pinata ideas

[alicia622]

I am thinking about making a pinata for DS's 5th birthday coming in late August. I have never made a pinata before but I have done paper mache in the past. We are having a jungle theme and the cake I am making is quite complex so I need to have the pinata done by the middle of August so I can devote the rest of the month to the cake!

What jungle creature do you think would be the easiest to create?
How do you add the treats? Do you just cut a hole in it and tape the missing piece back on? Do you think it would be better to just purchase one? They aren't all that costly, but I do love to do stuff like this and since DS is still young, he won't care that it isn't perfect/looks homemade

Also if you have any good pinata making tips...please share!

[mumkimum]

Growing up, I believe I insisted on having pinatas at a lot of my birthday parties and we always made them - not always traditionally or anything though (my most memorable was a big ice cream cone, that had a cylinder of kraft paper and paper mache ball as the cone).

I believe a lot of the time we and my mom would make a large shape, attach non-papermache parts to it or it would end up some random crazy colored shape (instead of painting or making multiple paper mache arms/legs/whatever). We would cut a hole to fill it, but not always tape it closed (this meant some filling would spill out before it broke , which was fun - depending on the shape this may or may not work out).

I DO think that a relatively easy but cool jungle pinata could be a snake - especially if you have a tree to hang it from. I'd attach a few long balloons together to make it and maybe paint it.

[4evermom]

Paint it brown, hang some some leaves over it and call it a coconut.

I used strips of newspaper, dipped in watered down white glue, layered on a balloon. I don't remember how many layers I made. Not too many so it isn't too hard for little ones to crack. Store bought ones are literally cardboard taped together in a shape and covered with crepe paper. They tend to be kind of hard to smash.

Leave a flap that can be glued down after you fill it.

If you want, you can make the pull string kind. Put the flap on the bottom, attach a bunch of ribbons to it. I had all the kids pull at once so I didn't worry about one of the ribbons being the special one that opened it. They were all attached firmly and they all helped pull open the flap.

[MaerynPearl]

Make a spider!!! lol

I made a tootsie roll out of kraft paper for my spanish class

yes, you cut a hole out (of the top! near the string attachment but not around the string attachment)

[SpaceAngel401]

I made a pinata for Spanish class my senior year. It was just a big round striped ball. I was a little over-zealous with the papier-mache. Too many layers. It wouldn't break at all and when it finally fell it fell straight to the ground with a lound THWUNK. So, the only advice I can give is don't do what I did.

[MadiMamacita]

you could make an elephant!
I too have made the balloon paper mache style. i made a pikachu.
elephant was the first roundish animal i thought of.

[lucyem]

I made a Death Star. I covered a large balloon with strips of newspaper dipped in wallpaper paste. It was about 18 inches in diameter. I did about three layers and kept it round. I did a layer per day. When I was done I found a silver metallic spray paint and covered it. Then I took a sharpie and made some lines around it, just a few including the large circle on the death star where the planet destroying beam comes from. Looked amazing. I left a 3 inch hole at the top for adding treats. I drilled holes into the top and ran twine through. Though out of concern it might tear when hung up I took silver duct tape and went around the hole edges and where the twine came through. We then hung it to the ceiling in our barn. It was strong enough that 15 party kids each got to hit it twice before the "big boys" were allowed to really go at it.

When I was little my mom did a similar thing and rounded the bottom to make a strawberry.

I am trying to think what you would see in a jungle. A monkey? Make the body the round ball part, use a smaller balloon to make a head to sit on top. Paint arms, legs & tail. Tiger head? Paint it bright red and call it a jungle berry

[littlemizflava]

you could do a huge balloon and make it in to a lions head by adding tissue paper.

when i made one it was of dora's head. i just used newspaper and watered glue and did layers on a huge balloon then white paper for the top few layers and then painted on it. then added tissue for hair. as for adding the treats i cheated i added them threw the little hole in the top that the balloon left to hang it i just used ribbons attached to the 4 sides of the hole. the hole is hidden then with tissue paper