We received many requests for a tutorial on Clara’s pull-string piñata, so here it is. If you’re not interested in making one, you could always turn this into a post-party drinking game—take a sip every time you see the word “piñata.” Fair warning: you might not be fit to drive afterwards.
I hadn’t encountered a pull-string piñata until a baby party catalog landed in my mailbox. It struck me as a brilliant idea for little ones: instead of swinging a bat, each child tugs a string until the treats spill out. Clara couldn’t—or wouldn’t—take a swing, but she could definitely pull a string. The concept is simple and wonderfully kid-friendly: each child holds a string and, together, they open the piñata. Here’s how ours turned out.
First I made paper maché paste (roughly two parts water to one part flour) and inflated a punch balloon I had on hand. Then I cut newspaper into strips and layered them over the balloon with the paper maché mixture until it was covered.
I let the paper maché dry overnight, then hung it outside to speed drying. On a humid day that didn’t help much, so I used a hairdryer to finish drying the shell. Ten minutes with warm air turned the shell hard and ready.
Once dry, I popped the balloon and it slipped out cleanly, leaving a hollow paper maché shell. It wasn’t much to look at yet, but it was sturdy.
I flipped the shell so the bottom faced up and cut a small “exit flap” with an X-Acto knife so the treats could spill out when the strings were pulled.
I filled the piñata with kid-friendly treats that aren’t choking hazards: single-serve packs of Goldfish and Teddy Grahams worked perfectly.
Next I punched nine holes in the shell for nine pieces of ribbon—one for each child I expected. I cut nine 30-inch lengths of curling ribbon and threaded them through the holes, securing them with duct tape on the inside of the flap so each ribbon would pull on the exit flap when tugged.
Because the flap sat at the bottom and needed to remain closed under the weight of the treats, I added small cardboard tabs and used duct tape to secure them behind the large flap. The tabs held the flap closed until the correct ribbon was pulled.
With the balloon gone, the piñata needed a strong hanging point. I folded four 4-inch pieces of duct tape around the top hole to reinforce it, punched four holes through the reinforced areas, then looped two long ribbons through opposite holes and tied them into two strong loops. That gave me a secure way to hang the piñata using two loops rather than trying to knot four ribbons inside the shell.
I hung the piñata and began the decorating step: covering the rough paper maché and duct-tape base with pink tissue paper scales. One 99-cent pack of tissue paper was enough. I folded sheets and cut many small scalloped pieces so I could layer them in rows from bottom to top.
Working in horizontal rows, I taped the scales around the piñata with ordinary scotch tape, slightly overlapping each row to create a fish-scale effect. For the top hole I folded the scales inward and taped them to the interior for a neat finish. It transformed the plain shell into something pretty and playful.
All together, this project was inexpensive: I already had newspaper, flour and water for paste, ribbon, and tools, and the treats and tissue paper kept the total cost under $8. The result was a fun, kid-safe pull-string piñata that looked great and worked even better.
It was a great time. Have you ever made a homemade piñata or other party games like cornhole or pin-the-tail? Share your ideas and experiences.
P.S. We also shared a step-by-step on making simple balloon garlands on BabyCenter. They’re an easy, festive, budget-friendly party decoration.