Even before you thanked Mexico for tequila, you would have thanked Mexico for
piñatas, those colourful, treat-filled hanging party ornaments that as a kid you were invited to smash with a stick, so that their sweets rained down on you and all your friends.
The fond memories come both from the sweets and of being instructed by adults to hit something, while other people encouraged you. And of being the hero if you were the one to split it open – it's not as easy as it sounds when you're blindfolded and the piñata is swinging about!
Just because you're grown up and discovered tequila, it doesn't mean piñatas are any less fun, and making your own to bat about with at a Christmas, Hallowe'en, birthday, or other party, is a cheap and easy way to make your party memorable. There are probably even piñata based drinking games you could come up with...
Whether you're making a piñata to liven up your kid's party (it's a lot cheaper than hiring a clown!), or for a more adult occasion, the instructions are the same. It's just the design and what sort of treats spill out of it that differ.
Step 1: Decide on your design
It needs to be something with a large chamber to it somewhere that you can fill with treats – so circular shapes are generally easier. Pigs, snowmen, fish, a star... Whatever you come up with you should draw, and using your diagram, work out how to make it using balloons and/ or bits of cardboard boxes or tubes (toilet roll or longer).
Step 2: Build your piñata shell
Blow up your balloons and tape them together, and to your bits of cardboard into the rudimentary shape you're aiming for. Then wrap your shape all over in sheets of newspaper, taking care to tape everything down smoothly so that you don't lose the shape underneath. Use masking tape rather than regular tape as it's less likely to cause anything to pop. If you're using any long skinny balloons in your design wrap them in thick strips of newspaper rather than in one whole sheet so that they bend rather than fold.
Step 3: Getting down and dirty with
papier mâché
Papier mâché is fun, but it can get everywhere, so if you have an outdoor space you might want to do your mâché-ing there. If you've never made anything out of papier mâché before then you need to get in touch with your primary school and ask them why not! The process involves gluing strips of newspaper together in many layers creating a hard, but light frame – perfect for piñatas. It's best to make your own glue for papier mâché – using one part water and one part flour – and to mix it all up in a bowl with angled, rather than rounded, sides. Some people at primary school tried to make their mâché creations using a paint brush to glue so as to keep things neat, but it's far easier to use your hands and to smooth glue all over your strips.
When you're preparing your strips of newspaper don't worry about keeping them all the same size, it's far better to use a mixture.
You need to make sure that you build up one section of your creation thicker than the other sections so that you can attach a hook to it, but keep the rest of your papier layering quite even so that it's not too tough for kids to break.
When you've added enough layers – around five, depending on the size, larger shapes will need more - you need to leave your creation to dry, and you'll probably find that you'll need a bowl to rest it in so that it doesn't roll away and get stuck to anything else! If you have a fan, rest your pinata in front of it and it will dry more quickly.
Step 4: More on the hook
Piñatas need to hang and they need to have a hook that survives a bit of a beating – it's no fun if your piñata falls and breaks rather than cracks open from a good thwacking. So the hook needs to be in the same compartment as the sweets are. The easiest way to make a hook is to use a coat hanger - which is already a hook. Cut it off at the shoulders and wrap them around a piece of cardboard. It's hard to advise on the exact size of the cardboard, because it has to fit inside your piñata, but not be too big to insert. To insert your hook into the place you've already decided your piñata should hang from you need to cut an 'X' into it, gently fold back the edges, put your hook inside, and tape it all securely back up using masking tape. Make sure that the cardboard is firmly attached to the inside of your piñata. For health and safety purposes, bend the hook of the coat hanger over so that it's a closed shape rather than an open one.
Step 5: Fill with goodness
While you've got your piñata opened up, it's a good time to add your sweets or other treats – these will be the piñata's guts so choose things that are as light as possible, wrapped and have no sharp edges, 'cause they will be raining down on people's heads at some point.
Step 6: Making your piñata beautiful
You can decorate your piñata with pretty much anything you can think of – cloth, paints, sequins, feathers...etc. Traditional piñatas have that fluffy look, which is achieved using
crêpe paper, which has been cut into strips about 10cms wide, then folded over so that only the bottom of the folds are glued to the pinata and the top sticks up in a big loop – then you snip the loop into thin strips so that there are lots of little loops.
If this sounds too fiddly then you can paint them. It's best to use house paint because it's nice and thick and you'll need a couple of thick layers of paint to cover the news print underneath. You can buy house paint in tester pots which are also quite cheap.
Step 7: Hang it up in your party and get thwacking!
Traditionally kids are blindfolded and given a cardboard tube or wooden pole to crack at piñatas with – but do whatever your inner occupational health and safety officer directs regarding kids and hitting things with sticks.
Hints and Tips:
- Piñatas will never be perfect. Papier mâché is a limiting art form that you can't expect too much from so don't worry too much abut lumps and bumps. When you decorate your piñata you'll have the opportunity to cover them up with fringed crepe paper, paint, or whatever else you want to adorn it with.
- Don't make it too hard to break open – it will spoil the fun. Balloons make the best bases because they keep shape without adding any strength, but if your dream pinata shape has legs or other protruding parts that need a cylindrical or squarer shape then by all means use toilet roll or boxes, just make sure that you weaken the cardboard first by punching lots of holes in it with scissors.
