Modak is the sweet traditionally offered to Ganesh, and a paper version a child folds and decorates can sit at the family's own altar during Ganesh Chaturthi, sized to whatever idol the family already has at home.
Modak is a sweet dumpling traditionally offered to Ganesh. A 3D paper version — folded, coloured and shaped by a child — is not a substitute for the real sweet, but a made object that sits alongside it near the home idol, which is exactly what makes it different from a colouring page that ends up in a drawer.
Home altars and Ganesh idols vary enormously in size, so the craft should be sized to whatever the family already has — a template scaled to fit next to a small home idol works better than a fixed size that suits nobody's actual altar.
Exactly how your family observes Ganesh Chaturthi — the prayers, the timing, whether and how the idol is later immersed — is yours to know and ours to leave alone. Ask a family elder or your own temple for anything beyond the craft itself.
Folding a simple version works from about five with help; younger children can colour a pre-folded shape.
No. The shape only needs to be recognisable enough that the child knows what they made and why it is sitting where it is.
No, and we are not suggesting it should. It sits alongside the real offering, made by the child, not instead of it.
Part of our guide to World calendars & interfaith families.