Homemade Pinata

I found an article in All You for a Halloween pinata. Since Hunter’s birthday was the second of this month, we decided to make our own pinata for his party. I didn’t think to take pictures until almost the end.

The directions are taken from the magazine. You can find it at AllYou.com.

1. To make paper-mache, mix 1 part flour and 2 parts water. It says to add a pinch of salt, but I did not.

2. Blow up a balloon and set aside. We found one in the house. I had debated what kind to get, but just an ordinary balloon works well.

3. Cut or tear newspaper into strips. About 1″ x 8 ” strips. Then dip strips into paper-mache mixture, make sure to run strips through your fingers so excess drips back into the bowl. We did not do this in the beginning and it was too wet.

4. Lay strips on the balloon and smooth down. Cover the balloon, leaving a small hole at the bottom(where the balloon is tied) so you can remove the balloon later and and pinata can be filled. Let dry.

5. Run ribbon vertically around pinata and loop at the top and secure with tape. This is where you will hang it. I ran yarn around it both ways.

6. Add two more layers of paper-mache over balloon and ribbon, but allow to dry thoroughly between layers. Once final layer is dry, cut the balloon and pull it out. I was a little worried about this, but it worked great!

7. Fill the pinata with candy and treats. Then cover with tape and paper-mache and dry.

8. Paint and decorate! We used spray paint and some extra paint we had a round the house. I didn’t have black so we mixed a few colors together.

The pinata held up really good! We went through 2 rounds of all the children. I was afraid it would break easily. The yarn I used did not hold up as well. In the end, my husband had to hold it up by his hand.

We had a great time making it. All the family got involved, even some of the neighborhood kids cam and helped. Definitely worth it!
The end results below. We are going to tape it up and use it for an outside Halloween decoration.

I can’t wait to do it again for Savannah’s birthday! Of course, I’ll add ribbons and sparkly things to it. 🙂

Have you ever made a pinata. Any tips you’d like to share?

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

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Comments

  1. Hippie4ever says

    I made a Mrs. Piggy when I was in school. 6th grade, I think. It's easy to make shapes. I taped toilet paper rolls to the balloon for legs and tied a smaller balloon on for a head and another toilet paper roll for a snout. I plan on making a star for my son's birthday. I'm going to purchase a mylar balloon, so it will be somewhat flat and then tape 5 party hats to it for the star points then cover with paper mache. A friend suggested making it a pull pinata, my son will be 2, so I'm going to try that 🙂