How to make a pinata for a kid's birthday party

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A piñata is a brightly decorated container filled with candies and even small toys and lends a lot of excitement to children’s birthday parties.

They are hung from tree branches or ceilings;  the children are blindfolded and take turns swinging at the pinata with a stick. The goal is to break them open so the candy and toys inside spill out.

There are many disputes about the exact origin of the piñata.  European countries like Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal all claim that the piñata originated in their countries. In Latin American countries piñatas have been used for hundreds of years to celebrate festive events.

According to legend piñatas started out as simple painted clay pots decorated with colorful paper and feathers and they were filled with small treasures. The people then hit the pots to break it and all the lovely goodies spilled out to appease the gods.

The traditional star-shaped piñata design that represents the Star of Bethlehem, originated in 1586 during religious ceremonies (known as posadas) that were held before Christmas by Augustinian friars in parts of Mexico to convert people to Christianity.

Today you can buy piñatas in every shape and size imaginable. This makes it quite easy to find a piñata to suit your kid’s birthday party theme. However, it is so easy to make a piñata  that there is no reason not to do it yourself. At the same time you will also involve your child in the party planning activities and that is one of the most important things you should do when planning  your child’s birthday party.

There are quite a few methods that you can use to make a piñata;  but one of the most popular methods is to cover a balloon with papier maché. This makes for a sturdy piñata that will take the party guests a while to break (and add a lot of fun to the party.) One disadvantage of the papier maché method is that it takes a few days for the paper to dry completely before you can begin the painting and decorating.

Here’s how to make a basic balloon papier maché piñata:

You will need:

• A balloon – round balloons work best
• Water & flour (for the paste/glue)
• Old newspapers (to cover your work area and to cover the balloon)
• A big plastic sheet (or one of those plastic garbage bin liners)
• Scissors
• Poster paints in different colours
• Crepe paper
• String
• Candy and  small toys

Here is what you have to do:

1.   Inflate the balloon to the size you want your piñata to be and tie it off. Cover the whole balloon with a layer of Vaseline to  prevent the balloon from  sticking to the newspaper strips when you have to remove it.

2. Make a glue by mixing 1 part flour with 2 parts water. Whisk thoroughly to remove all lumps. It should have the consistency of thick glue but also a little bit runny and not too thick. Simply add more flour or water to get the correct consistency. (You can also heat the flour and water mixture slowly in a pan on thestove until it thickens slightly. Don’t let it become too thick or else it may not work. Allow to cool completely before using it.)

3. Tip: For a stronger glue, add half a bottle of white wood glue to this mixture.

4. Tear newspaper in smallish squares or in strips about 1 inch (2,5 cm) wide and 6 inches (15 cm) long. I usually use a ruler to tear strips for a uniform size.   Just place the ruler on the newspaper and start tearing against the edge of the ruler. Don’t cut the newspaper strips with a scissor, it should have a slightly  rough edge to give a smooth appearance to the pinata.

5. Dip the newspaper squares/strips in the paste and run the strips through your fingers to remove excess paste.

6. Lay the strip on the balloon and lightly smooth it with your fingers to  get rid of any air bubbles. You can also use a damp cloth to do this. Now do the same  with the second newspaper strip but place it on the balloon to slightly overlap the first strip. Now simply repeat this process until the whole balloon is covered. If there are any parts of the balloon that is not covered by the strips, use smaller pieces of newspaper and fill in the gaps. Do remember to leave a  small circle or square uncovered where you have tied the balloon.  You will use this hole to remove the balloon and fill the pinata  with candy and other  goodies.

7. Let the first layer dry and then repeat the process 3-4 times more, letting each layer dry completely before adding the next.

8. Once all the layers have dried completely, pop the balloon and remove it through the hole.

9. Paint the balloon with colour of choice and let dry completely. If the newspaper print shows through, add another layer of paint.

10. You can now decorate your pinata by simply painting designs in bright colours, or you can make a traditional looking one by cutting a wide strip of crepe paper and gluing one long edge onto the pinata. Use scissors to cut a fringe along the other edge, repeating this until the whole piñata is covered.

11. Fill the piñata with candy, small toys or any other small favours that will fit in with the theme of the party. However, don’t fill it more than halfway or else it may become to heavy to hang. You can layer the candy with some thin newspaper strips to fill it to the top.

12. Punch two small holes in the top near the opening and pass some  string or even fishing line through the two holes. Tie with a few overhand knots to prevent it  from coming apart when you hang it.

Here are a few other ideas for your piñata:

Apart from crepe paper, you can also use feathers and tassels made from streamers to decorate the piñata.

You can design your piñatas to look like animals, stars, flowers, etc. Use scrunched up newspaper balls (protruding eyes), toilet rolls and cardboard tubes (arms, legs, snouts), cardboard and paper shapes (fins, ears, hats, flower petals, leaves) to give definition to the original balloon structure. Tape the shapes to the first layer of dried newspaper  with masking tape and complete as described above.

You don’t have to use only balloons to make piñatas. Empty boxes like shoe  and cereal boxes and any other empty canisters can be used as a basis to make  piñatas in the form of castles, cars, trucks, trains, treasure chests, etc. Strips of cardboard  cut from empty cereal boxes can be bend and taped together with masking tape to form any shape you may need. With a little imagination you will be able to make piñatas to suit any birthday party theme.

Idea: Take one of those huge boxes that cereal is being sold in, cover with bright paper and decorate with crépe strips, add some streamers to the bottom part, punch holes in the top edges for string and voila, a quick and inexpensive piñata!

Ok… now the piñata is finished and the day of the party has finally arrived.  Before you hang the piñata, you have to think about the safety of the party guests.  Choose a spot with enough room for the children to swing the stick safely and to allow them to run in to pick up the falling candy and other treats.

If they are going to be blindfolded, an adult should always be on hand to supervise the activities. Tell the guests that they will have to wait until the blindfold (and stick) is removed from the guest hitting the piñata, before they rush in. If possible, buy a plastic bat for smaller guests to hit the piñata with.

As always, have fun when you do any part of your kid’s party planning.

P.S. – I almost forgot, if you feel that the pinata will be too small to hold enough candy and favours, you can always have some ready to sprinkle amongst the ones that have fallen on the ground. The party guests will be so busy scrambling around to claim their share of these treats, that they won’t even notice that you are “cheating” a little bit…

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