[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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[Age 3] Winter and New Year Crafts Perfect for January! A Collection of Fun, Hands-on Ideas (41–50)
Let’s make it by sticking! Uma-Daruma
Let me introduce a craft idea for a horse daruma with an adorable pose of a horse looking up at you.
First, cut four strip-shaped pieces from red construction paper.
Arrange them in a radial pattern, glue them together at the center, then bring all the ends together and glue to form a sphere.
Attach a horse face made from another piece of construction paper to the top of the sphere, place the sphere on a square base, and glue it down to finish.
I’m presenting it as a horse daruma this time, but you can adapt the idea to match each year’s zodiac animal.
You could also add a piece on the base with the characters for “Welcoming the New Year.”
Moving! Paper Cup Snowman
When January comes, there will surely be regions where snow piles up.
One of the seasonal symbols of snowy weather is the snowman.
So let’s make a snowman craft using a paper cup.
Draw the snowman’s face on the paper cup.
Then make a hole in the cup, insert a straw, and attach a mitten made from construction paper to the end of the straw.
When you move the straw, the hands will flap.
Kids are sure to enjoy a craft with a moving mechanism like this.
Easy! Snowflake Paper Cutouts
When you look at snowflakes up close, they have such delicate shapes, don’t they? Let’s make snowflakes that capture that delicacy using origami paper and aluminum foil.
Fold the origami paper, then make cuts with scissors.
When you unfold it, you’ll have a unique, intricate pattern like a snowflake.
It’s fun how the pattern changes depending on how you cut it.
Let the children cut it however they like.
Once the pattern is made, glue some crumpled aluminum foil to the back of the origami, and you’re done.
The aluminum foil will create the sparkle of a glittering snowflake.
How to make cute Seven Lucky Gods daruma dolls!
Perfect for wall decorations! Let’s make some cute Seven Lucky Daruma.
You’ll need construction paper cut to 6×15 cm and white paper for the face base.
First, create a glue tab along one of the short edges, then fold the construction paper in half to make a crease.
Next, align the crease with the glue tab fold and fold the paper again, then cut slits from the folded side with scissors.
The slit section becomes the body, and the remaining section is the head.
Glue the tab at the boundary between the body and head, draw a face on the white paper, cut it into an oval, and attach it.
Finally, fold in the corners of the construction paper to round them off, and you’re done! Make seven of them inspired by the Seven Lucky Gods and display them.
Daruma’s Mayudama Rolling
A mysterious toy with a marble inside that moves as if it’s alive when you roll it: the Mayudama Roller.
In this idea, it’s made with a daruma motif.
First, cut three strip-shaped pieces measuring 1.5 × 10 cm from red construction paper.
Layer the three strips radially and glue them together at the center.
Gather all the ends, place a marble inside, and glue the ends together to form a sphere.
Then stick on a white round sticker with a face drawn on it to finish.
Try rolling it down a slope and have fun!
Daruma doll made from a toilet paper roll core
The Daruma doll, which gets back up no matter how many times it falls, is displayed at New Year’s to pray for a year of health, safety, and good fortune.
This Daruma, perfect for the New Year, can be easily made from a toilet paper roll.
Cut the roll in half, then trim the four corners with scissors to round the shape.
Cover it with origami paper from the top, and snip the corners to fold them inward as you go.
Make the eyes, mouth, and patterns with origami paper and stick them on—using round stickers is also recommended.
Display your finished Daruma and welcome a wonderful New Year!
Winter oden shop pretend play
On cold days, some families might gather around a pot of oden.
So let’s make oden ingredients that look just like the real thing and have fun playing pretend shop.
By cleverly using materials like yarn, toilet paper rolls, and felt, you can create delicious-looking oden pieces.
The key is to add small touches, such as coloring them to look like the flavors have soaked in, or giving them a soft, fluffy finish.
Kids will likely enjoy dabbing on color with a sponge, too.
Put them in a toy pot, and when you lift the lid, you’ll have oden that looks good enough to eat.
The children are sure to be delighted by pretend play with such realistic oden ingredients.