Let's make a handmade hagoita! Fun ideas using milk cartons and cardboard
Why not try making your own hagoita (traditional Japanese battledore) for the New Year? In this article, we’ll introduce easy, handmade hagoita ideas that you can try using everyday materials.
By using recycled items like milk cartons, cardboard, or wooden boards from kamaboko fish cakes, you can create a one-of-a-kind original hagoita without spending much on materials.
Try drawing pictures or adding decorations to make pieces that are not only fun to play with but also enjoyable to display.
Enjoy the process of making them while experiencing Japan’s New Year traditions.
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Let’s make a handmade battledore! Fun ideas using milk cartons and cardboard (11–20)
Try making it with the zodiac animals.
It’s a battledore made from a milk carton, with a twist: decorate it as the zodiac animal of the year.
Make parts like ears and tails for mice, cows, rabbits, tigers, etc., from the same milk carton material, attach them around the paddle, and draw in details like the eyes with a permanent marker.
Some zodiac signs, like the dragon or snake, can be hard to represent, but for those, how about turning the milk carton inside out so the white surface faces outward and drawing directly on it? It’s also fun to make it while chatting with your child about the zodiac—“Next year’s zodiac animal is ◯◯, right?” This is a very cute, handmade battledore idea.
Decorate a milk carton
If you have children at home, you probably keep milk cartons on hand for crafts, right? Let’s use those milk cartons to make a hagoita (traditional Japanese paddle).
All you need to do is cut or fold the milk carton into the shape of a paddle, but if you leave it as is, it will bend or crease easily.
If you place a wooden chopstick inside and secure it firmly with duct tape, it becomes sturdier and less likely to fold, turning it into a toy that lasts longer.
Decorate the surface and handle with 100-yen-store masking tape or sparkly wrapping paper, and you’ll end up with a finish that you’d never guess started as a milk carton!
Cardboard hagoita
Among the leftover scrap materials at home, cardboard is one of the most commonly used for crafts.
How about making a battledore (hagoita) using cardboard, a reliable ally for crafting that lets you create everything from small items to large ones? A single sheet of cardboard isn’t sturdy enough, so be sure to cut several pieces in the same paddle shape using the same template and layer them together.
Since playing with battledores requires at least two, right? If you have slightly larger pieces of cardboard, you can make several.
It might be nice to make enough for everyone, then add personal touches by drawing on them or wrapping them with decorative tape.
If adults prepare the bases and let the children decorate their own, even younger kids can join in easily, so it’s highly recommended.
Hagoita art that even small children can make
If you want an easy way to enjoy it with things you already have at home, I recommend a paddle made with paper plates.
We usually think of hagoita as rectangular, but a round paper plate makes it easier to hit the shuttle and is likely more playable for small children.
For the handle, you can use chopsticks or roll up another paper plate—it works either way.
It’s great for playing at home, of course, but it’s also recommended as a craft project for preschools.
Have everyone draw their favorite pictures with crayons or pens to make cute paddles.
If small children will be playing, it’s also a good idea to attach a homemade shuttlecock to the end of the paddle with kite string or similar so it doesn’t get lost.
Try making it using scrap panels and the like.
Expanded polystyrene foam, often used for panels displayed at events.
How about using that scrap material to make a hagoita (Japanese battledore)? Sometimes it feels a little hard to throw away panels from past events because they hold memories, right? If you have foam boxes that were used to chill drinks, those can be repurposed too.
Even if you don’t have scrap material, you can buy panel-sized foam at a 100-yen shop, which works just fine.
Cutting it might be a bit tricky, but because it’s light, you can make a hagoita that’s easy for small children to play with.
Wrap tape around the handle area to make it easier to hold and add some decoration.