[Childcare] February Setsubun Bean-Throwing! A Fun Collection of Oni Craft Ideas
As Setsubun approaches, creating oni-themed crafts becomes one of the fun activities at nurseries and kindergartens.
For two-year-olds, the experience of making something with their own hands is a very important time.
Coloring, sticking on parts, enjoying the feel of different materials—through these kinds of activities, their interest in seasonal events deepens significantly.
Here, we’ve gathered plenty of oni craft ideas perfect for Setsubun, from masks and bean containers to unique play items.
Make this year’s Setsubun even more fun together with the children! Note: In this article, we use the term “seisaku” (制作) to refer to children’s creations as “works.”
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[Childcare] February Setsubun Bean-Throwing! Fun Oni (Demon) Craft Ideas (61–70)
Origami: Ogre
Speaking of Setsubun, ogres (oni) are an essential motif.
They’re seen as symbols of evil and have a scary image, but if you design them in a cute way, people might enjoy Setsubun even more.
We’ll fold origami into the shape of an oni, and using techniques like reverse folds, how you represent the horns is a key point.
Using red or blue origami and giving the oni one or two horns is the standard, but it could be fun to try other colors or shapes to see how the impression changes.
Finally, draw the oni’s expression to complete it—choosing what kind of face to give it is also an important point for making a cute oni.
A demon mask made from a nonwoven fabric mask
This is an easy demon mask you can make with a nonwoven disposable mask that many people probably have on hand! Place the mask with the wire at the top and the pleats facing downward, then cut a rounded shape between the elastic bands on both sides.
This removes the glued pleat section, allowing the mask to open vertically.
Next, decide on the positions of the eyes so they’re symmetrical, and make small cuts for peepholes.
After that, draw parts like the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth with a marker, color the front in your favorite colors, and adjust the wire so the nose looks three-dimensional—and you’re done!
Setsubun Tapestry
Why not try making a tapestry perfect for Setsubun? A tapestry is a fabric decoration you can hang on a wall.
There are many types—some are woven fabrics, others have printed illustrations—but if children are giving it a try, how about drawing on plain fabric with markers or attaching felt pieces they’ve made? Using stencils sounds fun too.
Feel free to draw things related to Setsubun, like oni (ogres), beans, and ehomaki sushi rolls.
Once it’s finished, hang it on the wall to decorate your room!
Oni mask made with paper plates and origami
Winter is the season of Setsubun, isn’t it? I wonder if there are any five-year-olds out there making plans like, “How should we defeat the ogres this year?” Here’s a craft idea for an oni (ogre) mask.
Use a paper plate for the face and paste torn pieces of origami paper on top.
The color of the origami changes depending on whether you want a red oni or a blue oni, so prepare several sheets, including other colors.
Once you’ve finished pasting the origami, add the facial features, horns, and yarn for hair—and it’s done! It’s an idea that will make you want to use it as a wall decoration, too.
A wall on Onigashima covered with demon masks
Enjoy it even after Setsubun! Here’s how to make an oni (ogre) mask.
Prepare colored construction paper cut into the oni’s face and horn parts, a construction paper headband, crayons, glue, and so on.
First, draw the face on the oni’s face piece with crayons.
Feel free to draw any patterns you like on the horns, too.
Glue the horns to the face, then attach the face to the paper headband to finish.
When attaching the mask to the headband, be careful that staples or tape don’t get caught in children’s hair.
After the Setsubun event, you can display the masks against a background like Onigashima (Ogre Island) to create a February wall decoration.
[Ages 1 and up] Demon Mask Hat
![[Ages 1 and up] Demon Mask Hat](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qFOt5wQrh_s/sddefault.jpg)
Let’s make an ogre mask hat that even infants can wear! Cut a quarter-size construction paper in half vertically and have the children draw on it.
Once their drawings are finished, roll the paper into a tube and glue it.
Fold the top edge inward to shape it into a hat.
At this point, make the two ends pointy to represent the ogre’s horns—that’s the key.
Finally, prepare paper tape cut to even lengths with double-sided tape on one end, and let the children stick them onto the hat like placing stickers.
These will become the ogre’s hair, so using several colors will make it look extra cute.
Balloon Ogre
These are “balloon demons” made by using red and blue balloons as the ogre.
Wrap yarn around a card, tie part of it, and cut to create the ogre’s hair.
After inflating the balloon, tie the yarn to the balloon’s knot and attach horns made from construction paper.
Then just draw a face on the side of the balloon with a marker, and it’s done! Watching the ogre gradually wilt as days pass might make you feel a little sad.
When throwing beans at the balloon demon, be aware it might suddenly pop and startle the children.
Play while keeping an eye on them.