[For 3-year-olds] Perfect January Winter & New Year Crafts! A Collection of Fun, Hands-On Ideas
Do you find yourself wondering every year what to make with the children in January’s childcare activities? It can be surprisingly hard to find crafts that three-year-olds will enjoy while taking in New Year’s motifs and the feeling of winter.
In this guide, we’ll share ideas you can enjoy together with three-year-olds—from New Year-perfect projects like paper plate spinning tops, kagami mochi, and shishimai (lion dance), to wintery crafts like fluffy sheep and snowmen.
Activities that use hands and fingertips, such as finger stamping, finger painting, and origami, will spark children’s curiosity.
Some of the things you make can also be played with afterward, so please use these ideas for inspiration! Because the children’s creations are treated as artworks, we use the term “seisaku” (production/artwork) in the text.
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[For 3-year-olds] Perfect winter and New Year crafts for January! A special collection of fun, make-and-enjoy ideas (61–70)
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.
Festive! Cute origami sea bream
Let’s make a lively sea bream that looks ready to swim away any moment! Sea bream are known to live long among fish, so they’re often eaten at celebrations and events as a wish for longevity.
What’s more, because the word “omedetai” (congratulatory) contains the sound “tai,” sea bream are considered lucky and are sometimes displayed for New Year’s as well.
This time, let’s make a sea bream out of origami and start a wonderful year! You’ll need one 15-cm square of red origami paper, one 7.5-cm square, round stickers or eye-shaped cutouts, scissors, glue, and a pen.
Some steps are a bit complex, so take your time and finish it carefully!
Easy and cute! Origami snow rabbit daruma
This is a rabbit snowman made with two sheets of origami paper! First, we’ll make the head: fold the paper twice to make a small triangle.
Then unfold one fold so it’s folded only once, and roll-fold the base of the triangle about 1 cm.
Next, leave a small gap in the center and fold both corners straight up.
These will be the rabbit’s ears, so fold the top corners into small triangles to round them off.
Fold the left, right, and bottom corners inward to tidy the outline, then flip the paper over.
Fold the corner at the base of the ears to the back to finish the head.
For the body, do a cushion fold (zabuton fold), flip the paper over, and do another cushion fold.
Finally, fold the square into a triangle and you’re done! Glue the two parts together and draw the face to finish.
Easy to make! 3 New Year decorations
Here are three New Year decoration ideas: “Shishimai (lion dance),” “Daruma,” and “Ema (votive plaque).” For the shishimai, cut out parts from construction paper, glue them together, and use a toilet paper roll as a stamp to create the body’s pattern.
For the daruma, draw a face on a paper plate and stick torn pieces of red and yellow origami paper around it.
Use yellow for the decorative patterns, tearing it into long, thin strips.
Lastly, for the ema, first cut cardboard into the shape of an ema to make the base, then cover the surface with gold origami paper.
Glue a slightly smaller piece of white construction paper on top, write your wish, and add patterns with stickers or pens to finish it off brightly.
When you want to display them, attach a ribbon or string to each one.
Easy! Long-tailed Tit Origami
Adorably round! The long-tailed tit known as the Shima-enaga, a wild bird native to Hokkaido.
In recent years, we often see goods and items featuring its cute appearance as a motif.
Here’s an idea to make a Shima-enaga using a single sheet of origami paper, plus a pen and glue.
Once you’ve folded the creases, the base is done.
Making the wings and tail seems like something you could enjoy while teaching and learning together with friends or teachers! It could be fun to give it a smiling expression, too.
If you display the finished pieces lined up on a branch, like real Shima-enaga keeping warm together, both kids and adults are sure to feel soothed.
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.