Spotted: How to Make a Pinata that’s Quick and Easy
Store-bought pinatas are far from eco-friendly. Here's how to make a pinata that's totally unique and uses reclaimed materials.
Kids love a pinata. Heck, so do grown-ups. We had a party once years ago where we filled a giant octopus-shaped pinata with airplane-sized bottles of booze, and it was such a hit! Whether you're planning a kid's birthday party or a grown-up shindig, here's how to make a pinata the quick and easy way.
How to Make a Pinata with Reclaimed Materials
Zoe Saint-Paul over at Slow Mama shares a great tutorial on how to make a quick, easy pinata, and with just a couple of substitutions, you can make this already pretty eco-friendly project even greener. Here are the materials she calls for, along with substitution suggestions:
- empty cardboard box - just make sure this is reclaimed. If you don't have an empty box on hand, your local package store probably has a mountain of them and would be happy to share one with you.
- crepe paper - instead of new crepe paper, use strips of paper from your recycle bin. Old junk mail or coffee filters (rinsed and dried) would both work really well.
- spray adhesive - these can be pretty toxic. Instead of a spray adhesive, just use watered down glue to paper mache your pinata. Paint the section that you want to cover with the glue mixture, and stick your strips of paper down.
Reclaimed paper isn't going to give your project a uniform color. That could be a-OK - the kids are just going to whack it to pieces with a broomstick, right? - or you can paint it to make it uniform. Hit the home improvement store for a pint of zero-VOC paint, if that's your plan.
The real trick for how to make a pinata that's quick and easy is skipping the fringe. Do kids really care about that? I bet they just want to whack that thing and get at the candy that's inside!
Have you made a pinata? Was your technique like the one I describe, or did you do it differently? Share your tips on how to make a pinata in the comments!