Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Making your own Pinata for your Birthday Party

July 19, 2009 by  
Filed under Pinatas

TRI_6186A few years ago my daughter had a Luau Birthday Party and I had decided I wanted to make the pinata myself.  Of course you can buy one, but I am all about being different so it was my mission. I do not know why, but I had a vision of a Goldfish.  So I gathered my kids to have some fun with making a pinata – well I made the Fish Pinata and they made their own creations for fun.  Kids really enjoy getting their hands into the paper mache slime as I call it.

Picture 043I used a simple Paper Mache Recipe of  flour and water. You use 1 part flour to 2 parts water – so basically 1 cup of flour to 2 cups of water.  Really I just mix it all up until I get the consistency of a nice paste. Ahead of time I took lots of newspaper and ripped it into strips – this is where you put the kids to work. I then took a latex balloon and blew it up – this is now my base.  You are going to want to do this outside or be sure to cover the table really good – it is very messy.

Picture 050So now all you do is take your paper strips and get them good and covered in the paste and start covering your balloon. This can take some time. Be sure to have extra layering all the way around. Now I may have overdone all my layers (will tell ya about that later). I would do at least 3 layers.

Picture 054When you are all done covering your balloon then it is drying time. This can take several days – make sure you store it in an area where it is not damp and it is best to turn it every now and then to get all sides dry. I put mine on a cup for a base so it was not just sitting on the table when drying.

Picture 121When it is all dry now the fun begins and it is time to decorate, but wait – first you must pop the balloon inside. To do this you can take a pin or sharp knife and stick it in the bottom and you will hear or feel the balloon pop. Now you have your hard shell left. What I then did next was paint it orange. Do not apply the paint thick or it will re wet the paper and get all funny. Do one layer at a time let dry and repeat if you need to. For my fish I then took long strips of orange construction paper and wrapped them around and taped them on to become my scales – then I drew the scales on with a marker. I also attached fins I cut from Orange foam sheets and added some lines for definition. I also took a Styrofoam ball and cut it in half – drew on black dots and taped them on for the eyes. Of course my fish pinata had to have fish lips so I added some of those as well.

Picture 122Then with a knife I cut open a flap on the bottom where I would add all my goodies – now being it was a goldfish I added in gold coins and other fish related goodies and My pinata was so heavy – good thing I added all those extra layers. Oh and tape the flap closed after adding the goodies. My husband then added a thick wire to the top so we can hang it from a tree.

Picture 154Picture 157So now it is Pinata time – I handed all the kids these cute Tiki Bags to gather their loot. I lined them up far enough away so no one would get hurt.  I armed them with a broom handle to get ready to swing. Up first of course is the Birthday Girl – my daughter.

Picture 155Here is where my too many layers kicked in. My daughter hit it a couple of times and it stayed intact. Then next up was one of the older kids. My pinata was so heavy that with her hit the pinata ripped off the wire and fell to the ground.

Picture 158Ok no big deal – I just told the kids to smash it. It is amazing how much anger these kids have – lol. My pinata got beaten on the ground until it released all the goodies inside. Once there was a sign of the goods all the kids swarmed in to collect the prize. Kids get so excited and scramble like it is their last meal.  Even my dogs tried to get in on the action. Everyone got some great stuff and they were all happy. My pinata ok not so much – it was smashed to pieces, but isn’t that why I created it?

Picture 159

Not everyone will make their own pinata, but if you have it in you it is fun and the kids love to help. Even if you purchase a Pinata the kids love this part of the Birthday Party – so either way it is a good time for them.

Click Here to see all of my Luau Party Idea Posts and some of the other fun things I had at my daughter’s luau Party.

Also check out my post on Non Candy Pinata Fillers and Pinata Game Ideas.


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