How to Make a Pinata

The clever part of this build is that the star points are just cone party hats. Five of them, in whatever colours you want the tips to be.

You also need a foil balloon for the body, newspaper, flour, masking tape, crepe paper and glue. The whole lot came to about eight dollars at a dollar store.

Inflate the balloon, then slide a party hat over each of the five points and tape it down with masking tape.

You only need enough tape to hold it steady. The paper mache is what actually locks the cones on.

Whisk one cup of plain flour into one and a half cups of water until there are no lumps left.

You want it about the consistency of thin pancake batter. Too thick and it dries lumpy under the fringe, too thin and the paper will not hold.

Tear newspaper into strips about two inches wide. Dip a strip, swirl it through the paste, then draw it out between two fingers to squeeze off the excess.

Do not pinch too hard. You want a coating left on the paper, just not a dripping one.

Start in the middle of the balloon and work outward, overlapping each strip over the last.

Use shorter pieces around the cones where the curve is tight, and take the paper over the join so the balloon and the hat become one shape. Three to four full layers is what holds up to a bat.

Sit the piñata point-down in a tall jar so it dries evenly on both sides.

Weight the jar with something heavy, screws or bolts, or the whole thing tips over. Laid flat on a table one side stays wet and the shape flattens where it rests.

Once it is properly dry, cut a hatch with a craft knife, somewhere it will be hidden by fringe later.

Cut three sides and leave the fourth as a hinge if you want a flap you can close again.

Fold a length of crepe paper over on itself about three inches deep, then cut a fringe along the folded edge, stopping short of the fold.

Folding first gives you double thickness, which is what makes the finished fringe look dense instead of thin and stringy.

Thin white craft glue with a splash of water so it brushes on easily, then paint a band onto the shell and press a fringe strip down.

Work in rings, overlapping each new strip so it hides the glued edge of the one before. Take the colour right over onto the party hats.

Thread a length of string through the top for hanging, then fill it with wrapped sweets.

Tape a piece of card over the hatch, fringe over the top of it, and nobody will find the seam. Keep the sweets wrapped since they end up on the grass.