[For Day Service Centers] February Craft Ideas: Decorations for Setsubun, Valentine’s Day, and the Feeling of Spring
February is a month when you can feel the arrival of spring even amid the cold.
For crafts at the day service, let’s choose activities that engage the hands while reflecting the changing seasons.
Seasonal crafts may make you look forward to spring and spark lively conversations.
February’s unique motifs—Setsubun ogres and ehomaki rolls, camellias and daffodils that bloom beautifully despite the cold, and Valentine’s heart decorations—are all heartwarming.
Crafts made with familiar materials like origami paper, Yakult containers, and felt are easy for anyone to try and bring great joy when completed.
Shall we enjoy creating warm pieces together that help us forget the winter chill?
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For Day Service Centers: February Craft Ideas—Decorations for Setsubun, Valentine’s Day, and the Feeling of Spring (71–80)
A three-dimensional, curly-haired demon
There’s a type of papercraft where you use a special tool to roll thin strips of paper and shape them into flowers, hearts, and more.
It’s called paper quilling, a handicraft that creates dimensional designs and allows for a wide range of expression.
With this “Curly-Haired Oni” project, you can easily make something similar to paper quilling.
Cut construction paper into long, thin strips for the hair and curl them around your finger.
Then attach the curled strips to the head area of a piece of construction paper cut into an oni (ogre) face shape.
Using your fingers helps stimulate and activate the brain.
Make the facial features by crumpling and shaping origami paper.
Get creative and design the face you like.
If you mount the finished oni face on a backing sheet and display it, it will instantly create a Setsubun atmosphere.
Winter Camellias and Narcissus
Camellias and daffodils are famous as winter flowers, aren’t they? Because they bloom after enduring the cold winter, they seem to possess a mysterious strength.
These camellias and daffodils are also said to symbolize longevity and good fortune.
This time, let’s make these hardy emblematic winter flowers with origami! Since we’ll be cutting and pasting, even those who aren’t confident with fine motor work can relax.
Display them on a wall, in your room, or at the entrance, and it just might bring a sense of good luck.
Their three-dimensional look makes them so realistic you might mistake them for real flowers.
paper-cup ogre
This paper-cup oni craft is highly recommended because the materials are easy to obtain and you can enjoy a variety of expressions.
Attach facial parts made from origami to a paper cup and try creating an oni with expressive faces and horns! It uses fine motor skills, so it can help with finger rehabilitation and stimulate the brain, contributing to dementia prevention.
The finished piece will brighten up your room as a decoration suited to the seasonal turning points.
Moreover, making the crafts together with others can serve as a catalyst for communication.
We hope you’ll share the joy of self-expression through crafting and spend a fulfilling time.
[For Day Service] February Craft Ideas: Decorations that feel like Setsubun, Valentine’s Day, and Spring (81–90)
Heart wreath
You see heart shapes everywhere these days, regardless of any special expression of affection or romance.
But you might spot them even more during the Valentine’s season in February! If you’re confident with your hands, why not try making a heart-shaped wreath using thick paper? It’ll turn out so lovely you’ll wonder, “Is it really okay for me to keep this?” Rolling each strip of card one by one takes quite a bit of time.
You could even make a larger one and display it at a day service center where seniors gather.
Add ribbons and beads to power it up even more.
Cute oni made with chirimen fabric
When February comes around, it’s Setsubun, isn’t it? The time of Setsubun marks a change of seasons, and it’s traditionally believed that illness and disasters are more likely to occur.
That’s why Setsubun has long been celebrated as an event to drive away evil spirits, symbolized by oni (ogres).
This time, let’s make that iconic oni out of chirimen crepe fabric! It’s a cute, round little oni.
The materials you’ll need are Styrofoam balls, chirimen fabric, double-sided tape, and so on.
All you have to do is stick the chirimen fabric onto the Styrofoam, so it’s very easy to make.
Display it in your room or by the entrance to invite good fortune.
Heart gift box
Let’s make a heart-shaped gift box that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day to express your gratitude to someone special.
The process is to shape thinly cut construction paper into a heart, glue it down, and cut it out to complete one side.
It’s important to fold back the side pieces to make them easier to attach, and to make the two hearts different sizes so the lid can close properly.
You can also add originality by choosing the overall colors and how you decorate it.
The demon of accordion folds
In Japan’s old lunar calendar, the year began with Risshun (the first day of spring).
Risshun was considered a very important day, and the day before it—February 3rd, Setsubun—was essentially the equivalent of New Year’s Eve today.
Although Setsubun is a bit different from how it is now, let me introduce a festive ogre (oni) decoration suitable for this seasonal turning point, displayed on a fan.
To capture the fierce look of the oni’s face, the key is to use an accordion fold with origami.
An accordion fold is a method of folding paper by alternating mountain and valley folds like a folding fan.
It allows you to create the oni’s distinctive expression.
Attach the facial parts to the face, and then affix plum blossoms to the fan’s base.
It makes a wonderful piece not only for decorating facility walls but also to take home and display.