santa Claus decoration! The key point is using straws for the legs.
Wrap copy paper around them to add weight and make it more stable.
The triangle hat with cotton is adorable, too.
The decorative parts involve fine work, so if it’s difficult, provide assistance as you complete it.
The angle at which you attach the head and arms brings out each piece’s personality, making for delightful creations.
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.
Recommended for making and recreation! Demon Bowling
Bowling with cute little oni made from toilet paper rolls is a great craft that doubles as a fun recreation afterward! First, wrap origami paper around the toilet paper rolls.
Glue paper with your favorite pattern on the lower half to make the oni’s clothes.
Next, attach paper horns and yarn for hair.
You can draw the faces with a pen, too.
Make as many as you can and line them up on a table, then start the bowling game.
Roll up some paper, tape it with duct tape to make a ball, and try to knock down lots of oni!
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.
Etegami for Setsubun
One of the charms of brush-and-paint picture postcards is that you can freely combine text and images.
In February, how about drawing Setsubun motifs such as Otafuku, oni (demons), and the beans used for bean-throwing to invite good fortune? For Otafuku, give the cheeks plenty of volume and a cheerful smile; for oni, emphasize the horns and fangs to boost their impact.
If you can, finish by stamping a seal—such as one carved from an eraser—for a signature touch.
Even if you’re not skilled at drawing, that can actually add a charming, rustic feel, so anyone can try it with ease.
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.
