I have a confession. When it comes to pinatas, I don’t like them so much – the whole swinging the bat, hitting a neon, tissue-covered, unidentifiable object just doesn’t really mesh with my party visions. But kids don’t care about MY party visions. And Olivia’s party vision included a pinata. So I knew I had to make one. I didn’t realize how much I would LOVE the pinatas until I finished them! They ended up being the main party decor. SUPER easy, though quite time-consuming, here’s an abbreviated how-to:
Supplies:
balloons
newspaper
flour/water mixture (1 part flour: 2 parts water)
packaging tape
candy/small toys
ribbon
coffee filters
silk flowers (I used Dollar Store flowers – each pinata took 8-9 bunches)
hot glue gun/glue sticks
Making the Pinatas:
I initially typed up full instructions on making the pinatas, but it ended up being a lot of words and not that much fun, so instead I’m going to refer you to Google. Just google pinata DIY and you’ll have a hundred million sets of instructions. Pretty much, it’s just like you remember it from Vacation Bible School. I used the flour/water recipe for the “glue.” If you have any questions, send me an email and I’ll try to help you through. This was a really fun (and really messy) activity with the kids. They also got a thrill filling the dried pinatas with candy and toys.
Decorating the Pinatas:
I covered two of the pinatas with coffee filters (purchased from the Dollar Store) and three of the pinatas with silk flowers (also from the Dollar Store). For the coffee filters, I simply scrunched the middle and hot glued them onto the pinata, all smooshed up to the surrounding fluff.
Each pinata took A LOT of coffee filters to make it nice and fluffy, but the process is pretty straight-forward – scrunch, smoosh, glue. I also used hot glue to attach the silk flowers. This process was time-consuming, but again, pretty mindless and I did it in front of the television. The finished products turned out beautifully. You could also spray paint the dried pinatas with a coordinating color before attaching the coffee filters/flowers so that you didn’t have to be so careful to cover every speck of newspaper. I was too impatient to wait for an opportunity to go buy spray paint, so I skipped that step.
And yes, I really did let them whack the pinatas open (well, two of the pinatas, that is). My children were especially appreciative of the Pixie Stix they collected.
Comments & Reviews
Jenny at dapperhouse says
Awesome Idea!! LOVE IT!
Madigan at madiganmade says
These are beautiful! Not your traditional cartoon shaped pinata… just lovely!
amy says
Love those!!
Pam says
Love the coffee filter pinata….that was REALLY cost effective, but looked simply elegant too. (The flowered versions were incredibly lovely also.) Thanks for sharing!
Ingrid@morestylethancash says
I just like these as a decoration. They would look stunning done in bright colors for a spring party instead of hanging Chinese lanterns or in white for a bridal shower or pastels for a baby shower.
Oh, My Darling says
Wow this is a legitimately awesome craft idea!
Sarah says
I have to ask, how did you hold the balloon while you worked with the newspaper? Mine ended up with a large hole in the bottom, maybe use a smaller cup to hold it in? Any tips?
Thanks! 🙂
Ashley says
SUPER cute!!
Lily Riani says
love the idea.
The Autocrat: Haley says
Really good idea!! Too pretty to hit with a stick! LOL Fabulous job!
Mama.Mommy.Mom. says
This is such a cute idea! These would make excellent decorations to hang from the ceiling at a party just for looks!
The Mother Lode says
Lovely, just lovely! Must try this sophisticated spin on a pinata for our daughter’s upcoming birthday!!
A Girl says
Love. Love. Love. this idea! Thanks for sharing!
beast'sbelle says
What a great idea! Such an elegant take on a pinata! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Sixty-Fifth Avenue says
Good morning my friend. I will be storing this idea away to use sometime, fabulous! Were they pretty easy to break open?