Looking for some summer fun for the kids? Have a big party and need to entertain the little ones? Sometimes summer fun and party planning can get rather expensive. Here is a D.I.Y summer treat that sure is sweet and that won’t leave your wallet feeling incomplete. Here is a how to about my experience with making pinatas.

I have been making pinatas for three years now. Each summer a volunteer at my local church’s Summer Vacation Bible School. We do lots of games and activities for the children in the church community. I volunteer as the games coordinator and activity leader. I plan games for the children to play throughout the week. My favorite day is of course the last and final day...pinata!

Pinatas are not only fun to break, they are fun to make! This is a great messy and lengthy summer project that the kids will surely enjoy!

What you will need:

Newspaper (cut into strips)

White paper (cut into strips)

Flour

Water

A punching balloon

Paint

To make the paper-mache paste all you need is flour and water! You take one part flour and mix it with one part water. If you are using 3 cups of flour you will just mix in 3 cups of water. The ratio is simple: 1 to 1. I have always used lukewarm water, it seems to mix better with the flour rather than cold water. TIP: if you have leftover paste after putting a layer on the pinata just refrigerate the paste until the next time you go to put another layer on.

My first paper-mache project was of the picture above of the sun pinatas. I just look a punching balloon and blew it up. Then I took the paste and layer newspaper using it. I went in the same direction for the first layer. For example, my first layer had the pieces all going horizontally. Then I let the pinata layer dry for approximately 12 hours. TIP: If you make the pinatas during a hot summer day, put them outside in the sun to dry. In the sun it only takes them about 5 to 6 hours to dry. Then after the first layer was dry I added a second layer of newspaper going the opposite way, vertically. I repeated these first two steps of paper-maching newspaper about 2 more times. Then I did the exact same thing with white printer paper ( this helps hides any pictures of words from the newspaper). Then, it's painting time. I just used tempera paint the first time and it took a lot of layers, probably around 4 or 5, before it looked good. TIP: add some acrylic paint because it is thicker and takes less layers to paint. Also try pasting on colored tissue paper rather than painting to add some color!

For the pinatas above I did not use a punching balloon to make the cowboy boot, barn, or horse. I simply make the shape by taping together old cereal boxes and cardboard. Then I followed the same steps as the other pinatas to add the layers of paste and newspaper. however, I did not add as many layers because the cardboard is very strong and sturdy!

Then comes the candy part! Fill it up with sweets and treats! I always go to the local dollar store and pick up some small goodies. As for the candy, buy in bulk! Get candy at a lower price by purchasing large bags. Or, just use the pinata as a decoration! Pinatas sure are some SWEET summertime fun!