Simple and Easy DIY Pinata

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Materials

• Cardboard box
• Rainbow rolls of crepe paper
• Masking tape
• String or ribbon for hanging

Tools

• Scissors
• Glue gun
• Hot glue sticks for glue gun
• Pointy metal chopstick or something to poke a hole through cardboard with.

Materials and Tools-wise this is pretty easy! The only things I needed to buy were glue sticks (because I was running low) and crepe paper streamers. I got a bunch of assorted colored streamers on Amazon to use for this and future pinatas. With four kids and a family birthday pinata tradition, I go through this stuff fast!

Tips for How to Make It!

1. Save the biggest Amazon boxes! We get monthly subscriptions of a bunch of bulk food items and diapers so that's the box I always save for these. I don't want to buy cardboard if I don't have to! I also like to avoid any edges/creases in the box. So bigger is better to avoid that.
   
2. We're turning a sort of 2D item into 3D by just adding some side depth. You’ll see what I mean. So not too much pinata engineering is needed here. I promise!
   
3. Sketch out your design first! I believe planning is half the battle and every 1 minute you plan, you save 10 minutes in execution!
   
4. My daughters are both into rainbows, so buying an assorted pack of smaller rolls of crepe paper colors helps with the color variety I need versus having large rolls of colors I don't use often.
   
5. Keep the age range and strength level of the pinata hitters in mind while constructing. This one is for toddlers to about 6 with a few older kids. So we want a weak structure so it's not a disappointment for the littles. I usually get the oldest kids to finish it off at the end with spectacular results. But I want the littles to have fun too by seeing some damage they inflict. You do this by adding less tape in the base shape structure part. And using weaker materials.
   
6. Make sure you have a door or hatch near the top to put in the candy or whatever you plan to fill the pinata with. You can seal this later, but make sure it is there for this purpose and decorate with it in mind.
   
7. Pay attention to where the pinata will hang from. And how the center of gravity will make it hang. Because where you put the string to hold it up can't be the same place you put the hatch. The hatch will be the weakest spot so it can't also hold up the whole thing with goodies inside.

Step by Step

1. Cut your box flat and sketch the shape of the number on 1 side as big as you/you want. Make sure you have enough cardboard for both sides.
   
2. Cut out the shape.
   
3. Trace the shape onto another piece of cardboard and cut out the other side.
   
4. Cut “strips” of cardboard out for the edges. Usually, I made these about the width of a flap of the box to save on cutting. You need enough of these strips to go all the way around the edges.
   
5. Fold/crease the strips for any curved spots. I’m making a number 6, so this one will be all curves, but if you were doing a 1 or 7 you would need straight pieces too.
   
6. Tape it up! Tape the edge strips to one of the sides. Then the other side. The wider the spaces between the tape pieces, the easier this will bust apart when hit. But of course, make sure there is enough tape to keep the pinata together. This will be case my case so feel it out!
   • Tip: this is the point where you need to plan the hatch near the top for where to put the goodies inside. I don't cut out a hole, I instead just leave a part open and avoid taping it so it can flap open when I need it.
   • Tip: this is also when you need to plan where it will hang from. You can add the string now or wait until after decorating. Just make sure it's easy to get to for tying it securely. This will be near the hatch, but not at the same place.
   • For shapes that have a large area and might collapse because it's too wide (like a round Pokeball, ask me how I know), I as a folded strip of cardboard that makes kind of a V shape and tape that into the middle to the big shape to hold the 2 sides apart. Numbers and Letters don't when this problem.
     
7. Time for decorating! Plug in your glue gun and map out where your colors are going. Start at the bottom of the pinata. We're doing a ruffle effect here so we need to overlap from the bottom like shingles on a house roof. Put a line of glue down and stick one side of the crepe paper streamer to it. Make sure it's not a long line or it will harden before you can stick the paper to it. Be careful! It's hot!
   • Tip: you can start on the edges and then do either side. Or start on the sides and then do the edges. Either is fine. Go with what makes sense to you.
     
8. As you move up, adjust around edges or weird shapes. I glued it down and then cut off the end after instead of pre-cutting. But you can pre-cut the strip. I find pre-cutting works well when doing edges and cutting after gluing is easier for the front and back.
   • Tip: be careful not to mess up any of the streamers that are already glued as you move along. Sometimes the weight of the pinata on itself can crinkle up the streamer and it's hard to go back and replace messed up parts.
     
9. Keep going! You'll get into a groove. I like to put on a podcast as I work.
   
10. Put the string it's hanging from on if you haven't already and you're done! Time for filling with goodies and having a party!