Birthday Pinata- Probably a Silly Question, But...

We've always used a child's baseball bat. We try to find a way to let all the kids hit the piñata, which means you don't want it to break right away. You can go smallest to biggest. If there are a lot of kids you can blindfold them the first time or do 1 swing each the first time.

FYI, piñatas are empty when you buy them, so you do have to fill it with candy or trinkets. That might seem obvious, but I've heard stories of kids breaking an empty piñata because the adult thought they came prefilled.

Yeah... sometimes they are REALLY hard to bust open. REALLY hard. So be prepared that the kids could get worn out before any candy/toys fall out.

I've done many of them. If you are on a driveway or dirt, draw a large circle using either chalk or a line in dirt with a stick showing where the children cannot pass until the pinata is broken. This helps with having no injuries. Be sure each child has a bag with his/her own name on it prior to the game. Line the children up with the birthday child first to hit and then from smallest to tallest. At times, we would give the very young ones one or two extra hits. We generally allow 3 swings per child, more for the little ones.

They are a lot of fun! Have a good time.

Pinata's were popular at all of our parties.

We opted not to do the blindfold
We had parents around to make sure no one got hit
We filled it with candy and small toys
Some of the piñata's are so hard to open, my hubby would make random slits in it so that it would break easier.
When it did open, I also tossed out MORE candy/toys for children to gather which was away from the major pile of candy/toys that was crowded.

Have fun!! It has been years since we have had a piñata. Our baby is 20 now!

Start worst hitters (usually smallest to biggest). Pinata sticks mean you'll probably get each kid a few chance to hit it before it rips open (assuming group of 5 year old girls).

Make sure everyone has goodie bags to put their candy in. Make sure the smaller and or less aggressive kids get their share of candy. Have fun!

At age 5 don't bother blind folding them. Make sure they are somewhere they can't hit anything (that is swinging wildly in any and all directions including up). They may not be strong enough to break the pinata. Many now have strings to pull to open them. Provide cups or bags for them to gather the candy in.

The kids need bags to collect the candy.

I've always used a small plastic bat, kids have been fine with it since age 2.

I have never actually seen the type of piñata you hit with a bat. The only ones I have seen have a little trap door and the kids pull on ribbons to make the door open. They aren't papier mache, but cardboard and nearly impossible to break with a bat!

In Mexico, there is a song they sing that "times" each kid's turn. It's in Spanish, so it might be fun to teach it to the kids as part of the party. I'll see if I can find a link for you, but if you are really in AZ like me you likely have friends who know it!
http://www.musicnotes.net/SONGS/05-DALED.html

Look for a pull piñata. There are several streamers that hang down. Only one of the strings will open the piñata. Everyone pulls at the same time. No sticks to swing around. No tears because someone didn't get a turn to hit it. You can reuse it. I got one at Target. After we used it I sold it at a garage sale.

I filled it with small school supplies along with a little candy and some quarters since all of my daughter's friends were going to start kindergarten in just a couple of weeks.

If you do a traditional piñata you would also want a blindfold.

The piñatas with ribbons that you pull are much safer and easier to manage. A five year old swinging a stick - what could go wrong? :-)

Make sure each child has a bag to collect the candy.

Have extra candy that you throw in all directions once the piñata starts breaking open. This prevents a pile of kids fighting over one lollipop and the tears that follow!

Good luck!
T. Y

TF/Plano knows how to do it... that's usually what I do. I always try to get out of the pinata but my kids always want it!

I have made the executive decision a few times to just "pull the strings" and not do the hitting part... which takes some organization on the part of the adults in charge. I have a had a couple crowds that just seemed too big/old/wild. But personally, I don't think it's as fun to just pull the strings!

We get the pull kind, but let the kids hit it with the bat. Each kids usually gets 2 hits. Then we pull the string. We don't do the blindfold either.

We've done the pull string ones. Kids line up some distance away. Never had a mad frenzy at the drop. Bigger ones seemed willing to make sure that the little ones got some loot. We've used wood tops, and bouncy balls. Make sure your candy/ prize has enough heft to actually fall out.

No harm in making sure that you explain the rules before hand, just in case the kids don't know what is expected of them.

Best,
F. B.

we skipped the totally loose candy and made little ziplock bags of candy and put inside so that each kid got one. I personally hate pinata's. the sticks flying one kid always gets hurt. one kid gets no candy and cries. the newer ones that you pull the strings on are better but I still hate them.

We have done pinatas in the past at birthday parties or team parties and I am not a fan. Maybe someone will suggest something else that your daughter would enjoy. At 5, you never know when a child will dart in front of the person with the bat or the stick. You can have the first child break it open and then no one else get to try or it can be so sturdy that no one can break into it. Sometimes one aggressive kid gets all the candy/prizes and the others get nothing. So to make it a little fairer, I would have a bag made up for each child in addition to the candy/prizes that come out of the piñata. Have a bag for each child to pick up what is on the ground. Also, let the birthday child go first. And then line the other kids up by size or ability level.