Symfully Dulce Sabado - How to Make a Pinata

I really dropped the ball last month on Sami's Symfully Sweet Saturday. No inspirational thoughts floated my way in spite of all the candy corn I ate hoping to find some. Maybe it was the sugar-induced coma setting in instead...

I was bound and determined to make it happen this month. And make it happen I did...

In a hit-two-birds-with-one-stone kind of way no less. (Or should I say: hit-two-birds-whilst-blindfolded-with-one-bat kind of way?)

I have been in search of some new family holiday traditions for my family for the past couple of years. Last Christmas I researched pinatas and brought a couple to our family get-together hoping to teach my family a few facts about the history and meaning of pinatas whilst bribing them with the candies inside to at least pretend to be interested in my little spiel.

It kind of worked. But I'm sure all was forgotten once the bat came out and the candy went flying. Oh well. At least maybe my nieces and nephews will connect sweet, delicious showers of candy with their favorite Aunt Evelyn, automatically making me the coolest aunt ever!

Intent on reinforcing the sweet connection (har har har) with my siblings' kids I brought pinatas (homemade this time!) for our Thanksgiving get together this year. And what did I stuff my pinatas with???

Thank you for the inspiration Sami!

Have you ever made a pinata? It really isn't too difficult to do and it can be a ton of fun. My kids are fairly convinced that their mom is about the coolest (and craziest) lady there ever was now that they have watched me make a couple...in the middle of our kitchen...over the course of three days.

For ONE pinata you will need:
-twine
-one balloon
-newspaper or paper torn into strips (about one inch)


-flour
-water
-whatever decorating supplies you want
-CANDY! (in this case mini Hershey candy bars! YUM!)

1. Blow up balloon and tie securely. Hang upside down with twine. Make sure to spread paper beneath your balloon to catch the paste drips.


2. Make flour/water paste by combining two parts water with one part flour. You want your paste to be runny like thick glue. Mix it well so there are no lumps. (NOTE: I used one heaping cup flour with not quite two cups warm water for each layer I put on my TWO balloons.)


3. Dip paper strips in flour paste and run through fingers so as to strip off excess paste. You want your strips to be wet but not sopping wet. Apply strip smoothly to balloon. Continue applying strips until the entire balloon is evenly covered.



4. Allow plenty of time for wet paper layer to dry. Count on as much as 12 hours. It is important to heed this step. If you try to apply another layer before the first is dry, the pinata can become very heavy and misshapen.


5. Repeat STEPS 3 and 4 applying a second and then third layer, giving adequate drying time in between.


6. Once pinata is completely dry, cut it down from the twine leaving extra twine to use to hang it later. Pop, deflate, and remove balloon.


7. Time to decorate! Since these pinatas were intended for our Thanksgiving activities, I made turkeys out of my pinatas. After my first layer of paper had dried, I rehung my pinatas horizontally so as to take advantage of the shape. Obviously you can take whatever artistic liberties you choose to.


After cutting a small hole in the top of my pinata for candy filling later, I hot glued white paper streamers all around the pinata. I poked a second hole at one end of the pinata and inserted a toilet paper roll for the turkey's neck. I attached a Styrofoam ball onto the end of the TP roll for the head. I hot glued feathers on the bum, orange pipe cleaner feet on the bottom, and a pink balloon waddle on the face along with a beak and eyes.



Sure he's a goofy looking guy, but come on... Have you ever seen a handsome turkey?

8. Once your pinata is decorated, carefully fill with the candy of your choice. I highly suggest miniature Hershey candy bars (wink, wink). This is my sister Erin taking care of the turkey "stuffing" and some of the kids "helping" by devouring any stray candies.


9. Hang the finished pinata and let the blindfolded and be-weaponed kids at it.




And do be careful not to have any America's Funniest Home Videos moments. Can you believe they still show those clips on every episode? How predictable. There's a kid. a pinata. a bat. and some dude dumb enough to stand within crotch-hitting range. Hmm...I wonder what will happen next?