[Childcare] Enjoy Setsubun! A collection of handmade ideas you can decorate with and play with
When we think of Setsubun, it’s the seasonal event where we enjoy bean-throwing and ehomaki.
How about decorating your room with a Setsubun vibe using handmade crafts together with the kids? In this article, we’ve gathered fun Setsubun ideas that are easy to try at nurseries and kindergartens, too.
There are plenty of crafts that let you enjoy both making and decorating—like ogre (oni) masks and bean containers made from familiar materials, as well as garlands and tapestries to hang in the room.
Create your own Setsubun decorations and make this year’s Setsubun an even more special day!
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[Childcare] Have fun on Setsubun! A collection of DIY ideas you can decorate with, play with, and enjoy (61–70)
Oni Target-Throwing Game
For Setsubun in February, why not make a demon target game? A roly-poly-style demon target is fun to hit, and it’s also fun to watch it spring back upright.
Since it rights itself on its own, you can play over and over—this is the key appeal of the game! Prepare a capsule from a capsule toy, oil-based clay, a bamboo skewer, and two copies of a demon illustration.
Pack the oil-based clay into the clear half of the capsule.
Make a hole in the lid, pass the bamboo skewer through it, and attach the demon illustration.
You can print an illustration or draw your own.
Combine three thinly cut pieces of paper tube to make beans, and your “ball” is ready.
Enjoy February with this indoor, absorbing demon target game!
Production that can also create a demon-slaying game
Here’s a two-in-one idea that’s fun for both crafting and play: an oni (ogre) bean-throwing game for Setsubun.
Cut solid-color or patterned origami paper and glue it onto a paper tube.
Using various patterns and colors will make it bright and cute.
Make horns with gold origami, and crumple tissue paper to create hair and attach it.
Draw the face with colored pens, and make “beans” from tissue paper to finish.
Both the crafting process and playing with your own creation will make wonderful memories.
It’s also great that you can make it with items from a 100-yen shop or with recycled materials—give it a try!
Easy with cardboard! Oni Den-den Daiko (Devil Hand Drum)
Kids tend to associate ogres with being scary, right? So to make Setsubun more fun, why not try making an ogre-themed den-den daiko (pellet drum)? Creating a playful toy-like item might help ease their fear of ogres a little.
In this idea, you cut cardboard into a circle for the drum, attach a pair of chopsticks as the handle, and tie buttons to the ends of strings.
The drum face becomes the ogre’s face, so use colored paper and yarn to create whatever kind of ogre you like.
Cute Oni Made From a Single Sheet of Origami!
Perfect for Setsubun origami crafts! This is an oni (ogre) face made from a single sheet of origami paper.
First, place the white side of the paper facing up and do the zabuton fold twice.
Next, take the left and right corners you folded toward the center and fold them back outward, then fold those corners slightly inward to form the ears.
Once the ears are done, fold the lower left and right corners into small triangles to round out the face shape.
Then, unfold the top corner that you folded in during the zabuton fold.
Make a slit in this section with scissors to divide it left and right, and fold each into a triangle to create the oni’s horns.
Make the hair and eyes from separate origami paper or stickers, and draw the facial features with a pen.
Oni piñata
A piñata is a party decoration used to celebrate children’s birthdays and other occasions in countries like Mexico.
It’s filled with candy, and the highlight of the event is when a blindfolded child breaks the hanging piñata with a stick.
Piñatas come in many shapes—animals, stars, and more—and are made of materials like paper so they’re easy to break.
For kids, having candy spill out when it breaks is like opening a treasure chest.
Bean-throwing to drive away ogres is fun too, but wouldn’t it be interesting to try defeating an ogre by smashing an ogre-shaped piñata once in a while?
