[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 & New Year Crafts for January! A Special Collection of Fun-to-Make Ideas (71–80)
Let’s roll and make a snowman!
Crumpling tissue paper and sticking on stickers is so much fun! How about making a snowman craft that’s perfect for winter? First, have the children crumple white tissue paper into balls in whatever size they like.
You’ll also use tissue paper torn into strips; if that step is tricky, an adult can prepare it in advance.
Put the crumpled tissue paper and the torn strips together into a clear plastic bag, then shape it into an oval.
Tie the middle with a chenille stem (pipe cleaner) to form a snowman shape.
Use round stickers for the face, make a bucket hat from construction paper, and attach it with double-sided tape.
If you want to hang it, punch a hole in the bucket, and thread a string through.
A spinning top you can make and play with!
Let’s make a spinning top for New Year’s games using scrap materials.
First, make cuts at the corners of an empty milk carton and open it out so the sides lie flat.
Then cut the side panels at a point 10 centimeters up from the bottom rim.
Trim the corners to make them rounded.
After decorating the milk carton by drawing pictures or adding stickers, glue a plastic bottle cap at the center on the front, and attach a piece of straw (cut to 5–10 millimeters) to the center on the back.
Your top is now complete—pinch the cap and give it a spin!
Fun for childcare! Indoor winter activities
Let me introduce some winter indoor activities that include crafts.
You can roll up cotton to look like fake snow, or put it into a plastic kiddie pool and play dynamically as if it were a bubble bath.
Use stamps on black construction paper to represent snowflakes, then glue origami penguins on top to create a winter-themed wall display.
A glowing tunnel made by sticking phosphorescent stickers onto cardboard is a space where kids will want to stay forever.
Why not fully enjoy winter indoors while incorporating children’s free ideas along the way?
[Age 3] Perfect Winter and New Year Crafts for January! A Collection of Fun, Hands-On Ideas (81–90)
Fun New Year’s crafts for childcare: how to make them
These are perfect crafts for an auspicious New Year.
The wobbly daruma made with a paper plate uses familiar recycled materials, so even very young children can enjoy making it.
For the eyes, round stickers could work well.
For the kadomatsu made with a milk carton and toilet paper rolls, adjust the lengths of the “bamboo” pieces and use accordion-folded origami to finish the overall look in a balanced way.
It’s also good finger dexterity practice.
For the shimenawa, carefully teach the children the order of bundling and braiding so it has a nice, full volume.
Enjoy making these while experiencing Japanese culture.
Winter craft! Rolling snowman
Snowmen made from toilet paper rolls are round and adorable.
Cut a toilet paper roll in half, then glue colored origami paper on top.
Glue the two prepared roll pieces together to form a snowman shape.
Attach a triangle hat made from construction paper, draw the face with colored pens, and your snowman is complete.
Since cutting the round toilet paper rolls can be difficult for children, it’s a good idea to prepare pre-cut pieces in advance.
On the walls too! Cute winter crafts
When you open it, a cute wall display featuring fir trees and snowmen appears.
Gather washi paper, water-based markers, scissors, water, a brush, and a pencil to get started.
Fold the washi paper in half twice and draw your guide lines.
It’s easier to cut if you follow the guide lines as you cut toward the tip.
Color the fir tree and snowman areas with water-based markers, then blur them with water on your brush and let them dry thoroughly.
Finally, gently open the washi paper, paste it onto construction paper, and you’re done.
Try changing the colors or the expressions to create your own original wall decoration.
Perfect for wall displays! Cute Shishimai (lion dance)
The shishimai (lion dance) has long been cherished as a New Year’s good-luck charm that brings fortune.
The method is simple: cut vertically down the center of a toilet paper tube with scissors, roll it, secure it with a rubber band, and stamp on the shishimai patterns.
Then attach the lion’s eyes, nose, mouth, mane, and ears.
Adjusting the amount of glue while sticking the parts helps children learn how to use glue properly.
Glue the body, face, and legs of the shishimai onto a backing sheet, then finish by pasting torn pieces of origami paper around it.
Using finger stamps or crayons to draw New Year–themed pictures is also recommended to give it a seasonal feel.