Piñatas are a traditional favorite for a kid's party. They are simple to make and can be a lot of fun to create. Here are some simple instructions on how to make your own Piñata at home:
1. Think of the shape you would like your piñata to have. You can combine different balloons or even thin cardboard pieces to make various shapes for your piñata. Here we made the shape of a car.
2. Gather all your materials, you will need:
- Balloons
- Flour
- Water
- Salt
- Newspaper
- Crepe Paper / Streamers
- Scissors
- Ribbon
- Glue
- Tape
3. Blow up your balloons and tape them into the shape you'd like. Masking tape works well for this. You want to be careful not to use too much tape, so you can easily move your balloons around to find their perfect spot.
4. Cut your newspaper into strips.
5. Cover your table and work area with newspapers.
6. Next, make a paste using flour, salt and water. You will want to use three parts water to two parts flour and a tablespoon of salt. The salt is supposed to prevent any mold to grow in your piñata. The mixture doesn't need to be perfect. I typically guess. I have also used a mixture of glue and water in the past, but it doesn't work as well nor does it clean up as well.
7. Now you can start dipping your strips of newspaper in your paste and make your first layer covering your balloons. Make sure your newspaper strips aren't dripping wet when you put them on, the wetter the piñata gets the longer it will take to dry.
8. After you have done one layer, let it dry. It can take up to 7 hours for a layer to dry depending on how wet you got your piñata and where you do your piñata. If you are outside or in a room with a fan, it can speed up your drying time (it can be cut down to around 3 hours). With each layer you should always add a little extra newspaper where you will hang your piñata. Later your will add a ribbon or string at the top of the piñata and a lot of times this part breaks off before the actual piñata, so if is good to have it thicker in that spot.
9. Add another layer and let dry.
10. Now, depending on how easy you would like your piñata to break you can stop at two layers. If your party is for littler kids, this should be great. If you will have a lot of kids or older kids you might want to do another layer or two so your piñata lasts a little longer ensuring everyone gets a turn.
11. After you last layer is dry, you can add your streamers. Cut your streamers into strips of 2 to 6 inches, depending on your shape of your piñata and what would work best for you. Now start at the bottom and work your way up. Gluing your strips right above each other, overlapping one another halfway down.
12. When your piñata is covered in streamers, you now need to go back over it and cut vertical slits in all your streamers.
13. Find a good place in the back of your piñata to cut a u shaped slit to be able to stuff your candy into.
14. Add two holes in the top of the piñata about 3 inches from one another and add ribbon to be able to hang your masterpiece.
15. Now fill your piñata with candy and you are ready for the kids to smash up all your hard work.