Need a wonderful accent for your upcoming gathering? The ideal activity would be to include a piñata. Hundreds of different sizes and forms of piñatas are available, so you can pick one that matches your theme. In case you didn’t know, it can be filled with anything little and sturdy, so kids aren’t the only ones who can use it! Here is a guidance on how to use piñatas at your events.
Types of Piñatas
Do you realize there are primarily two varieties of piñatas? There are two types: the original piñata and the pull-string piñata, both of which make it safe and simple to release the treats.
1. Traditional Piñata
Traditional piñatas are adorned, filled with sweets and pastries, and then smashed as part of the celebration. They are often made of cardboard, papier mâché, or occasionally earthenware. Blindfolded players can hit it with a bat or a broomstick to unleash whatever is within because it is suspended in the air. It’s fun for all ages, but it does require some strength and dexterity to hit the target and successfully open the piñata. A large party room, the backyard, the garage, or the outside are the greatest places to employ a classic piñata.
2. Pull-String Piñata
Pull-string piñatas are fantastic for kids, but they’re also great for adults, particularly if the party area is tiny and doesn’t have a lot of swing space. It functions similarly to a traditional piñata, except instead of being broken with a bat, it has strings to pull. One thread from the piñata is given to each participant, but only one will let the filler out. If your party is indoors, you have a huge crowd, and your participants are shy kids between the ages of 3 and 7, you should utilize a pull-string piñata so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.
Safety Tips
- You have other options besides candy when it comes to fillers. It won’t break if you fill it with anything little, but avoid filling it with anything pointy to prevent damage.
- Make sure a strong, tight rope is used to firmly mount the piñata.
- The piñata can only be broken by one person at a time. It’s a bad idea to try to shatter the piñata with several individuals each clutching a bat. Even several persons attempting to tug on a stringed piñata at once have the potential to hurt someone.
- Keep your distance safely from the piñata batting area.
- Pick a pull-string piñata if there will be very small children playing.
- Use a plastic whiffle ball bat instead of a wooden baseball bat when putting up a piñata for children because the latter may be too hefty for the smaller participants.
- Before hitting the piñata, turn the blinded attacker just enough so that they don’t get too dizzy. Just rotate them twice or three times. Then point them in the appropriate direction so you may hit them.
- Don’t allow the kids run after the prizes as soon as the piñata is broken. Give them bags to collect their gifts in.
Filler Ideas
Make sure there are enough rewards inside your piñata so that everyone has a fair portion when you fill it! The following are some suggestions for fillers to include in your piñata:
1. Edible Fillers
Candy is a need because it is the piñata’s traditional filling. As piñata fillers, Nerds, Sour Patch Kids, Starburst, Skittles, and Twizzlers all perform admirably. The healthiest sweet, though, is actually chocolate if you’re a purist. When adding chocolate to your mixture, you must take the temperature outdoors into account, especially if it’s a summer celebration outside when the chocolate can melt. You can either avoid chocolate altogether or store it in a cold, dry area until you’re ready to use it.
While candy is a given, you can also include healthier food options as long as they are appropriately sized and wrapped. Small snack packages of Goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, granola bars, cartons of raisins, or bags of baby carrots can also be included.
You may also read our Candy Land Party article for more inspirations and recommendations.
2. Toy Fillers
A piñata stocked with small items for youngsters to play with will be a hit because toys are usually a fun gift for kids. Mini bubbles, slinkies, plastic animals, miniature bouncy balls, squishy toys, glow sticks, Rubik’s cube, rubber duckies, putty slime, spinning tops, wind-up toys, paper airplanes, and maracas are a few examples of the things you could use to fill your piñata.
3. Crafty Fillers
Crafty items are the way to go if you’re planning a piñata party for children. The children’s parents would be grateful to you for that! They will become exuberant and enthusiastic about something if you provide them resources, they may utilize in class or for any activity involving art. Pencils, erasers, little notepads, stickers, temporary tattoos, mini pens, highlighters, and rubber stamps are just a few of the options available.
4. Something to wear or use
You can provide items that children or any of the visitors would find useful. Anything little and useful, such as hair accessories, fashion accessories, and other small objects that individuals might wear or use, would make a terrific piñata filler that partygoers would like grabbing hold of. Shutter glasses, sunglasses, silicone bracelets, necklace and bracelet sets, rings, slap bracelets, hair ties, bow ties, headbands, keychains, sleep masks, small lip gloss, and whistles are all acceptable inclusions.
5. Confetti
Naturally, don’t forget the paper or foil confetti for the iconic “burst piñata” moment! It’s for the entertaining visual effect and pizazz factor. If you want something attractive and biodegradable, you can also use flower petals as a filler.
Piñata Hanging Tips
The following advice will help you hang your piñata on the big day!
- Remember to fill the empty piñata before you start playing. Every piñata has a tab that can be pushed to make a hole in it; these tabs are sometimes extremely well camouflaged. It is this gap that enables you to fill it. A piñata typically contains candies, chocolates, miniature presents, and confetti, but we’ll talk more about the fillings of piñatas later.
- Make sure the items you put inside a piñata are packed securely so they won’t rip off or pour out when it is pounded and hits the ground. Consider adding a sticker or piece of tape to the top and bottom of a small raisin box to keep the raisins within.
- The piñata needs to be suspended in the middle of the room with the furniture cleared out if you want to put it up indoors. Once their eyes are covered, the youngsters or anyone involved must be able to move around it without falling over. That’s the ideal location if there is a crossbeam or a free hook available in the area.
- A branch, a goal post, or a basketball hoop are the ideal places to hang a piñata outside. To make a loop long enough to hang the piñata on, take some string and attach it to the piñata’s hook. If there are small children, take into account their height because they must be able to reach the object when pulling on the strings or hitting it with a bat.
- Even if you’re using a pull-string piñata, keep a broomstick or a bat on hand just in case someone decides to hit the piñata. Just have them ready in case it simply won’t open to avoid a very unpleasant situation.
Conclusion
Use of a piñata will make kids’ parties more pleasant without a doubt! When it breaks, children can collect the candy that spills out while having fun with this enjoyable activity. We hope that we have given you enough information in this post so that you will be well-prepared to host the next kid’s party.