Tanabata is the one day of the year when a bamboo branch is expected to carry wishes, paper cranes, and a small explosion of color. If you want your branch to look the part, these three paper ornaments are the fastest way to get there.

The nice thing is that none of them demands tricky folding — a fold or two, a few snips of the scissors, and a dab of glue is honestly about it. Make one of each, or a whole string of lanterns.

Tanabata decorations come in a few classic shapes, and here we’ll cover three of them at once.

The three types are similar: you fold only a little and do the rest with scissors. Because the only difference is how you fold and glue, making all three is very easy.

We have also introduced how to fold Tanabata origami, so please decorate them together. Now let me show you the three types — kazari, lanterns, and windsocks. Let’s get started!

How to fold a kazari

First up is the kazari — and it only needs one fold! All you have to do is cut and glue.

Prepare 1 sheet of origami paper.

Fold it to form a square.

Cut with scissors, starting from the center side.

Spread it out.

Glue it on the diagonal, and it’s done!

How to fold a lantern

Next is the lantern! It is made almost the same way — you just change where you glue.

Let’s make it now.

Prepare 1 sheet of origami paper.

Fold it in half into a square and cut it with scissors, just as you did for the kazari.

Open it out once.

Just glue the left and right sides!

The only difference is that you fold just once and glue either side on the diagonal.

When decorating, hang it up with a string.

How to fold a windsock

This one is folded into a bellows, but it is very easy to make.

Prepare 1 sheet of origami paper.

Fold it in half into a square.

Open it out once.

Rotate it, then fold one side in by about 2 cm.

Fold one side in along the center line.

Fold the other side in along the center line.

Fold both ends in again along the center line.

Open it out once.

Starting from the outermost side, fold it into a bellows following the creases.

It looks like this when unfolded.

While it is still closed, snip 3 to 4 notches into the bottom with scissors. Open it out and apply glue.

Once you have shaped it, you are done.