Handmade display ideas for Hinamatsuri (Girls' Day) decorations
Hina dolls are displayed for Hinamatsuri, the Doll Festival, to wish for girls’ healthy growth and well-being.
Some of you may be looking for ideas on how to decorate in a limited space or how to create a photogenic setup.
In this article, we’ve gathered handmade display ideas that we recommend for Hinamatsuri decorations.
We’ll introduce everything from traditionally beloved Japanese-style decorations to arrangements with a modern touch.
Use this as inspiration for handmade displays—combine your favorite small items to design your setup, or enjoy drawing illustrations to accompany it.
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Handmade display ideas for Hinamatsuri (1–10)
Hinamatsuri dolls made with felt
Why not try making Hinamatsuri decorations using felt? Even if you’re not good at sewing, that’s okay.
Since it’s felt, there’s no need to finish the fabric edges—you can simply cut with scissors and glue everything together.
Use felt balls for the faces and bodies as the base.
You can get everything at 100-yen shops, so it’s easy to give it a try.
With a little creativity, you can make all kinds of accessories out of felt, too.
Just the Empress and Emperor dolls are cute on their own, but you can even make a three-tier or five-tier display!
floating candle
As the name suggests, floating candles are candles that float on water.
While traditional Hina Doll displays usually feature bonbori lanterns, candles are also perfect once it gets dark.
Even if you don’t have a tiered Hina display, you can light candles next to small Hina dolls or plush versions, and they’re great for Hinamatsuri parties too.
Since floating candles involve an open flame, be cautious in homes with small children or pets—use them in places out of reach for safety.
Socks-made rabbit Hina dolls
Have you heard that making stuffed animals and dolls out of socks is becoming a hot topic? I’ve seen people on social media buying socks that look useful from 100-yen shops and making all kinds of stuffed toys.
Here’s an idea: why not make sock dolls as decorations for Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day)? Using socks, you can craft the Emperor and Empress dolls, as well as cute bunny plushies.
You can also make a stand out of an empty box and display them.
Since you can make two figures from one pair of socks, you’ll want to try making more than just the Hinamatsuri set!
Handmade display ideas for Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day) decorations (11–20)
Hina dolls made with origami
Let’s make Hina dolls using a classic recreational item: origami.
Compared to the ones children make in kindergarten or daycare, how about trying a slightly more advanced, adult-oriented origami method to create three-dimensional, free-standing Hina dolls? For the paper, choose washi patterns like chiyogami to evoke the glittering kimonos of the Empress (Ohinasama) and the Emperor (Odairisama).
There are many folds and some fine work involved, but even if you’re not confident with origami, you’ll be fine if you take your time and follow along carefully with a video or similar guide.
Hinamatsuri garland
Here’s a handmade garland idea for Hinamatsuri that will instantly brighten up your walls.
Garlands were originally made by weaving flowers, leaves, and plants into long, net-like strands to decorate windows and walls, but the concept has since been adapted as an interior decor item using more than just plants.
How about making hina dolls out of felt, or crafting letters and peach blossoms associated with Hinamatsuri from colored paper and displaying them? If you’re decorating for a child’s celebration—the Peach Festival—you could also include your child’s name.
Hina decoration DIY
How about DIY-ing some Hinamatsuri decorations using ready-made items like lumber, photo frames, and jute twine? Store-bought items often have those little “if only it were like this” drawbacks—but DIY solves that! The beauty of DIY is being able to make things just the way you like.
You can match your decorations to your room’s vibe and size, and if you want a bit more ornamentation, you can add it.
Starting from scratch can be tough, but combining items from 100-yen shops and the like makes DIY easy and accessible.
Perler beads
Why not make and display some cute, pixel-art-style hina dolls? These hina dolls are made from Perler beads, which kids love.
You arrange the beads to form a pattern, then press an iron on top to melt and fuse them together—remember those? You can make the hina dolls, the imperial couple, the three court ladies, as well as diamond-shaped rice cakes and lanterns with Perler beads.
Thread them onto a string to create a garland or hanging decoration for an adorable display.