DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Printable Pochibukuro Envelopes

On New Year's Day, Japanese adults give money to children in small decorated envelopes called 'pochibukuro'.  The bills given are usually crisp ones freshly withdrawn from the bank.  This Japanese New Year's tradition is known as otoshidama.

Pochibukuro are used at other times of year as well -- including birthdays and graduations.  They are often decorated with ribbons.

There can be lots of different images or patterns on the pochibukuro -- including Chinese Zodiac characters.  I have options for all of the zodiac signs plus a bunch of other characters.

Materials:

• printer,
• paper
• something to color with,
• scissors,
• glue, and
• Optional:  ribbon and a hole punch

Instructions:

• Print out the craft template of choice.
• Color (if using the black and white version of the craft) and cut out the template pieces.
• Flip over so the front image is facing the table.  Fold the first side along the dotted line.
• Apply glue on the small strip – a glue stick works best.  Fold the second side along the dotted line.
• Fold the bottom along the dotted line and attach with a glue stick or scotch tape.
• Slip your gift of money inside and fold down the top flap.
• Seal the top flap with a glue stick, scotch tape or a sticker.
  OR
• Punch two holes in the top flap and use a piece of ribbon to tie it shut with a bow.

Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

baseball (color)   or   (B&W)	cherries (color)   or   (B&W)	costume girl (color)   or   (B&W)	dharma doll (color)   or   (B&W)
fox (color)   or   (B&W)	ladybug (color)   or   (B&W)	maneki neko (color)   or   (B&W)	Mt.  Fuji (color)   or   (B&W)
oni (color)   or   (B&W)	smiley (color)   or   (B&W)	squid (color)   or   (B&W)	unicorn (color)   or   (B&W)

Chinese Zodiac Characters:

Year of the Rat 1996, 2008, 2020 (color)   or   (B&W)	Year of the Ox 1997, 2009, 2021 (color)   or   (B&W)	Year of the Tiger 1998, 2010, 2022 (color)   or   (B&W)	Year of the Rabbit 1999, 2011, 2023 (color)   or   (B&W)
Year of the Dragon 2000, 2012, 2024 (color)   or   (B&W)	Year of the Snake 2001, 2013, 2025 (color)   or   (B&W)	Year of the Horse 2002, 2014, 2026 (color)   or   (B&W)	Year of the Ram 2003, 2015, 2027 (color)   or   (B&W)
Year of the Monkey 2004, 2016, 2028 (color)   or   (B&W)	Year of the Rooster 2005, 2017, 2029 (color)   or   (B&W)	Year of the Dog 2006, 2018, 2030 (color)   or   (B&W)	Year of the Pig 2007, 2019, 2031 (color)   or   (B&W)