![[For Preschoolers & Kids] Game, Play, and Craft Ideas to Enjoy on Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/_OH5TN-9RVo/maxresdefault.webp)
[For Preschoolers & Kids] Game, Play, and Craft Ideas to Enjoy on Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day)
March 3rd is Hinamatsuri, the Doll Festival.
Some preschools and kindergartens include it as one of their traditional events, and some families may be thinking of celebrating it at home.
We’d love for children to become fond of Hinamatsuri culture while enjoying its festive atmosphere.
So this time, we’re introducing a collection of Hinamatsuri-themed activities, games, and craft ideas that can be enjoyed at preschools and children’s groups.
Every idea is something kids will love.
Adults, please enjoy the traditional festival together with the children as well.
[For childcare and children] Game, play, and craft ideas to enjoy on Hinamatsuri (1–10)
Hand Play: Hinamatsuri • Clap and Open (Musunde Hiraite)
Let’s try playing “Musunde Hiraite,” a hand game familiar to children, arranged in a Hinamatsuri (Doll’s Festival) version! After singing the regular “Musunde Hiraite,” add gestures for the flutes and drums of the five court musicians.
At the end, place your hands on your knees and finish gracefully, just like the Ohinasama dolls! Of course, it could be fun to switch to any instruments you like.
This is recommended for Hinamatsuri events or to play at home, so please give it a try!
Hina Ring Toss
Many daycare centers, kindergartens, and kids’ clubs hold events for Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day).
If you’re looking for an activity, we recommend “Hina Ring Toss”! This game is great because people of all ages can enjoy it.
Line up pins made by wrapping plastic bottles with paper illustrated with Hina dolls, and earn points by tossing rings and landing them on the pins.
You can also add bonus points depending on the type of pin.
As a variation, we recommend decorating a tiered Hina display with the pins you’ve won as the game progresses.
Hinamatsuri coffee filter blot paintingNEW!
Draw on a coffee filter with water-based markers, then float it on water to wet it.
Once the ink has bled, take it out and let the filter dry.
When it’s dry, fold it to make the body of the Hina doll.
Finally, attach the face you made from construction paper, and it’s done! Imagine the filter as a kimono: fold the left and right sides to overlap at the center, then fold the bottom up to the back to finish.
The impression of the bleeding pattern changes depending on which colors of markers you use, so you’ll end up with wonderfully unique creations.
Kamikishibai: Hinamatsuri
If you’re looking for an activity for Hinamatsuri events at daycare centers or kindergartens, kamishibai (paper theater) is highly recommended! It gives children a chance to learn about the origins of Hinamatsuri and offers adults a good opportunity to relearn as well.
While making a kamishibai by hand may take a bit of effort, it can nurture children’s imagination and empathy, so why not actively incorporate it? Kamishibai also facilitates communication between the reader and the audience, so it will get conversations flowing between teachers and children!
Hinamatsuri Musical Chairs
When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with musical chairs! It’s a classic recreation game that’s fun no matter the era.
That said, since it’s the Doll Festival, it’d be nice to tie in some themed ideas—like having everyone wear small, festive costumes, or letting the winner eat hina-arare.
In the end, musical chairs needs music anyway, so the easiest option might be to prepare some Hinamatsuri-style BGM.
Have fun, everyone!
Let’s make Hina dolls with origami
Perfect for making Hina dolls for Hinamatsuri at daycare centers, kindergartens, or at home! These Hina dolls are made with origami.
The folding steps for both the Empress (Ohinasama) and the Emperor (Odairisama) are the same up to a certain point, so they’re easy to make.
With few folds and a simple process, they still end up with a beautiful silhouette.
For the finishing touches, cut another sheet of origami paper to create the Empress’s hair and the Emperor’s crown and add them on.
You can also make a scepter, crown, and fan out of gold origami to create an even more splendid set of Hina dolls—give it a try!
Hinamatsuri Ball-Toss Game
Here’s a Hinamatsuri ball-toss game that’s perfect for Girls’ Day events, using paper cups.
It’s a game where you toss crumpled sheets of construction paper, shaped into balls, into paper-cup versions of the Emperor (Obina) and Empress (Mebina).
The person who gets the most balls into the cups wins.
Create the goals by attaching paper cutouts of the Obina and Mebina to the paper cups.
You can also decorate the cups with origami paper or washi tape to make them look like kimono patterns—very cute! It’s also recommended to enjoy the game while keeping some distance from the Hina dolls.
Hinamatsuri Balance Game
Fun to make and play! Here’s how to create a Hinamatsuri balance game.
First, cut out the hina doll pieces from the downloaded balance game sheet with scissors.
Once you assemble the dolls, glue them together.
It’s also fun to decorate the hina dolls with your favorite origami paper.
Next, cut out the parts on the second sheet.
Assemble the cut-out parts and glue them.
Attach the small round pieces to cover both openings on the ends of a toilet paper tube.
After cutting out the parts on the third sheet, glue them to the side of the paper tube.
Attach the large round piece and the spring piece to the paper tube, and you’re done!
Self-standing Hina dolls
Use half-size origami paper to make the doll’s body.
Place the paper with the white side facing up.
First, fold the bottom edge up to the top, offset slightly from the top edge, and fold in half.
Turn the paper over, tuck the left edge into the crease on the right edge, then flatten it in this position.
Fold the bottom corner to the back and the body is complete.
For the head, prepare 15 cm origami.
With the white side facing up, fold the left and right corners inward to make three equal sections.
Next, turn the paper over and fold the top triangular part down toward you.
Then fold it toward you once more around the center of the paper.
Fold the four corners of this section to the back to refine the outline, cut off the unnecessary part at the bottom, draw the face with a pen, and attach it to the body to finish!
[Craft] Hina dolls made with paper cups
![[Craft] Hina dolls made with paper cups](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eWXcZ_RIHMU/sddefault.jpg)
Here’s a Hina Matsuri craft featuring a very luxurious kimono made from tissue paper.
Prepare two paper cups.
Take one and, starting from the rim side, cut about two-thirds down with scissors, then cut all the way around horizontally to create the base for the faces.
The exact size doesn’t have to be precise.
Draw the faces of the Emperor (Odairi-sama) and Empress (Ohina-sama) on the cut paper cup, and attach parts like the crown and eboshi.
When you’re done, place a new paper cup upside down and layer several sheets of tissue paper on top.
Then place the face you just made on top and press it down into the cup to finish.
For the tissue paper colors, observe real Hina dolls’ kimonos or let the children choose freely.
