For 4-Year-Olds: January Crafts! A Collection of Fun Ideas with Winter and New Year Themes
When it comes to crafts for four-year-olds in January, it’s all about New Year’s and winter-themed motifs! So this time, we’re sharing craft ideas perfect for the season.
From paper-cutting with scissors and a three-dimensional kagami mochi made with whipped paint, to a shishimai (lion dance) you can make and play with, these projects are full of elements that spark children’s curiosity.
As they use their hands and engage with seasonal events, their interest in Japan’s traditional culture will naturally grow as well.
Children also feel a special attachment to creations they’ve made themselves.
Be sure to incorporate these into your childcare activities! Because the children’s creations are treated as works, the term “制作” (seisaku, creation/production) is used in the text.
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- [Nursery/Kindergarten] New Year Craft Ideas: A Collection of Projects You Can Enjoy Even After Making Them
- Craft activity ideas for 4-year-olds
- Origami to Enjoy January and Winter! A Collection of Simple Ideas to Use in Childcare
- Perfect for January bulletin boards! A collection of Daruma craft ideas kids will love in childcare settings
- [Childcare] Ideas for January wall decorations
- Have fun with one-year-olds! A collection of craft ideas featuring recommended January motifs
- [January Crafts] Fun DIY Ideas for Kids: Perfect for Use in Childcare
- [For Age 4] Must-Read in January! Picture Books to Enjoy Winter
- Brighten up your winter daycare room! A collection of recommended wall decoration ideas
- [Nursery/Kindergarten] New Year’s wall decorations! A collection of craft ideas to enjoy with children
- From New Year’s games to winter crafts! A roundup of January recreation activities to enjoy in childcare
- Ideas for Winter-Themed Crafts and Bulletin Board Projects for 5-Year-Olds
[Age 4] January Crafts! A collection of fun winter and New Year–themed ideas (101–110)
Great for New Year’s cards too! Easy-to-use stamps

This is a New Year’s card featuring Mount Fuji made with construction paper and stamping.
It’s an easy project that kids can enjoy.
First, cut out the base of Mount Fuji from blue construction paper.
Cut it to postcard size, imagining a trapezoid shape.
Once cut, dab white paint onto a sponge dauber and stamp the upper area.
This creates the look of snow-capped Mount Fuji.
After the paint dries, glue it onto the postcard and draw the sun in the blank space to represent the first sunrise of the year.
Finally, write the year in Western numerals, and you’re done!
For New Year’s cards! Cushion sheet printmaking

Here’s an easy way to make beautiful New Year’s postcards using cushion foam sheets.
First, take an A4-size clear file, cut off the edge, then cut it in half twice down the middle.
Trim the pieces into postcard shapes.
Next, cut the cushion foam sheet into zodiac shapes, letters, etc., and sketch your design on the backing paper with a permanent marker.
After sticking on the cushion foam pieces, color them with a water-based pen.
Dampen the postcard with a cloth, stamp it, and you’re done! You can usually stamp about three in a row.
Because cushion foam sheets can be repositioned, give it a try!
Kagami mochi made with origami

Kagami mochi, which are offered as yorishiro (vessels for the visiting Toshigami deity) during New Year’s, make a perfect design for New Year’s cards.
This time, let’s make kagami mochi using origami.
We’ll create two parts: the sanpō (the stand) and the kagami mochi itself.
Since each is made from a different sheet, please prepare two pieces of origami paper.
Because we also want to represent the mandarin orange on top, have an orange sheet ready.
The folding process includes steps like accordion folds and opening and flattening after creasing.
With only a few steps, it’s an easy, fun challenge for kids.
Be sure to make it and use it as part of your New Year’s card design!
Let’s make postcards with vegetable stamps!

There are parts of vegetables that we cut off and don’t use in cooking, right? Let’s try turning those usually discarded parts into stamps and make New Year’s cards! You can use any vegetables you like—onions, green peppers, carrots, lotus root, spinach, and so on.
Prepare several vegetable stamps with different shapes.
Once you’ve got your veggies ready, dip them in paint or ink and start stamping.
They might look like flowers or animal faces—your imagination will surely expand.
Try expressing the design side of the postcard with your stamped artwork.
Daruma-chan art with a brush pen
https://www.tiktok.com/@asamin_fude/video/7315727436308663553The appeal of brush pens is, after all, that with a single pen you can create both thick and thin lines and end up with lettering full of character.
They’re tricky to handle until you get used to them, but once you can use them, they’re very handy tools that work in all sorts of situations.
In this idea, the “0” in the year is depicted as a daruma doll.
The daruma’s pattern is done with a colored brush pen, and a finer pen is used for the face.
It’s simple yet results in a highly designed illustration, so feel free to try copying it and drawing your own.



