The Daruma is the little red wishing doll you see all over Japan at New Year — round, cheerful, and stubbornly determined to roll back upright no matter how many times you knock it over. This origami version captures that same spirit, and the great news is that it's one of the easiest folds you'll ever make: just a handful of simple folds and one happy face drawn on at the end.

It's a lovely project to fold with kids — everyone can pick their favorite color and draw a completely different expression — and the finished dolls make wonderful handmade decorations for a shelf or a New Year's display. Follow the photos below and you'll have your own little luck-bringer in just a few minutes.

We’ve shared plenty of New Year’s decoration ideas on this blog, and this Daruma is one of the simplest we’ve introduced — the folding is almost ridiculously easy.

Even small children can handle it, so it’s great to fold together as a family. Personally, I love handmade decorations — a row of little Daruma looks wonderful on a shop shelf or a home display.

So let’s get folding! Here’s a super simple way to make an origami Daruma.

Super easy way to fold an origami Daruma

Traditional Daruma are red, so red origami paper is the classic choice. That said, feel free to use any color you like — especially if children are folding.

This tutorial is based on a video, so I’d recommend following along with it as you fold.

STEP 1. Fold the paper in half into a triangle with the colored side facing out, then unfold it to leave a crease.

STEP 2. Fold the corner with the crease in about 2 cm, as shown in the photo.

STEP 3. Fold it about another 2 cm.

STEP 4. Fold the right side in about 1.5 cm so that the marks are aligned.

STEP 5. Fold the left side in the same way.

STEP 6. Turn the paper the other way round, then fold the left, right, and bottom corners in to align with the center line.

STEP 7. Fold it up as shown in the photo, so that the white part is not hidden too much.

STEP 8. Fold the left and right corners back behind.

STEP 9. Draw a face with a pen and your Daruma is complete.

How did yours turn out? It really is super easy — the whole model takes just a few minutes.

As you can see, the face is the star of this little Daruma, so take your time drawing it. Get it wrong and it’s a little heartbreaking (laughs).

If you get stuck, just follow the video or look back over the photos above. Good luck, and have fun folding!