[January Crafts] Fun DIY Ideas for Kids: Perfect for Use in Childcare

Perfect for New Year! Cute origami osechi

[Origami] Osechi: How to make simple and cute New Year’s origami crafts — Winter origami, January origami, an easy folding method that even kids can do [Origami]

Let’s make osechi ryori—New Year’s dishes that taste great when everyone eats together—using origami.

Using black origami paper, make four folded box parts for the outer box and glue them together in a box shape.

Attach them while checking the balance.

Next, make four inner boxes.

Once you set the inner boxes into the outer box, the base is complete.

For the contents, fold shrimp, nori (seaweed), kamaboko (fish cake), kelp rolls, and kampyo (dried gourd strips), making firm creases as you go.

Before you start, reading a picture book about the New Year to learn about its origins and meanings will help you enjoy making them even more.

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Daruma-otoshi with a bottle cap

No.091 “Cap de Daruma-Otoshi” [Handmade Toy by a Nursery Teacher]

Here’s a handmade daruma-otoshi idea that cleverly uses plastic bottle caps.

If you have lots of caps at home, give it a try and have fun playing with it.

For the basic method, make a hole in the center of a plastic bottle cap, thread a string through, shape it into a circle, and tie it to create the daruma.

Make four in different sizes, and on the front and back of each circular cap piece, glue thick paper covered with construction paper in the same color as the cap.

You can also make the mallet using a pair of disposable chopsticks and a bottle cap, but since a utility knife is required, an adult should handle that part.

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New Year’s fun with traditional games! A milk carton bamboo-copter (taketombo)

[Handmade Toys] Let’s enjoy New Year’s with traditional games 🎍 Let’s make an easy bamboo-copter (taketombo) using a milk carton ^_^

A bamboo-copter is tricky to fly at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s lots of fun.

Here’s an idea for making one using a milk carton and a straw.

First, cut out one side of the milk carton, then cut it into a strip that’s about one-third the width.

Next, fold the strip in half, and about 5 mm from the valley fold, make mountain folds on both sides.

This completes the wing.

Then, cut a slit into one end of the straw and attach it to the wing as a handle.

If you color the white side of the milk carton with markers, it will look pretty when you fly it.

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Make it with origami! A New Year’s mini wreath

[Origami] New Year Mini Wreath – Festive Japanese New Year Decoration

Let’s make a New Year’s wreath that’s perfect for decorating at the start of the year.

Prepare 16 sheets of origami paper: four different patterns or colors, four sheets of each.

Fold each sheet into a square twice, then unfold to create crease lines and shape the parts.

When folding a triangle in half, make sure both sides are even.

Hold the piece so that the overlapping section is on top, and assemble by inserting both the front and back of one piece into the pocket of another.

Repeat to make 16 parts in total.

It may be easier to connect them in sets of four first, and then form the entire wreath at the end.

Attach a string and hang it indoors to enjoy the New Year’s decoration.

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paper-clay kagami mochi

New Year’s Craft: Easy-to-make Kagami Mochi for preschoolers aged 3–4

Let’s make a handmade kagami mochi that brings warmth and a sense of the season—perfect for New Year’s decor.

Prepare clay, a clay board, paints, brushes, and a clay spatula.

Divide the clay into three equal parts and designate them as large, medium, and small.

For the mandarin orange part and the leaf part, knead the appropriate paint colors into the clay.

Shape the large and medium portions into the two tiers of the kagami mochi.

Place the mandarin on top, refine the overall shape, and your kagami mochi is complete.

Let it dry thoroughly before displaying it, and welcome a wonderful New Year.

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