Fun January Crafts! A Collection of Ideas You Can Make and Play With for 5-Year-Olds

A plump, cute long-tailed tit (Shima-enaga)

Origami: How to fold a plump long-tailed tit

Let’s make a cute long-tailed tit (shima-enaga) from Hokkaido with origami.

You’ll need 7.5 cm square origami paper, round stickers, a black pen, two strips cut lengthwise from a 15 cm square sheet of brown origami paper (each 1/4 the width), scissors, glue, and so on.

The step for folding the long-tailed tit’s wings is a bit complex, so children will likely feel more comfortable working carefully together with a teacher or guardian.

The finished long-tailed tit can stand on its own, so it looks adorable as is, but if you make a branch out of the brown origami and combine them, you can bring out even more charm.

Let’s roll and make a snowman!

[January - Craft Activity] Crumple-and-Tear 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.

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A spinning top you can make and play with!

[Preschool Teacher] Easy New Year’s Activities You Can Make and Play! How to Make Spinning Tops and Kites ✨ [Daycare & Kindergarten]

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!

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Fun New Year’s crafts for childcare: how to make them

[Production] How to Make New Year’s Crafts [Nursery School/Kindergarten]

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.

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Winter craft! Rolling snowman

[Preschool Craft] Winter Craft ♪ Cute Rolling Snowman | Snowman with Toilet Paper

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.

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Also great for walls! Paper plate spinning top

[Childcare Craft] Perfect for New Year's wall decorations! Spinning tops made from paper plates | Frames made from paper plates

Let’s make a festive spinning top that you’ll want to display on the wall.

First, cut a paper plate in half.

Then, attach a strip of construction paper along the straight edge of the plate and decorate it with round stickers on top.

Use crayons to draw patterns for the top on the remaining white part of the plate.

Finally, attach the axle piece made from construction paper to the back of the plate, and you’re done.

Spinning tops are a New Year’s classic, and even little ones might look at this wall display—or watch older kids playing with tops—and feel inspired to try it themselves.

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Great for walls too! Recommended origami for January

[New Year/January] Origami instructions you can also use for wall displays [Daycare/Kindergarten]

Let’s make New Year–themed items using washi-patterned origami and chiyogami.

The video features hagoita paddles, spinning tops (koma), kagami mochi, daruma dolls, and shuttlecocks (hane).

The ideas are full of exciting touches for kids—like customizing the daruma’s face to match the zodiac animal or freely choosing origami colors for the shuttlecocks.

When decorating indoors, you can get creative by mounting them on construction paper or stringing them together like a garland!