Let's make New Year’s decorations by hand! A collection of ideas you can create with everyday materials.
As the New Year approaches, are you thinking about brightening up your space with handmade New Year’s decorations? Store-bought pieces are lovely, but decorations you craft yourself carry a special warmth and sense of attachment.
In this article, we’ll share easy, DIY New Year’s decoration ideas you can try using familiar materials.
From yarn and felt to origami paper, you can create a wide variety of projects with items that are easy to find.
Try making them with your children, or finish them with your own favorite designs for decorations full of originality.
How about preparing for the New Year with heartfelt, handmade items?
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Let's make New Year decorations by hand! A collection of ideas using familiar materials (1–10)
Ema made with origami
Ema plaques, on which you write your wishes and hang them up, are indispensable for the New Year.
Their festive decorations heighten the excitement for the coming year.
This craft creates an ema that captures the New Year spirit using origami, aiming for both brightness and a three-dimensional feel.
First, cut patterned origami paper into the shape of an ema.
On the back, layer a sheet of construction paper slightly larger than the ema, and on the front, paste a piece of paper in the center where you’ll write your wish.
Finally, add the string piece and decorations to complete the whole piece.
Layering the various parts brings out depth and festivity.
If you choose origami and embellishments with a traditional Japanese feel, the luxurious atmosphere of the ema will really stand out—highly recommended.
Pom-pom Kagami Mochi
This is a cute kagami mochi mascot with a soft look, made by stacking pom-poms.
If you use a fluffy-ball kit, the pom-poms are easy to make, so focus on shaping the size and form neatly.
Gently press the white “mochi” pom-pom into an oval, and keep the orange part as a sphere, stacking and gluing them together.
Finish by attaching a red-and-white cord and a mandarin leaf.
To help it stand upright, it’s also recommended to glue a circle-cut piece of felt to the bottom.
Tissue paper floral shimenawa wreath
A shimenawa wreath that makes the most of the tissue paper’s soft look and feel, giving a sense of splendor and warmth.
Because thinness is a key feature of tissue paper, layer and glue several sheets together for the rope, then roll them around a core such as a piece of tissue to form a cord.
Prepare two of these rolled cords, twist each one, and braid them together to create the shimenawa base.
After that, decorate it with motifs like flowers and fans.
The wide range of possible arrangements—such as the color of the base rope and the balance of the decorations—is another highlight.
origami kagami mochi
This is an origami kagami mochi that’s perfect for New Year’s decorations! Large kagami mochi can take up space, but with origami you can easily display it in a small area.
Fold white origami paper into a square to create a guide, then cut and make several pieces.
Glue the parts together and open them up to form the three-dimensional mochi.
Next, make different sizes, and create both the mochi and the mikan (orange) in the same way.
You can display them as they are, or place a red sheet on a stand and add sakaki leaves made from green paper.
The way of decorating varies by region, so feel free to arrange it to your liking and have fun with it.
Crocheted shimenawa decoration
Charmed by its cute look! Here’s a crochet shimenawa decoration idea.
In this project, you twist yarn to form the shimenawa rope, crochet decorative flowers and leaves, and attach them.
Since it’s made of yarn, the finished decoration has a warm, cozy feel.
It’s also great that you can get all the materials at a 100-yen shop.
By the way, making an amigurumi to display as a set is also recommended.
Just imagine creating a shimenawa featuring your favorite character or animal—it’s exciting, isn’t it?
