Halloween pinata

[Mrs_P]

Hi

I'm organising a Halloween party for toddlers.  Hubby has volunteered to make a pinata for the party.  Just wondered if anyone has any practical advice?
Seen a bat pinata on Martha Stewart website which looks like a possibility.

Thanks!

[makeaneffort]

im making a few so far im thinking ghost with white cloth hanging down and big googly eyes and the bat ones is great so il try this also. i am having a circus theme so a clown face is a definate .... i dont know how scary you are allowed but can you make it look like an eyeball? or a blood covered sphere??

[KimmyLynne82]

I just finished making one of these! Mine is a ghost, and was really cheap and easy to put together!



I used a punch ball balloon as the base, did the paper mache in three layers, then used a white plastic table covering (rectangle, cut in half width-wise) as the covering. Cost me under $3 to make (minus filling it with candy), and took a couple nights to complete. Using the punch ball balloons as the base, you could make a pumpkin/Jack o'Lantern, ghost, spider, bat, cat, etc. Really anything you can think of!

[moonshinecandy]

It's been awhile since I made a Halloween pinata.....but we used the paper mache strips over an inflated balloon method and let that hang till it was dry, then popped the balloon.  Then we just used orange and black streamers and cut them into little squares to decorate the mache ball into a beautiful pumpkin pinata...we then put candy in and used a piece of toilet paper tubing for the handle/stalk and decorated that with green/gold/brown paintss....I think I still have old pics somewhere, I'll have to post when I get more ambitious...(pics are from 1994, digitalcams where JUST starting to come out, mine where regular 35 mm and will have to be scanned)...hope this helped!  Good Luck!

[moonshinecandy]

in addendum, I would be careful about the candy and toys put in the pinata since it is for toddlers........we usually give out dumdum suckers to smaller kids....as for toys, maybe some larger type bounce balls, or some of those cute halloween rubber ducks at Wal-Mart.......the dollar stores usually carry party toys cheap and you should be able to find something appropriate for toddler age kids.....again..... ..good luck....get as much done as you can beforehand so you can relax and enjoy the party as well.....toddlers are full of energy and you'll know it's a success if YOU and the other adults feel like you could use a nap afterwards! haha!!

[KimmyLynne82]

One other thought - depending on the age of the kids (you mentioned toddlers...) I recommend keeping the layers of paper mache to a minimum. If they're younger kids, keeping the layers thinner (maybe like 3 layers) will allow the pinata to break easier/quicker. If you've got older kids, I'd say 4 layers would be good...especially if you're going to be gluing additional layers of streamers/paper onto the pinata.

The one I posted above is 3 layers, and the white plastic covering is just kind of laying on top for now until I finish filling it...then I'll probably just use double sided tape to secure it in a couple spots. I didn't want to get too fancy/decorative since the kids are just going to smash it to bits anyway! They're a bit older (5+) and can get violent when they know they get to whack something with a stick!

And I agree about the candy - fruit snacks would be a great filler, and great for the kids too!

[Mrs_P]

Thanks all - I like your ghost. Think perhaps we'll do something similar - I totally agree why put in all the effort just for something that's destined to be smashed up!
Now to find some healthy-ish treats!