[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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[January Crafts] Kid-Friendly! A Collection of Fun Handmade Ideas Useful for Childcare (31–40)
Lovely translucence! Easy New Year’s decoration
This is a beautiful seasonal craft that showcases the glossy shine and clarity unique to resin.
The video carefully demonstrates the process of tinting resin and pouring it into plum blossom shapes, and it also discusses tips for coloring and suggestions for substitute materials, making it approachable even for beginners.
As an educational element, it introduces how mixing colors nurtures color sense and how fine finger movements can promote brain development—resulting in a project that’s “fun to make and delightful to display.” A cute New Year’s craft with a satisfying sense of accomplishment.
Pop-up! Shishimai Lion Dance Toy
The lion dance popping out of a paper cup is so cute! Let’s get started by preparing a paper cup, chopsticks, yarn, vinyl (plastic) tape, construction paper, double-sided tape, and scissors.
Poke a hole in the bottom of the paper cup big enough for a chopstick to pass through.
Cut a plastic bag to fit the mouth of the cup and tape it around the rim of the cup.
Reinforce it from above with vinyl tape, push the tip of the chopstick through and secure it with tape, then make the lion dance face out of colored construction paper and attach it.
Wrap the entire paper cup with construction paper, and you’re done.
This is a craft that even little kids can enjoy for New Year’s, so give it a try!
A cute kotatsu you can make with 100-yen shop items!
The kotatsu makes its appearance when winter comes and temperatures drop.
The only downside is that once you get in, it’s hard to get out—but that gentle, enveloping warmth makes you feel so happy, doesn’t it? A kotatsu also makes a perfect motif for winter craft ideas.
Here, two ideas are introduced: one kotatsu made by placing a circular piece of fabric over a doll-sized table, and another made by cutting and shaping a square box.
There’s also a tutorial for making mandarins using decorative pom-poms and pipe cleaners, so feel free to use it as a reference and give it a try.
Easy! How to Make a New Year Daruma
@lucky_seisaku_hoiku New Year’s craft darumaChildcare#Nursery school#KindergartenNursery teacher / Childcare workerBabysitterchildParentingChildcareNew YearProductionNew Year’s crafttranslationTranslationDarumatoyHandmadeJanuaryIf you want to know how to make it, head over to Instagram. Comment “daruma-san” on the Instagram Reel.
♬ Original Song – Lucky-sensei – Lucky-sensei | A preschool theater that makes you look forward to birthday parties 🎂
Making a daruma with balloons is unique and fun for children.
Prepare balloons, paint, construction paper, templates for the daruma’s body and face, eyebrows, mustache, scissors, and round stickers.
Dip the inflated balloon in paint and gently stamp it onto the construction paper.
Kids can enjoy the springy bounce of the balloon and the changes in color intensity as it varies from dark to light.
Place the daruma body template on the painted paper and cut along it with scissors.
For the face, cut white construction paper into a plump half-moon shape and glue on each facial part.
Try creating your original daruma by adding patterns with square-cut origami pieces and round stickers.
Cute! How to make mandarin oranges
@yuumaama2022 How to Make Mikan (Mandarin Oranges)TranslationchildChildcare#mikan#Child'sToy
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One of the classic winter fruits, mikan (mandarins), can also be made using familiar materials.
Crumple up some newspaper and wrap it with two or three sheets of orange tissue paper.
Put the tissue-wrapped newspaper into a small plastic bag, add a leaf, and you’re done.
Even four-year-olds with their small hands should be able to crumple the newspaper and wrap it with tissue to make a mikan.
They’ll probably enjoy squeezing and crumpling the newspaper tightly.
With a slight change of shape and color, you could even turn it into a strawberry.
It also sounds fun to try making various fruits by changing the tissue paper colors and more.
