How to Make a Valentine’s Day Pinata Craft

During the middle years of our marriage, I did a lot of crafts.  In fact, I custom made things and sold them to folks so we’d have grocery money.  While I did need the money back then, I just really enjoyed crafting in general and promised myself that in 2011, I’d do more of the things I loved, like crafting.

Today I’m bringing you a really easy-to-make Valentine’s Day Pinata.   I don’t know if you know what goes into making a real pinata but it’s a lot of work.   Who has time for that anymore you know?  This pinata is something you can do in an hour or less, can get the kids to participate in, and is budget friendly.  In fact, we bought all the trinkets at dollar tree, walmart, etc,  where all the seasonal Valentine’s stuff was.  They have tons of those boxes full of goodies for $2 bucks or less and that includes bags with several pieces in them.  There was a lot of stuff for girls but not as much for boys. I still managed to find some cute spinning tops, kaleidoscopes, ball paddles, and candy.  I also found a ton of party favors on amazon!

With everything they have, you’ll be able to make an awesome large pinata OR, something I thought would be fun for kids in school, it to make several of these small ones that I made for Truett and give them to your child’s friends!

SUPPLIES NEEDED

• 1 brown or white paper bag
• Tissue paper in red and pink
• 2 ft of yarn
• Hole punch
• Stapler or tape
• Newspaper or other lightweight filler (can also use tissue paper)
• Small trinkets and candies (like the ones I bought at Walmart)
• Scissors
• White craft glue

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Open the bag and put treats and trinkets inside. Fill about ¼ full.
2. Fill remaining space with crumpled up newspaper (or tissue paper).  I cut them into big strips but you don’t have to.  Leave a small amount of space at the top of the bag so it can be folded over and closed.
3. Fold top over and secure with staples or tape.
4. Poke or punch a hole in the middle of the bag in the fold. Be sure it’s low enough that the hole won’t rip.
5. Cut long strips of tissue paper about 3″ wide and as long as the tissue paper sheet is. Fringe the ends of the tissue paper by cutting slits about halfway up.
6. Starting at the bottom of the bag, glue the tissue paper onto the bag by the solid edge only, do not glue the fringe down. Do this all the way around the bag.
7. Repeat these steps, working your way upward toward the top of the bag, alternating colors each time. We used a fun Valentine’s Day red/white themed one with a red alternation.  My husband thought a scalloped one would be nice to alternate with but every one I tried ended up looking like someone’s behind.  LOL So I stuck with fringe all the way up!
8. Gently lay the bag on its side.
9. Cut strips of tissue paper about 1″ wide. Fold in half, then glue to the bottom of the bag at the half-way point.
10. Set aside to dry completely.
11. Thread string or yarn through hole at the top and tie a knot.
12. Hang by your string and hit until it breaks.  We first tried a drum stick that goes to our game system but had to find a stick in the yard.  That worked much better!

Tips:

* Tissue paper usually comes folded. We folded up small (in a front/back zig sag motion) and cut the fringe that way.  Was much faster!
* To avoid a shoving match when the candy drops, try putting goodie bags together instead of loose candy and trinkets. Label each bag with a certain color label (think garage sale dots from the discount department store) and assign each child a corresponding color either via a sticker or ribbon bracelet. This will eliminate any fighting over who gets what candy.
* You can stuff your piñata with other material if you don’t have newspaper. Just remember that whatever you use may come out of the piñata with the candy. So if you use packing peanuts, you will be cleaning all of those up afterward, whereas if you use crumpled paper, clean up will be much less intensive.

Have you ever made your own pinata?