How To Make a Pinata

Tear old newspapers into strips approximately one inch wide and eight inches long. You’ll need enough pieces to cover your pinata with at least three layers.

Whisk two cups of flour and one cup of water into a paste, adding a bit more of either if needed to reach the right consistency. You can also use regular glue thinned out with water.

Blow up a round balloon and knot it. Sit it in a bowl to steady it while you work.

Dip a newspaper strip into your paste or glue, shake off any excess moisture, and press it onto the balloon. Smooth down any bumps. Repeat, overlapping the strips, until the entire surface is covered in one layer. Leave a small, unpapered space at the top so you have an opening for the pinata’s filling.

Let each layer dry completely before applying another. The more layers you add, the more difficult it will be to crack open. Three layers is the minimum.

Let the paper dry overnight, then pop the balloon and remove it through the unpapered hole.

If you’re making a specific shape, like a donkey, construct the parts you need out of cardboard or scrunched-up newspaper, and attach them with tape or glue.

Paint and decorate the pinata with streamers, tissue paper, glitter, or other trimmings.

Make a small slit on either side of the hole. Push a ribbon into one slit, and pull it out of the pinata through the other slit. Then fill the pinata with candy, nuts, fruit, small toys, or a combination thereof.

Seal the top hole with more newspaper strips dipped in paste. Let it dry, paint it, and hang up the pinata with the ribbon that you strung through it.

Allow time for your work of art to be admired before you hand out sticks and let everyone smash it to smithereens!