For my daughters’ birthday this year, we made a homemade piñata. It was a fun undertaking. We have always purchased them before but at $20 for something you are going to smash to pieces in a matter of minutes kind of seems like a waste. I remembered doing one in kindergarten when I was a child and thought the experience would be fun for the little ones. Make this at least a week in advance to give it proper time to dry.
Cut up strips of newspaper into long strips.
Mix up your paste. 2 cups water, 2 cups flour, and 1 Tablespoon salt
Protect your work area, as this gets very messy. Lay lots of newspaper down on the table.
Blow up a large balloon, we used the punch type balloons. They were 3 for $1 at Walmart.
Dip your newspaper strip into the glue and lay on your balloon.
I had 3 children each make their own pinata. The child that did not put much glue on the strips, their pinata balloon popped as it was drying and then it lost its form. The child that left a few holes and did not properly cover all the areas, her balloon popped too and it was ruined. The child that made sure to cover their strips in glue completely and even wiped some glue on top of the strips when done to make sure, that is the one we ended up using.
We covered our balloon completely and then set them outside in the sun to dry. We then put another layer on and let it dry as well. By this time our balloon had lost its air. If your balloon stays in-tack cut a hole in the end of it large enough to place your treats inside.
We pierced a hole in the top and then threaded rope, attached to a washer, all the way through the balloon and then tied the ends.
We used crêpe paper to decorate ours. Just use glue and stick on strips of paper.
Your completed pinata.
We used a wrapping paper tube as our bat. It was a sturdy roll. You can use a child sized bat as well.
We filled ours with suckers, gummy worms–in ziploc baggies, chocolate bars, party blowers, and air heads candy.
Fun, easy, simple, and frugal
