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Parties/celebrations

Whether you're planning a birthday or a hen do, you'll find plenty of ideas for your celebration on our Party forum.

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Original poster

How to make Pinatas???

27 replies

wurlywurly · 06/05/2007 18:15

Have just been to a party where they had a pinata. Ds1 thoroughly enjoyed it and wants one at his party, buy I refuse to pay £10 for a box that we will whack and break.

Anyone know how to make one (was thinking bout paper mache) in the shape of a spongebob squarepants. Any tips

TIA

OP posts:

MrsWho · 06/05/2007 19:14

box covered in plastic then paper mache all the sides but leave one unpapered so you can get the box out.Then do the other side on something flat and when its hard paper it on the rest?

Good luck

SenoraPostrophe · 06/05/2007 19:21

you don't really need the paper mache actually. the ones you buy in Spain (where piñatas are compulsory at children's parties) are just made of paper and thin card. These ones don't break as such, but the kids manage to get the sweets out. You could make a similar one out of a cornflakes packet - just cover with paper, decorate to look like spongebob and sellotape on some bits of streamer to tie it up with.

SenoraPostrophe · 06/05/2007 19:22

in fact that's what I'm going to do for dd's birthday next week.

MrsWho · 06/05/2007 19:33

yeah thats an easier idea than mine

Original poster

wurlywurly · 07/05/2007 09:14

so we could just decorate a big cornflakes box. Wow that seems really simple. The one that we had at friends party yesterday was made from corigated cardboard and didnt break we ended up emptying the sweets out of the box sa the pinata wouldnt break.

OP posts:

Malaleche · 07/05/2007 09:17

Second senora - the spanish ones have a base made of several layers of tissue paper with ribbons taped into it and hanging down just in the kids reach so when they pull them the bottom rips out but the box stays intact - you can re-use it by putting a new bottom in the next time.

Original poster

wurlywurly · 07/05/2007 09:18

is that the ones where you pull the bottom out of it??

OP posts:

SenoraPostrophe · 07/05/2007 11:21

oh, are you supposed to pull the ribbons? we've always hit it with a big stick.

Malaleche · 07/05/2007 23:30

All the parties we've been at the kids pulled the ribbons....not a big stick in sight, how odd...i mean that we've never seen it done with a stick and you've never pulled the ribbons - we live in the same town after all! Are you sure you aren't confusing olive harvesting with pinata harvesting?

Califrau · 07/05/2007 23:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

essbee · 07/05/2007 23:56

Message withdrawn

Malaleche · 07/05/2007 23:56

yuk!

nappyaddict · 08/05/2007 02:37

i think a hitting one has more excitement value.

fennel · 08/05/2007 15:13

Have been called here by Essbee, in fact it was my dp and dds who made the pinata.

They made a donkey using a cereal packet, sticking 4 pringles tubes in for legs. little box on loo roll for head. Then they covered it in a few layers of papier mache. Then they painted it patchwork. It wasn't that hard and the girls loved making it.

It was a stick-hitting thing not a ribbon-pulling affair.

bozza · 08/05/2007 15:16

I made one for DS's party by papier-macheing over a balloon, then I decorated it with hexagons of crepe paper to supposedly look like a football. I made my own "stick" by stuffing a cardboard tube with newspaper and then decorating with crepe paper.

Original poster

wurlywurly · 08/05/2007 17:20

well they started theirs yesterday. So far its a large cornflakes box with a few extra layers of paper mache to strengthen it. Dont know how they are gonna do the rest, SIL has volunteered to make it with them (shes artistic not like me)

OP posts:

nappyaddict · 09/05/2007 00:14

if you papier mache all over the box and don't leave a side so you can take it out does it still break. is that what you did fennel or did you remove the box?

fennel · 09/05/2007 09:39

Nappyadict, we did lightly papier mache all over, leaving the box inside. It took quite a bit of beating to break it but we had a lot of children wanting several turns each.

We had left several "weak points" in the design - bit which you could have hit and broken it quite early on.

It depends on the age of your children and the strength of their whacking I suppose.

hockeypuck · 09/05/2007 09:49

I made a Nemo Pinata for DD's second birthday. See picture on my profile pictures page.

As they were only 2, I made it a pullina not a pinata, with a trap door. I attached lots of strings to the base, one of which would open this trap door and all the sweets would fall out when this one was pulled. All the kids had a go.

It worked so well we used it for her 3rd birthday too. This year, for her 5th birthday we're going to let them beat the * out of it with a pinata stick, because it's taking up too much space in the loft

nappyaddict · 09/05/2007 12:27

how did you make it hockeypuck?

hockeypuck · 09/05/2007 13:34

D'Oh I appear to have forgotten to mention that nappyaddict. Having a blonde day

I got one of those big punchball sized balloons, pack of three from tescos. I blew it up and covered it in strips of newspaper dipped in pva glue. I did a couple of layers letting it dry as I went along. When it was dry I popped the balloon. I then made a tail, one big fin and one little fin out of cardboard and stuck those on. I shredded tissue paper in orange, white and black for the stripes. I used a playball cut in half for the eyes, I painted it white and drew the eyes on.

It took AGES, but DD really loved it.

The pullina aspect worked well and enabled us to use it 2 years running (she was Nemo obsessed btw). I guess I would have been sad if it was a pinata straight away and got smashed up! but poor Nemo's time has come and this year he is history. 5 year olds will be quite vicious with him I expect!

littlelapin · 09/05/2007 13:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HenriettaHippo · 09/05/2007 13:42

I've seen pinatas in mail order catalogues, and don't understand what they do?? Am I being really thick? Please can someone tell me? Tried reading all the thread, and still none the wiser, although what hockeypuck describes makes some sense....

fennel · 09/05/2007 13:49

IME, you fill them with sweets or little toys (or, this being mumsnet, Cereal Bars and Raisin boxes) and hang them onto a tree or off a beam.

Children line up with big stick. take turns to have a whack at the pinata. if they are strong and lucky they'll make a dent and a sweet falls out. As more children whack, the pinata gets ragged, and eventually spills its goodies on the floor. Then there's a massive scramble for treats by all the children.

Haven't seen a ribbon version, it sounds rather milder.

HenriettaHippo · 09/05/2007 15:09

my god, it sounds like a recipe for tears/banged heads!!! but also sounds like something for the garden, not somewhere where there are any ornaments or breakable objects!!

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