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Piñata - what is it? How to make a Mexican toy yourself?

At various children's holidays, celebrations and weddings, entertainment such as piñata becomes more and more popular. What it is? Where can I get it? How to make yourself? A lot of questions ...

Piñata is a ball of papier-mâché, multi-colored paper and bright ribbons, suspended and filled with sweets. To release such an attractive and tempting content, it must be broken with a stick.

History of appearance

So, piñata: what is it? For the first time such entertainment appeared in Mexico, although, according to some information, its appearance is obliged to the inhabitants of China. It was in this country for several centuries that the New Year's meeting occurred with the obligatory presence of a large figure of a cow or a bull filled with flowers and five kinds of seeds. People smashed it, burned the remains, and took the ashes. It was believed that in this case the coming year will be pleasant in all respects. Mexico with such fun, which is an indispensable attribute of children's birthdays, met a couple of centuries later. Interesting entertainment with pleasure diversified their holidays European residents.

Piñata: what is it?

The traditional form of the piñata, considered a Christmas symbol, is represented by a large seven-pointed star pointing the way to the wanderers. In Spain, such a figure is made from a clay pot, to which paper cones are attached. For Europe is characterized by a simpler version - from papier-mache. How to make a piñate yourself?

More and more popular are figures of various content (houses, flowers, balls), cartoon characters or figures corresponding to the age of the birthday. In addition to sweets, piñata can be filled with all sorts of pleasant little things: cute prizes, small balls, soft toys, stickers, toys, unexpected surprises. Piñata (photo can be seen in the article) is an excellent alternative to fireworks, which, in addition to visual pleasure, has a lot of positive and excellent mood.

Self-made manual

How to make a piñata at home? In the manufacture of such original fun with their own hands, the space for imagination is huge; The easiest way to build it in the form of a ball. Previously it is required to make a form from papier-mache, for which you will need:

  • ¼ cup of wheat flour;
  • 2 teaspoons of starch;
  • 1 cup of cool water;
  • 0,5 liters of boiling water;
  • Old newspapers.

The first step is to weld the paste: combine the flour with the starch, dilute with cold water. The resulting solution should be poured into boiling water, stirred to a uniform state, and cooled.

Cut the stripes from the newspaper (about 10 * 30 cm); Each lubricate the paste and glue to the base, which is most convenient to use an ordinary balloon (not too inflated) or a large gym ball. As strings, it is better to use not tape, but tape, so that during the drying process the ball could be puffed. It is recommended to stick newspapers at least 4 layers, waiting for the complete drying of the previous one (about 1-2 hours). If the piñata is intended for young children, 3 layers are enough; If there is something heavy for the adult or inside, it is better to strengthen the ball with two or three additional layers. To loosen the pinyat and make it easier to break it, it is recommended to use a knife to make several neat holes in it.

Mass for papier-mache can be prepared by another method - using 8 rolls of toilet paper, 1 liter of PVA glue, 3 liters of water as the material.

In a spacious container in water, you need to soak toilet paper, then squeeze it well. To facilitate this occupation it is possible with the help of gauze cloth, in which to place the soaked mass. The remaining "cake" is combined with the glue and applied to the substrate, leaving uncovered the place where the ball is tied. After the drying of the substrate (it usually takes about 3 days) you can check the readiness of the piñata by tapping it. The characteristic sound will confirm the dryness of the product. Then the tape needs to be untied and the ball blown off. On the inside, the papier-mache should be dry and smooth.

We complicate the task

For those who learned to make simple forms of piñata, mastering its manufacture in the form of various figures would not be particularly difficult. For example, for a figure in the shape of an animal, a double-sided adhesive tape must be affixed to the balloon with cardboard parts or several balls of other sizes, on which the newspaper mass is applied.

In the process of making it is necessary to determine the place for which the piñata will be suspended, fix the hook with wide shoulders, made of a thin wire hanger. The hangers can be fixed from the inside of the balloon with adhesive tape, the opening - masked with adhesive paper tape.

How to decorate a piñata

Of course, the resulting dirty-gray ball at first little resembles a conceived toy, so it requires further design and decoration. Most often for decoration, colored corrugated paper is used, which must be cut into strips 5-7 cm wide in the form of fringe (across, not to the end). It is required to glue a piñate from the bottom with a fringe down, round; Strips should be applied so that one slightly enters the other. Leave it to dry for a day.

You can supplement the piñata with such elements as eyes, ears, tail (depending on what kinds of pinyat are thought up). You can also decorate the finished form with satin ribbons, shaggy feathers, pieces of foil, artificial flowers and serpentine.

For example, by layering the piñata with honey-colored paper and decorating the bees with Velcro, you can get a nice beehive. Piglet, eyes and ears in the end will give a cute pig.

How to fill a piñata

The final maneuver is filling the finished piñata with chewing gums, sweets, finely chopped colored paper. You can do this through the hole left. When choosing a candy, preference is given to jokes and candies, since chocolate in the process of whipping on a toy can be significantly damaged. Also, make sure that there are no sharp objects inside that can injure others. It is recommended to fill the piñata by one-third or half, because the toy can break, there must be empty space inside. In addition, the piñata should be sufficiently mobile, swaying and quirky, so that children would be interested to beat it. Use for this is best bit or stick. For convenience of breaking the piñata it is recommended to do not too bulky and large enough, on average from 50 centimeters to 1 meter.

Choose the location

For such a game, a certain amount of space is required so that other participants can run away far away while the blindfolded player, trying to hit the piñate, beats in different directions. Therefore, it is recommended to identify a bright toy on the street, for example, on a branch of a sprawling tree. If it is impossible to hold a holiday on the street, the piñata can be hung in the largest room in the room. The figure needs to be firmly fixed, so that during the whipping process it does not come off together with the long-awaited surprises inside.

Right of first strike

Most children are built according to their height and the right of first strike is given to the youngest. In fact the kid from the first time is unlikely to break a piñata, that is why there is a high probability that all participants can play. If the right to give the first blow to older children, the piñata can be broken faster, which will provide disappointment and tears to players who did not succeed in hitting it. It should be remembered that when one man beats a piñata, the rest should be at a safe distance.

So, we got the answer to the question: piñata - what is it? For a holiday, such fun is just a find. It unites the guests and causes general fun. Piñata is a toy, which is an original decoration and entertainment of any celebration, capable of setting a positive tone for the event and bringing a lot of pleasure and joy to the guests.

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