[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 the New Year (31–40)
Fun to draw! Snow globe
@tensaikids1031 January craft activity for the 1-year-old class ⛄️Genius Kids ClubNursery teacher / Childcare workerNursery teacher / Childcare workerProductionAspiring childcare workerChildcare Ideas
♬ My Binky – Baby Version – HeyKids Nursery Rhymes
This is a recommended craft activity for infants.
They’re making snow globes.
On circles cut from construction paper, children draw spiral circles with crayons and add shiny round stickers to represent the snow globes.
Showing them a real snow globe before starting can help spark their imagination.
Provide crayons and stickers in various colors and let them freely create their own snow globe worlds.
Crafts that use stickers are also perfect for practicing fine motor skills!
Fun with black construction paper! Making snowmen
@hekimen_25 Winter craft: We made snowmen using crayons and paint! ⛄️❄️🎵#Childcare Crafting#Wall CreationNursery teacher / Childcare workerI tried making itSnowman
♬ Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – neozilla
Here’s a craft idea: paint a snowman with white paint on black construction paper, then finish by adding a paper bucket and mittens, plus face stickers.
For the snowman, draw a circular outline and fill it in with paint.
Because it’s surprisingly hard not to paint outside the lines, if infants are doing this activity, it’s better to either prepare pre-painted pieces or have an adult cut a snowman shape from the child’s white-painted paper and glue it onto the background.
If you put double-sided tape on the back of the bucket and mittens, kids can use them like stickers, making them easier for little hands to handle.
Once the snowman is done, use cotton swab stamping to add a snowy landscape in the empty space to complete the project.
Fukuwarai from a one-year-old!
Here are some craft ideas for making Fukuwarai with construction paper.
Just cut out the parts from the paper, glue them together, and draw patterns with a pen to finish.
With a bit of adult help—such as pre-cutting the pieces—even young children can take part.
Put double-sided tape on the facial features and let the kids enjoy sticking them on while playing Fukuwarai.
The classics are Hyottoko and Okame, but a daruma or the zodiac animal of the year also make great motifs.
Enjoy a winter craft session to your heart’s content, with a playful spirit.
A craft spinning top that 1-year-olds can enjoy!
Here’s an idea for making a spinning top that even infants can enjoy.
You’ll need a milk carton, a plastic bottle cap, and round stickers.
First, snip the four corners and open the milk carton into a cross shape.
From the edge of the square base, measure 11 cm and cut all four opened sides at that line.
Next, round off the corners and use a craft knife to make round holes near the top of each side.
Decorate with stickers, then glue a plastic bottle cap to the center, and you’re done! If it’s hard to spin using the cap, try hooking a finger through one of the side holes to spin it.
Easy! Mount Fuji Origami
Let’s make Mount Fuji—the tallest mountain in Japan and considered lucky if it appears in your first dream of the year—using simple steps! All you need is a single sheet of blue origami paper.
There are no complicated steps, and if you focus on making straight, crisp folds, you’ll end up with a beautiful result.
It could be enjoyed not only by preschool classes but also with two-year-olds together with teachers or parents.
Display the finished piece alongside an illustration of the first sunrise of the year to make it even more festive.
[January] Enjoy with 2-year-olds! A collection of craft ideas that feel like winter and the New Year (41–50)
Let’s enjoy New Year’s games!
Let’s set up various stations in the playground so the children can experience New Year’s traditions.
We’ll introduce five activities: rice-cake pounding (mochitsuki), spinning tops (koma), karuta card games, kite flying (takoage), and visiting a shrine to offer prayers.
For mochitsuki, we’ll actually use a mortar and pestle to pound the mochi, while the tops, karuta, kites, and shrine are all handmade.
By making good use of cardboard and milk cartons, you can create remarkably authentic items.
Children can play with the toys you’ve made, or they can take on the challenge of making them themselves.
Enjoy New Year’s experiences suited to the children’s ages.
Let’s make a hat with wax-resist painting!
Let’s enjoy wax-resist painting with winter-themed motifs! First, draw a hat and a pair of mittens on white paper.
Have the children trace the outlines with a white crayon, then let them add any patterns they like.
Since they’ll be drawing white on white, it’s hard to see—but hang in there! Once the patterns are done, paint over everything with watercolor diluted with water.
This will make the patterns drawn with the white crayon appear as if they’re popping out.