How to Make a Piñata

Summary: A piñata is a brightly colored container, usually made of papier-mâché, and filled with candy and toys. During celebrations, like a birthday party for example, partygoers are blindfolded and given a large stick to attempt to break open the piñata, which is generally hung from the ceiling or a tree branch. Traditional Mexican piñatas are star shaped, but they can be found in a number of shapes and sizes, and are often made to resemble human, animal or cartoon characters.

In this series of free video clips you’ll learn how to make a piñata. Expert Cynthia Glover not only offers a brief history of the piñata’s origins, but takes you through the process of making a piñata step-by-step, showing you what materials you’ll need to get started, including water, glue, paper, flour and liquid starch. She continues by creating a mixture and using it to cover a balloon, and demonstrates the paper layering process. She then offers tips for decorating your piñata with paints and tissue paper, and shows you how to fill the piñata with candy and other treats that will spill out over the floor when it’s finally broken open.