Paper Bag Pinata is a super fun activity that allows kids to create their very own bright and colorful personalized pinata! The colors and design can be changed up to fit any celebration and no one will ever miss out on being the one to break open the pinata! This is perfect for school-aged children who have the patience and ability to plan out and follow a multistep activity while also helping to strengthen fine motor skills and allowing them a chance to be creative and use colors to communicate feelings. Younger school-aged children may not be able to break open store bought pinatas but will be able to with this version! After creating an awesome paper bag pinata that is unique to each child, they can have just as much fun trying to break open their pinata as they had creating it!
Supplies
Paper bag (lunch bag size)
Scissors
Coloured tissue or streamers (as many colours as you would like!)
Glue/tape
Yarn
Hole punch
Choice of candy or prize
Let's Get Started!
Step 1:
First, open your paper bag and place a handful of candies or prizes inside! These should be light candies and prizes as we do not want the bag to rip when it is hanging! Stickers and small candies such as suckers are good examples of what you can put in your bag!
Next, fill the rest of the bag up with tissue paper or old news paper you have lying around in your house! Then, fold the top of the paper bag closed and tape staple it shut, one staple on each end! Tape also works great. If you use a stapler, make sure you ask for an adult’s help if you need it!
Step 2:
To decorate your pinata, gather your coloured streamers! You can use as many colours as you would like! For this example, we picked 5: orange, blue, purple, green and a dark pink!
First, lay your paper bag down so the bottom of the bag is facing you. Unroll some of the streamer from your first colour roll. Hold the end of the streamer near the bottom of the bag on the long side facing you.
Then, wrap it around the outside of the bag until you reach the end of the streamer where you started. Using scissors, cut off a strip of streamer.
Step 3:
Next using yours scissors, you are going to make “fringes” along the streamer! To make a “fringe” you are going to cut a slit NO MORE than halfway from the bottom of the streamer.
You can do the slits as closely or far away from each other as you want. Just make sure that you do not cut all the way through the streamer!
Tape this first strip of “fringed” streamer starting at the bottom of the bag.
Step 4:
Then, you are going to repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each colour of streamer! Remember in Step 2 that we measured the streamer, and Step 3 we cut “fringes” on the streamers and taped them to the bag. Review these steps to make sure that you are following along! Each time that you tape a strip of streamer to the bag, tape it right above the last colour, making sure that it covers a little bit of the streamer before.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for EACH colour streamer until the whole bag is covered from bottom to top!
Step 5:
Now, you are going to cut 4 pieces of streamers in any colours you like. These streamers will be the length of your forearm. This is from the bottom of your hand where your wrist is, to your elbow! You are then going to tape the top end of the streamers to the bottom side of the paper bag so that they will dangle when hanging down. If you would like to, you can cut in “fringe” slits with your scissors like in Step 3!
Step 6: Hang Your Pinata!
Using a hole punch, you are going to put two holes at the top of the bag where it was folded over in Step 1. The first hole will be near the left side, and the second hole will be on the right side.
Take the end of a roll of string and feed it through one hole. Then, tie a knot. Unroll some more string so that the length reaches past the other hole. Cut the string with your scissors. Feed the loose end of that string through the hole and tie another knot. Make sure that the length of string when tied to both ends is long enough so that it can hang comfortably!
Finally, it is time to hang up your Pinata!
This can be on a door handle, tree branch, or clothes hanger! What are some safe things that you can use to break your pinata?! A hairbrush, or spatula? Get creative!