[For Seniors] January Craft Ideas: Boost Your Luck with New Year Decorations and Good-Luck Charms
January marks the beginning of a new year.
If you want to give your room a seasonal touch, why not try some hands-on crafts? Create and enjoy pieces unique to January—such as pine decorations symbolizing longevity, camellias that shine in winter scenery, or festive cranes for the New Year.
Using familiar materials like construction paper, tissue paper, and origami, there’s a special joy in watching seasonal works take shape.
Shape with your fingers, choose colors, and get creative with embellishments—these moments will ease your mind and bring a smile.
How about enjoying a relaxed crafting time while sharing your New Year’s resolutions?
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For Seniors: January Craft Ideas. Boost Your Luck with New Year Decorations and Good-Luck Charms (71–80)
Fukuwarai wall decoration of a rabbit daruma
Would you like to make a rabbit daruma decoration—an arrangement perfect for New Year’s that adds a cute twist to the traditional daruma and brightens up your wall décor? Use the template downloadable from YouTube to cut out each part.
For round pieces like the eyes, a circle punch is handy.
Once everything is cut out, glue the parts in place while referring to the template.
The expression will change depending on where you position the pieces, which is part of the fun.
Give it a try!
amulet
Many families go to their first shrine visit of the New Year (hatsumode) and receive protective charms (omamori).
However, some people can’t go for various reasons.
For those people, we recommend DIY omamori craft ideas.
If you search for how to make omamori, you’ll find many methods: making them with origami, using chirimen crepe fabric, or even no-sew options.
Why not try whichever method seems easiest for you? These days, you can even find chirimen fabric with adhesive backing at 100-yen shops, so be sure to make use of that as well.
New Year’s shimenawa wreath
Let’s make a festive shimenawa, an essential New Year’s decoration, using easy-to-find materials.
Crumple up some newspaper, twist it into a coil, and shape it into a circle to use as the base.
Wrap the base with crepe paper and glue it in place, then attach lucky-looking parts you’ve made separately—such as a fan and camellia flowers—to finish.
Because the steps are simple, it’s a craft that lets you come up with your own design, from the colors you choose to the decorations you include.
New Year’s origami
Let’s try folding a daruma doll using a single sheet of origami paper! The steps are simple, but you’ll end up with a cute daruma.
Once it’s done, draw the face with a pen or use round stickers—try different expressions and enjoy customizing it! Origami is said to stimulate and activate the brain by using your fingertips and thinking through the next steps.
It’s also easy to do while chatting with others, which helps spark social interaction.
Please make use of origami daruma to create a delightful time for older adults.
Shimenawa wreath decoration
Let’s use paper cord from the 100-yen shop to make a shimenawa wreath decoration! Unlike store-bought items, it will have a handmade feel that you’ll grow attached to.
Spread out the paper cords to form a bundle and twist it clockwise, then twist that bundle counterclockwise.
Next, prepare another length twisted clockwise and wrap it around the first bundle.
Finally, shape it into a wreath and you’re done! Add plum blossoms, mizuhiki cords, folding fans, and more to create a wreath brimming with originality.
Tatsu-daruma
Let’s make a dragon daruma inspired by the zodiac animal of 2024, the dragon.
It features a dragon with a rounded, daruma-like shape.
Dragons have long been cherished as legendary creatures.
And you can easily craft this dignified dragon with origami! All you need are things like origami paper, glue, a pen, and stickers—simple supplies you likely already have at home.
Draw the character for “good fortune” on the dragon’s belly to invite luck.
Since it’s three-dimensional, it also makes a great decorative piece for your room.
Fluffy snow rabbit wall decoration
When it snows, you can’t help wanting to make a snow rabbit.
A snow rabbit is also a great motif for winter crafts! Try creating a soft, three-dimensional snow rabbit using tissues.
Crumple a few tissues to form the base of the snow rabbit, then wrap it with one more sheet to give it a fluffy look.
Add red round stickers for the eyes, cut out ears from origami paper and attach them, and it’s done! When displaying it on a wall, you might combine it with construction paper cut into a tray-like shape for the background, or decorate it with plum or camellia flowers and snowflakes for a lovely finish.