[1][2] Platforms covered with a red carpet–material are used to display a set of ornamental dolls (雛人形, hina-ningyō) representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period.

The dolls are usually fairly expensive ($1,500 to $2,500 for a five-tier set, depending on quality) and may be handed down from older generations as heirlooms.

[7] Practically speaking, the encouragement to put everything away quickly is to avoid the rainy season and humidity that typically follows Hinamatsuri.

Typical foods include hina-arare (雛あられ, multi-colored rice crackers), chirashizushi (ちらし寿司, raw fish and vegetables on rice in a bowl or bento box), hishi mochi (菱餅, multi-colored rice cakes),[4] ichigo daifuku (いちご大福, strawberries wrapped in adzuki bean paste), Sakuramochi (桜餅) and ushiojiru (うしお汁, clam soup, as clam shells represent a joined pair).

"Hanging Dolls"), traditional decoration for Hinamatsuri, are lengths of coloured cords (usually in red), usually featuring decorations of miniature baby-dolls, which were originally made from leftover kimono silk (so the idea of repurposing fabric scraps is central to this craft; it is a great activity for using up leftover materials).

[9] The layer of covering is called dankake (段掛) or simply hi-mōsen (緋毛氈), a red carpet with rainbow stripes at the bottom.

[6] Optional are the two lampstands, called bonbori (雪洞),[13] and the paper or silk lanterns that are known as hibukuro (火袋), which are usually decorated with cherry or plum blossom patterns.

Complete sets would include accessories placed between the two figures, known as sanbō kazari (三方飾),[14] composing of two vases of artificial peach branches (口花, kuchibana).

[9] The second tier holds three court ladies san-nin kanjo (三人官女) who serve sake to the male and female dolls.

In Kyoto, the middle doll carries a small platform used in celebratory decorations (島台, Shimadai) upon which is something auspicious such as the Three Friends of Winter (松竹梅, Shōchikubai); whereas in the rest of Japan, she carries a small table (三方, Sanpō) upon which a sake cup is rested.

[6] Accessories placed between the ladies are takatsuki (高坏), stands with round table-tops for seasonal sweets, excluding hishi mochi.

The fifth tier, between the plants, holds three helpers (仕丁, shichō) or protectors (衛士, eji) of the Emperor and Empress:[6][16] In the Kyōto style, from the viewer's left to right the dolls are: In the Kantō style used in the rest of Japan, from the viewer's left to right the dolls are: On the sixth and seventh tiers, various miniature furniture, tools, carriages, etc., are displayed.

[9] It is said that the first time Hina dolls were shown in the manner they are now as part of the Peach Festival was when the young princess Meisho succeeded to the throne of her abdicating father, Emperor Go-Mizunoo, in 1629.

Doll-makers began making elaborate dolls for the festival (some growing as tall as 3 feet (0.91 meters) high before laws were passed restricting their size).