[January] Enjoy with 2-year-olds! A collection of craft ideas that capture winter and the New Year
January in early childhood education is a season to enjoy traditional New Year’s games and decorations.
For two-year-olds, creating crafts inspired by Japanese culture—such as kites, daruma dolls, and kagamimochi—turns into an experience full of new discoveries.
Hands-on activities like stamping and collage, which let children freely express themselves through textures, expand their imagination and deepen their interest in seasonal events.
Here, we introduce January craft ideas you can enjoy together with two-year-olds.
Savor the joy of making things together while feeling the spirit of January! Because the children’s creations are treated as works of art, we use the term “seisaku” (artwork/production) in the text.
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[January] Enjoy with 2-year-olds! A collection of craft ideas that capture winter and New Year (71–80)
Salt painting
How about trying sparkling, adorable salt painting? Since it’s a unique craft that uses real salt, it’s sure to capture children’s interest! First, draw a New Year–themed design on construction paper using white craft glue, then sprinkle plenty of salt over it.
Please have the teacher handle this step.
Next, the children can have fun painting with water-diluted watercolor paints.
Finally, let it dry thoroughly, and it’s done.
The salt painting’s dimensional texture gives it great presence, making it a lovely choice for a January wall display.
Kadomatsu made from paper towel/toilet paper cores
Kadomatsu are New Year’s decorations traditionally placed at a home’s gate.
You don’t often see them at private homes, but some children may have seen them displayed in front of shops.
This time, let’s make a kadomatsu using toilet paper rolls.
Cover the roll with green origami paper and cut the tip at an angle.
Make three of these and place them in a box made from a milk carton.
Then, use pipe cleaners and decorative pom-poms to add a festive touch.
Since this craft involves scissors, teachers should handle any steps that are difficult for two-year-olds.
Kagami mochi made with tissue paper
As a New Year’s craft that two-year-olds can enjoy, I recommend making a kagami mochi using tissue paper! It includes steps like tearing and crumpling the tissue paper, which are great for developing children’s fine motor skills.
To make it, glue a card-paper sanpō (offering stand) onto a backing sheet, then roll up strips of tissue paper torn lengthwise and glue them on top of the stand.
Finish by adding a daidai (orange) and decorating it cutely—that’s it! You can also freely decorate the sanpō to make it even more festive.
If you’re looking for a January craft, please use this as a reference.
lion dance
Here’s a cute shishimai (lion dance) craft idea that’s perfect for January wall decorations.
You can also enjoy making stamps using toilet paper rolls, so try it with your two-year-olds! First, cut open a paper roll, curl it, and secure it with a rubber band to make a stamp.
Next, create the shishimai’s body with green construction paper, dip the paper-roll stamp in paint, and add patterns.
Also, make the shishimai’s face by cutting colored construction paper, then combine it with the body to finish! If you’re decorating a wall, tearing gold and silver origami paper and placing it around the piece will give it a festive touch.
Daruma made with torn-paper collage
These daruma dolls made with torn-paper collage are perfect for New Year crafts! First, have a teacher or guardian draw the daruma’s face on a paper plate in advance.
Next, let the children tear origami paper into pieces of suitable size.
Finally, decorate the paper plate in a collage style using the small torn pieces.
It might be a bit challenging, but encourage them to try creating the daruma’s patterns by tearing the origami into thin strips.
Once finished, you can attach a string and hang up the artwork!