[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, hands-on ideas (111–120)
Snowman made with tissue paper
A tissue-paper snowman that captures a fluffy look.
It’s a great idea for scenes where kids and adults work together to create something.
Fold the four corners of a tissue, tape them down, then fold it further to make it round; make two of these pieces.
Tear up tissues and stick them onto a backing sheet to show accumulated snow, then attach the two round parts you made earlier.
Use finely torn tissue to depict falling snow, and make a scarf from a long, thin strip of tissue.
Finally, use colored pens to draw the snowman’s face, scarf pattern, hat, and other details to finish.
[For 3-year-olds] Winter and New Year crafts perfect for January! A collection of fun, make-and-enjoy ideas (121–130)
Penguin footprint art
Turn your child’s feet into penguins! Here’s a footprint art project perfect for 3-year-olds.
You’ll need construction paper, origami paper, white paint, round stickers, and glue.
First, make footprints using paint.
Use plenty of paint and just a little water—that’s the key.
Stamp both feet firmly so the whole foot shows.
Once dry, cut the footprints into penguin shapes.
On a sheet of construction paper for the background, have the kids tear origami paper and glue it down to look like ice.
Finally, add the penguins’ eyes, flippers, and feet using round stickers or cutouts—and you’re done! Using origami paper for your own original decorations is also recommended.
Zodiac Daruma
Daruma dolls with zodiac motifs inspired by the lucky daruma figurines.
Let’s make a perfect New Year’s item that you can create just by cutting and pasting construction paper.
After cutting out the zodiac animal shapes, paste them onto the daruma-shaped construction paper.
Finally, draw the faces of the animal and the daruma, add lettering, and you’re done.
If cutting is difficult, it’s a good idea to prepare the parts in advance.
Decorate with New Year’s illustrations and words, and it will also work great as a wall decoration to brighten up your room.
Handprint gloves
An item where you make colorful handprint mittens using construction paper and tissue paper.
Fold the construction paper in half, open it once, place your hand on it, and cut along the pencil outline.
Cut or tear the tissue paper into any shapes you like and glue them onto the construction paper.
Finally, fold the paper back up and draw the string connecting the mittens to finish.
Kids can enjoy preserving their handprints and the process of tearing and pasting paper.
It’s also fun to decorate around the mittens with snowmen or falling snow.
three-dimensional snowman
How about making a snowman using a plain white plastic bag with handles that you can find at supermarkets? First, put cotton inside the plastic bag and tie the opening.
After tying it, tie around the middle with yarn or similar to shape it like a snowman.
Attach the eyes and nose.
From the sides, stick in cotton swabs colored at the tips to make the hands.
Hide the knot of the plastic bag with a paper cup as a hat, and it’s done.
It would look cute and seasonal displayed by the entrance around this time of year.
Give it a try!
Paper cup kendama
This is a kendama made with paper cups, inspired by the traditional Japanese toy enjoyed in many settings.
After drawing patterns on two paper cups, attach twine to the back (inside) of the cups.
Align the bottoms of the cups and secure them with colored tape.
Roll aluminum foil into a ball, wrap it with tape, and attach it to the end of the twine to finish.
Prepare crayons or paints and let the children draw freely.
It’s an item you can enjoy playing with together as a family or with friends even after making it.
Spinning top made from a paper plate
This is a wall decoration inspired by spinning tops, a classic item for New Year’s play.
Fold a paper plate in half, open it again, and cut along the crease.
Attach a rectangular sheet of construction paper to the plate, then decorate with stickers and crayons.
Finally, glue a strip of construction paper vertically to the back of the plate to finish.
The key point is that kids can have fun freely sticking on stickers and drawing their own illustrations.
It’s enjoyable as play and also serves as an activity that moves the fingers and helps develop thinking skills.