A summer festival packed with fun attractions like food stalls, drums, and Bon Odori dancing.
Many people, from children to adults, look forward to summer festivals.
In this article, we’ll introduce handmade decoration ideas you can use for summer festivals.
These ideas are perfect not only for festivals held at nurseries, kindergartens, and senior care facilities, but also for families planning a home fair.
They’re easy to make, so create plenty of decorations and recreate the lively festival atmosphere!
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[Summer Festival] Handmade Decoration Ideas (1–10)
wind chime
The wind chime, a hallmark of summer.
The clear, tinkling sound it makes as it catches the breeze feels so cool and charming, doesn’t it? Try incorporating wind chimes into your summer festival decorations.
Here’s an idea for a wind chime made with two sheets of origami paper.
Use the first sheet to create the exterior of the chime and the second for the hanging strip (tanzaku).
For the exterior, fold the origami into a square, make a crease at the lower-right corner, trace the shape, and cut it out.
As you assemble it into the wind chime shape, attach both the hanging string and the string for the tanzaku.
For the tanzaku, cut the origami in half, fold it lengthwise to make a long strip, and attach it to the string.
lantern garland
Getting real lanterns can be costly and bulky, which makes them a hassle.
In times like that, garland-style lanterns are a great option.
Cut lantern shapes out of construction paper or cardstock, thread them together, and you’re done! If you keep them flat, they’re easy to use as wall decorations; or make them a bit three-dimensional and string them across the ceiling.
Using lanterns in various colors and patterns will make the display look lively and festive.
Just a small arrangement on the wall can instantly create a festival mood, so give it a try!
Giant Sunflower Decoration
If you’re thinking about a main summer-themed decoration, how about a “giant sunflower”? This idea uses tissue paper and lets you create a beautiful sunflower with ease.
Prepare three sheets of yellow tissue paper and six sheets of brown tissue paper.
The brown sheets should be about half the size of the yellow ones.
Stack each color separately, crease them in half, then open them back up.
For the brown tissue paper, cut the top and bottom edges into a jagged shape.
Place the brown tissue paper centered on top of the yellow stack, then accordion-fold them together so they don’t shift.
Tie the center with fishing line (or clear thread), and round off the ends of the tissue paper with scissors.
Carefully fluff open each sheet one by one so they don’t tear, shape it, and you’re done!
candied fruit
Let’s make popular candied fruits! We’ll make three kinds: apple, grape, and mandarin orange.
For the candied apple, stick a circular scratch-protection sheet onto a sponge ball, insert a bamboo skewer as the handle, then cover it from above with red cellophane and secure it.
For the grapes, skewer several small circular styrofoam balls onto a bamboo skewer, wrap them with transparent chiyogami (decorative paper), and use rubber bands to secure the seams between the styrofoam pieces.
For the mandarin orange, use a ping-pong ball and follow the same steps as for the grapes.
They look so cute that when displayed, kids might want to eat the real thing!
uchiwa (Japanese hand fan)
Let’s make uchiwa fans as summer festival decorations—perfect for the hot season! Cut construction paper into the shape of a fan, then draw your favorite pictures or words, or add stickers to easily create fan decorations.
It’s also a great idea to use real uchiwa as decor.
If you put up fans with a festive design or ones featuring characters popular with kids, it will boost the lively atmosphere.
You can also draw those popular designs on your handmade fans.
They’re easy to use not only on walls but for decorating any food stall, so give it a try!