[For Seniors] Recommended Wall Decorations and Crafts for January
We’d like to introduce wall decorations that are perfect for January, the month when we welcome a brand-new year!
We’ve gathered auspicious New Year–themed pieces as well as works that let you feel the season of January.
Many January decorations feature vibrant colors that will brighten up your space.
We offer a wide range: items you shape by hand, projects with simple steps, and pieces that require fine finger work.
New Year’s decorations often feature traditional Japanese motifs such as shimenawa and shishimai.
Some older adults may find themselves reminiscing as they create.
Why not enjoy making them while sharing stories and memories?
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[For Seniors] Recommended Wall Decorations and Crafts for January (71–80)
Japanese-style hanging decoration for New Year
As a slightly more intricate craft idea, here’s a New Year’s Japanese-style hanging decoration.
This one uses origami to make yakko-dako kites and cranes.
A yakko-dako is a kite shaped like a person in a kimono with arms outstretched—you often see them around New Year’s.
You can also try making other Japanese motifs in origami, such as plum blossoms and folding fans.
If the fine work involved in making the yakko-dako is difficult, prepare the parts in advance and provide support as needed.
Create the pieces with origami, cut small parts with a craft knife, arrange them, and you’re done.
Hang it in your room to enjoy the look of them flying.
red-and-white Daruma
Would you like to make red-and-white daruma dolls to brighten up your celebration wall? Prepare two balls made by crumpling paper, then cover each from the top with red and white origami paper and glue them on.
Attach a paper face and patterns made from yellow origami, and you’re done.
You can make a large daruma to display, or create small ones and arrange them to form characters like “祝” (congratulations) or “おめでとう” (best wishes).
In addition to red and white, making a gold daruma will also look festive.
They’re easy to make, so give it a try!
maneki-neko (beckoning cat)
How about creating lots of lucky maneki-neko and decorating a wall with them for a bright and cute display? Maneki-neko aren’t only for New Year’s; they’re also seen as symbols that bring good fortune and connections, and are displayed in shops and homes.
Of course, it’s great when staff make and put them up, but it would also be wonderful for participants to create and display maneki-neko in whatever style they like! Prepare identical cat-shaped bases, then have people draw the faces, let them hold origami gold coins, and encourage everyone to make their own unique maneki-neko!
[For Seniors] Recommended Wall Decorations and Crafts for January (81–90)
Shichifuku Daruma (Seven Lucky Gods Daruma)
Here’s an idea for a colorful and cute wall decoration featuring seven daruma in different colors.
The seven colors represent the Seven Lucky Gods.
Because the daruma are three-dimensional, they look impressive as wall decorations.
Fold a rectangular sheet of colored construction paper in half, make slits, shape it, and form the roundness of the daruma.
Round off or trim the corners, attach white paper, and draw the face.
You can vary the expressions for each daruma and add decorations around them, such as sea bream, a lucky mallet, and plum blossoms.
Using gold origami makes it feel more New Year–like and even more festive.
Plum blossom decoration
Let’s make some stylish, pop-inspired plum blossom decorations! They’re perfect for January wall displays or hanging ornaments.
Why not enjoy a seasonal craft activity with older adults? You can create two types: simple plum blossoms made by rolling paper strips and stapling them, and 3D plum blossoms made by interlocking two flower-shaped paper cutouts.
Combine both types and string them together for a hanging decoration, or display a single piece like an objet d’art to instantly brighten the room.
You can also have fun customizing them by changing the origami patterns or sizes—feel free to use this as a reference!
January coloring pages
Speaking of January, although it’s not seen much these days, there used to be a custom of displaying decorative hagoita paddles, such as ones featuring the Fuji Musume.
Let’s try making such decorative hagoita as a coloring activity.
The act of coloring and choosing which colors to use has a very positive effect on the hands and the brain.
You might even discover an unexpected side of older adults through their use of color and the finished result.
A neatly colored piece also looks lovely displayed on the wall.
Let’s awaken the creativity we don’t often use in everyday life.
Felt ema (votive plaque)
This project involves attaching decorations—such as zodiac animals and lucky charms made of felt—onto a felt base shaped like an ema plaque.
While ema are typically thought of as flat, using felt for both the base and the decorations creates a soft, three-dimensional effect.
A key point is to finish the decorations with a soft feel by adding stuffing inside or layering pieces when gluing them on.
If making each decoration from scratch is challenging, another recommended approach is to prepare the parts in advance and have participants arrange them to create their own design.
