[January Crafts] Fun DIY Ideas for Kids: Perfect for Use in Childcare
January, when we welcome the New Year, is a perfect time for children to experience traditional Japanese culture.
New Year–themed crafts—like origami hair ornaments, kagami mochi made with shaving foam, and hagoita paddles made from milk cartons—spark kids’ creativity.
Many ideas can be played with after making them, and through the process, children can also learn the meanings of auspicious items.
Why not use familiar materials to create festive, New Year-style pieces? Here, we introduce January craft ideas that nursery and kindergarteners, elementary school students, and even adults can enjoy.
Bring in these fun January projects to celebrate the start of the New Year!
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- Have fun with one-year-olds! A collection of craft ideas featuring recommended January motifs
- Ideas for Childcare Quizzes to Enjoy in January
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- Origami to Enjoy January and Winter! A Collection of Simple Ideas to Use in Childcare
- For 4-Year-Olds: January Crafts! A Collection of Fun Ideas with Winter and New Year Themes
- [For toddlers] Simple but amazing craft ideas — including toys they can play with
- [Nursery/Kindergarten] New Year Craft Ideas: A Collection of Projects You Can Enjoy Even After Making Them
- [January Childcare] Traditional New Year’s Games! A Collection of Ideas to Enjoy with Children
- [Nursery/Kindergarten] Crafts you can play with after making them
- Fun crafts using straws
[January Crafts] For Kids! A Collection of Fun Handmade Ideas Useful in Childcare (11–20)
Recommended for childcare! January’s shishimai (lion dance) craft
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♬ 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.
Easy and cute! Origami snow rabbit daruma
This is a rabbit snowman made with two sheets of origami paper! First, we’ll make the head: fold the paper twice to make a small triangle.
Then unfold one fold so it’s folded only once, and roll-fold the base of the triangle about 1 cm.
Next, leave a small gap in the center and fold both corners straight up.
These will be the rabbit’s ears, so fold the top corners into small triangles to round them off.
Fold the left, right, and bottom corners inward to tidy the outline, then flip the paper over.
Fold the corner at the base of the ears to the back to finish the head.
For the body, do a cushion fold (zabuton fold), flip the paper over, and do another cushion fold.
Finally, fold the square into a triangle and you’re done! Glue the two parts together and draw the face to finish.
Winter craft! Rolling snowman
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.
On the walls too! Cute winter crafts
When you open it, a cute wall display featuring fir trees and snowmen appears.
Gather washi paper, water-based markers, scissors, water, a brush, and a pencil to get started.
Fold the washi paper in half twice and draw your guide lines.
It’s easier to cut if you follow the guide lines as you cut toward the tip.
Color the fir tree and snowman areas with water-based markers, then blur them with water on your brush and let them dry thoroughly.
Finally, gently open the washi paper, paste it onto construction paper, and you’re done.
Try changing the colors or the expressions to create your own original wall decoration.
Fluffy giant kagami mochi!
Let’s brighten up your January wall display with a fluffy kagami mochi! You’ll make a kagami mochi, mandarin orange, sanpō tray, urajiro fern, shihōbeni (red-bordered paper), gohei (ceremonial paper), and a ribbon.
For the kagami mochi, stack several sheets of flower paper, accordion-fold them, tie the center with string, then fluff out each sheet one by one.
For the other parts, cut the shapes from colored construction paper or kraft paper and glue them together.
For the sanpō, it’s recommended to crumple the kraft paper once to add wrinkles for texture.
Along with the kagami mochi, adding origami flowers and the zodiac animal will make your wall display even more charming!