How to Help a Child Make Their Own Pinata

Making a homemade pinata can be fun and easy for a parent and child. Nothing makes a child more proud than showing off something he helped make. A little creativity and some newspaper and paste and your child can make their very own pinata.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Newspaper
• Masking tape
• Flour
• Water
• Paint

1. 
    
   make a paste

   Mix 1 cup of flour to ½ cup of water to make your paper mache paste. Have the child tear strips of newspaper to use to dip into the paste and cover their paper mache form.

2. 
    
   Wad up paper and hold it tight with masking tape

   Start with the idea of what the child wants to make. They will need to start out with a form. For this example we are going to use a soccer ball that an 8 year old wanted to make. Start wadding up paper to form a ball using masking tape to hold the shape and form. For a piñata you want a large soccer ball that can be filled with plenty of treats.

3. 
    
   A big paper ball dried

   Once the child had the large ball of newspaper they can begin to dip strips of newspaper into the flour and water mixture and lay over the dry paper ball. Don't worry about the perfect shape as the child can build layers they can shape the ball better. Let the first layer dry and start another layer. Continue this process until you have a hard paper form that looks like what you have in mind. Our example is a soccer ball, so we would want a large hard round ball.

4. 
    
   Hollow out the inside do not allow a child to do this step

   Let the ball dry completely. Once the ball or whatever form you have made has dried and is hard it's time to cut. Don't allow a child to do this; a parent can do this for them. Take a knife and cut of a small opening in the bottom. Continue removing newspaper from the core of your form until you have hollowed out as much of it as you want. You will want to hollow it out a lot so that there won't be too many hits to break it open, make the walls thin according to the ages using it. Save the piece of the piñata you removed to tape back in place once you have the piñata filled with candy.

5. 
    
   Paint base coat

   Have the child start putting on the base coat of paint onto the form. For a soccer ball it was easier to paint the entire ball white then add the dark areas later. You want to have a couple good coats on for your base color to make the paint smooth and even. Let the base coat dry well.

6. 
    
   A finished soccer ball

   Allow the child to paint the details on after the first painting is dry. Once they have their completed piñata painted and dry you can fill with candy and treats and tape the bottom piece back on to hold them inside. Attach a hook or rounded piece of coat hanger into the top of the piñata and let your child swing at it. If it is for a party, imagine how proud your child will be that they made their own piñata!

Tips & Warnings

• Do Not allow a child to use sharp implements. The hollowing out step should be performed by an adult.

[musicdeb]

on 8/4/2009 Making a pinata is a great activity for kids and adults alike!
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