to think that £14 for a pinata, which you then have to fill, is crap value??

[CocktailQueen]

DD wants a pinata for her 8th b'day party. One that you pull the strings on. Hmm. They are £14 without all the toot that goes in them, and the fun is over in 2 minutes!! AIBU to say no to her?? She doesn't ask for much.

What have your pinata experiences been?? I don't want one of the ones you bash with a stick.

They are £8 in asda. about £5.99 in home bargains and sainsburys and the card shop birthdays also sell them but I'm not sure of their prices

Or this one online £5.25

Kids do love them but shop around as you can find cheaper ones.

At my dd1's first party I made the kids queue up and each pull one string - none of them worked, they just went wild and teared it appart!!!!

When I was little my mum got us to make our own. It took ages and was satisfyingly disgusting: you blow up a balloon, then dip bits of torn newspaper in a runny mixture of flour and water, paste them all over the balloon and let it dry. Repeat until it's good and solid. Remember to make it decently thick around the top so you can hang it. You need to start a reasonable length of time in advance, but if £14 seems extravagant then tell her if she wants one she can make it herself

That said, if you don't want one that you bash with a stick then IMVHO a) YABU (I loved the bashing) and b) you're stuck with buying one

The kids loved the bashy one we bought, though it was made so tough that in the end DH had to cut it open with a machete. It was basically a solid double-reinforced cardboard box which was then wrapped in gluey crepe paper! No amount of hitting would have got it open!

I've seen them in Wilkinsons - no idea how much but I bet it's less than £14!

Definitely shop around.
Get cheap sweets too and send the kids home on an e number trip!
(evil mummy emoticon required)

I bought the ASDA one - £6. Took the kids about an hour of beating the thing before my husband went in to finish the job.
I didn't realize you were supposed to fill it with candy.
Hubby was not amused with me...nor were the kids....

DC did pinata "properly" in Mexico - man dangling it on end of rope to make it harder to hit (and lower it for the little ones) and lots of DC taking turns with a large stick. Even then it had to be "finished off" by an adult.

Which strengthened my view that they are not for UK parties. They have to be hit to be "proper" and that means outside, with lots of space, and enough adults to keep fairly innocent bystanders safe. None of which we typically have at our DC's parties.

But people hit them here in the UK stealth

In the garden is where we do it and our garden isnt huge..similarly a hired hall is fne too..

Thanks all - hmm, her party is at home..... and the oens I've seen at other parties take hours to bash to death. Hmm. Might make one though, that would be fune!! :)

stealth we have an 'outside' in the uk too..

Stealth - why can't we do it outside in the UK?! I've never seen one done inside?

Oh God
fun
ones

@ madhousewife, that is a hilarious omission! poor children!

YANBU!

I finally gave in for DS2's birthday last year. It cost about £15 in all and would the bastard die? No it bloody wouldn't! It took about an hour to finish it off and make it spill it's sweets and stuff. Nightmare. And one of the boys ended up smacking himself on the knee he was whacking it so hard

Don't want to share my 1st Pinata experience - I'm still bearing the mental scars :(