[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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- Have fun with one-year-olds! A collection of craft ideas featuring recommended January motifs
- [November] Enjoy with 3-year-olds! Craft activity ideas recommended for autumn
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[For 3-year-olds] Perfect January winter & New Year crafts! A collection of fun-to-make ideas (51–60)
How to make a skeleton Mount Fuji
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♬ Stylish cafe-style BGM – Hiro Hattori
How about incorporating Mt.
Fuji—known as a lucky charm—into a January craft idea? This is a translucent “skeleton” Mt.
Fuji that looks sparkly and beautiful when displayed by a window.
First, cut a Mt.
Fuji shape out of the center of a paper plate.
Then, from the back, attach the snowcap made from construction paper, and glue on a clear film covered with blue-toned color film.
Finally, add a ribbon at the top of Mt.
Fuji to finish! It’s recommended to prepare several colors of color film, cut them into small pieces, and layer a few to create the effect.
Let’s make it with cardboard stamps! Cute shishimai (lion dance)
@chooobo2 Shishimai making 🎍#Childcare Crafting#Nursery School Craft# January productionNew Year’s craft
♬ NEW LOOK – MISAMO
If you roll a strip of cardboard into a spiral and dab it in paint, then press it onto paper, it makes the pattern for a shishimai (lion dance) costume! Using that pattern, let’s make a hanging shishimai decoration.
First, take a green sheet of construction paper cut into a rectangle and stamp any pattern you like.
Next, sprinkle on small pieces of gold origami paper to add a festive touch.
Finally, attach a shishimai face made from construction paper to one corner, add a string to the back, and you’re done! A plain backing works fine, but if you stick washi masking tape along the top and bottom, it will look like a hanging scroll and be extra lovely.
A horse made with marble art
@eto2239 No.323 Horse 🐴#MarbleArt#marbleart#art#artwork#fyp
♬ IRIS OUT – Kenshi Yonezu
Art sparks children’s creativity! Kids’ ideas and perspectives can sometimes reveal things adults might overlook or fail to notice.
This time, let’s use marbles, paper, and paint to create a dynamic, free-form horse face.
First, roll marbles dipped in black paint across the paper to make patterns.
Next, color in the areas that look like the horse’s face and mane with colored pens or paint to finish.
It looks like it’ll become a one-of-a-kind, original New Year’s card—no two pieces will be the same.
Challenge in childcare! First calligraphy play
@miraistep.hoikuen New Year – January Crafts#Nursery schoolNursery teacher / Childcare workerSaitama PrefectureSaitama CityMirai StepNew YearFirst calligraphy of the year#Nursery School Craft#Year of the Snake
♫ Original Song – Mirai Step Co., Ltd. – Mirai Step Co., Ltd.
Kakizome is the first calligraphy of the year, in which people write down their New Year’s resolutions and wishes with the hope of improving their handwriting.
Although it’s an event that assumes you can write characters, it’s the New Year—so why not let children from infants to preschoolers enjoy their own style of kakizome? For older preschoolers who are practicing letters in preparation for school, it’s a good idea to write that year’s zodiac animal in hiragana.
For infants, writing characters is a high hurdle, so encourage them to try it as a drawing activity while letting them feel the texture of the brush and washi paper.
[For 3-year-olds] Perfect winter and New Year crafts for January! A special collection of fun, make-and-enjoy ideas (61–70)
Recommended for childcare! January’s shishimai (lion dance) craft
@hoiku.labo [January Wall Decorations] Construction paper shishimai illustration ideas♪ChildcareNursery teacher / Childcare workerKindergarten TeacherChildcare job openingsChildcare Column#NurseryTeacherThings#IWantToConnectWithChildcareWorkers#Nursery School Craft#DaycarePreparationNursery School PracticumChildcare studentAspiring childcare workerChildcare Job LabNursery teacher skillsJob change activities#JobChange#nursery_teacher_job_changeNursery teacher employmentProduction#CraftworkProductiondrawing paper#ConstructionPaperCraftsPoster Board CraftNew Year’s craft#Shishimai
♬ Probably – YOASOBI
Let me introduce an idea for making a shishimai (lion dance) craft, which is said to ward off bad luck when it bites your head.
You’ll use construction paper and crayons, and you’ll cut the shishimai parts out of the paper.
The parts to cut are four: the body, head, ears, mouth, and hair.
Glue the parts onto a base sheet of construction paper to create the shishimai, then draw the face, teeth, body patterns, and feet with crayons.
Once you decorate the blank areas of the base however you like, it’s complete! You can use New Year’s-themed stickers for the decorations, or simply draw with crayons—both are great.
Fun with black construction paper! Making snowmen
https://www.tiktok.com/@hekimen_25/video/7312804209915694354Here’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.
Recommended in January! Make feathers and hagoita (battledores)

Speaking of games famous for the New Year, it has to be the traditional hagoita (battledore) game.
Let’s prepare milk cartons, bottle caps, raffia tape (suzuran tape), construction paper, scissors, and glue, and make one together.
For the paddle part, cut the milk carton into the shape of a hagoita and double it up to increase strength.
If you make the handle even sturdier, it will be easier to use.
For decorations, it’s recommended to cut shapes from construction paper or origami paper.
For the shuttlecock, place two bottle caps together and insert shredded raffia tape between them, then secure it firmly with tape.
Once it’s finished, try playing with your friends and have fun.



