[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 (111–120)
Papercut snowflake
When it’s a bit tough to head out into the cold but you still want to feel winter, try decorating your room with snowflakes! Here’s how to make paper-cut snowflakes using origami paper and scissors.
Prepare origami paper in colors that evoke snowflakes, like white or light blue.
First, fold the paper into a triangle and make a crease near the tip.
Fold both sides toward the center to form a long, narrow triangle.
Next, draw snowflake-like patterns and cut along the lines with scissors.
Finally, unfold the paper and your snowflake is complete! Make lots of them in different sizes and fill your room with snowflakes.
Kimono Rabbit
The kimono-clad rabbit craft looks so fun.
Rabbits wearing kimonos are so cute—just looking at them would make you smile.
It’s great that you can freely change their poses and the direction of their hands.
Because you can make them however you like, it seems like a lively scene with lots of uniquely styled rabbits will come together.
Creating their expressions also sounds enjoyable, depending on your creativity.
Using crayons and stickers to make a one-of-a-kind rabbit is wonderful.
Just imagining everyone working together cheerfully warms my heart.
Daffodils made with a template
How about making daffodil flowers that are at their best in the cold season to enjoy the feeling of the season? First, draw the shape of a daffodil flower on a template and cut it out along the outline.
For the petal-shaped template, attach two pieces of white construction paper, and for the central yellow part, attach yellow construction paper cut to that shape.
Make several small slits around the yellow construction paper in advance.
Then, assemble each part to form the daffodil, and stand up the small slits in the yellow paper to finish the flower! Make the stem and leaves with green construction paper, put everything together, and display it.
Treasure Ship
Making a treasure ship sounds exciting, doesn’t it? It’s easy to craft with origami, so everyone can have fun working on it together.
Using your hands is good for both body and mind.
Displaying the finished treasure ship in your room will double the joy of the New Year! You can place small items on it to create a charming display, too.
When a lovely treasure ship is born from a single sheet of origami paper, I’m sure it will bring lots of smiles.
Building a treasure ship together will make for a wonderful shared memory.
Zodiac ornament
These are simple and cute zodiac ornaments made with craft clay you can get at 100-yen shops and similar stores.
Try making three-dimensional, adorable figurines of the twelve zodiac animals—like the rat, ox, tiger, and rabbit—out of clay.
You can also make parts such as the ears and face with clay or beads, so you’ll end up with a unique creation.
A key tip for working with clay is to knead it thoroughly with your hands at the start.
This helps distribute the moisture evenly throughout the clay.
After shaping, let your pieces air-dry for about 1–2 days to complete your clay zodiac ornaments.
Since clay hardens when exposed to air, wrap any leftover clay in plastic wrap and seal it in a bag to store it.
papier-mâché dog
The doll shaped like a puppy used during a baby’s first shrine visit is called a hariko inu (papier-mâché dog).
Incidentally, the custom of using a hariko inu for this first shrine visit is said to have originated at Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.
The hariko dog is considered very auspicious because puppies grow quickly without falling ill.
If you fold a hariko dog with origami and decorate it using a pen, it turns out quite cute, so why not have everyone—from children to adults—give it a try?
folding fan
The folding fan, which widens toward the end, symbolizes prosperity for the household and success in business.
It’s useful in summer to keep cool, and when displayed open, it’s considered a lucky charm perfect for the New Year.
Let’s try handcrafting such a decorative fan using dengaku skewers! Although the frame might look difficult to make at first glance, it’s surprisingly easy because you assemble it by combining the skewers.
For the paper portion, draw your favorite designs or add decorations.
This is especially recommended for those who are good at calligraphy or painting.
