Death Star Pinata

May the Force be with you!

You will need:

• One round balloon
• Newspaper, cut into small(ish) pieces
• 1/4 cup Flour
• 1/2 cup Water
• Gray tissue paper, cut into small(ish) pieces
• String
• Painter's tape
• Glitter
• Bag of candy
• Glue
• Paintbrush
• Duct tape

How to:

1. Inflate balloon, close off. Tie string to end and hang over work surface so that it hangs at a good working level. (We tied ours to the ceiling fan.)
2. Mix together flour and water to form paste. (As a note, you will need more paste during the whole process, but I would make it in small batches. The 1/4c flour to 1/2c water ratio is what we used each time. We needed two batches total.)
3. Dip newspaper pieces into paste and place on balloon, overlapping pieces, until entire balloon is covered.



Applying the first layer.

4. Repeat with tissue paper until newsprint can no longer be seen through tissue. (About two layers) Let dry. (For older kids you may want to add a few more layers to make it a little harder to break open. For a group of 5 four year olds, two layers was perfect.)



The top half has the first layer of tissue paper.



After two layers, you can still see a bit of the newspaper print, but once dried it disappeared.

5. Use painter's tape to paint the Death Star's grid marks. (No one will care if it isn't perfect.)

6. Mix small amount of glue and water together. Using paintbrush, "paint" mixture over balloon. Immediately sprinkle with glitter.


7. When balloon is completely dry, pop balloon and carefully pull deflated balloon out. (Listen for the wicked cool noises it makes as the balloon rips away from the dried paper.)
8. Carefully pull away painter's tape.
9. Cut a hole (to make the Death Star's satellite grid) near the top of the Death Star. Save cut out.
10. Fill with candy.



Elliott's favorite part!

11. Reinforce top of Death Star (where string will be placed) with duct tape to make pinata more sturdy. Knot one end of long string and thread it out of top of pinata. (Make string long enough to be able to hang it from a tree.)
12. Glue a few pieces of tissue paper on to back side of cut out. Invert, and place back over hole. Secure with tape.
13. Hang from tree branch and attack!

Thoughts:

OK, confession. Originally I bought a Darth Vader pinata because I thought it would just be easier. But after getting it home and looking at the receipt ($25!!) I quickly returned it and convinced Elliott we were making a pinata instead. Most of the supplies were things we already had around the house, so the only expense, besides the candy which we would've had to purchase with the store bought pinata as well, was the gray tissue paper, which I found at Target for $2.99 for 10 sheets. (We only used two.) Making the total cost for this craft 58 cents. (Again, not counting cost of candy.)

If you have the time (Give yourself at least three days!) and the desire, make your own pinata!

This was a lot of fun to make, although we made several mistakes along the way. I wasn't crazy about the way the grids turned out, but Elliott thought it looked amazing. Our pinata was a little too weak at the top end, so when we filled it with candy it promptly crashed to the ground. (yet survived!) The hole cut out wouldn't stick and disappeared seconds before I hung the pinata. The string I put in to hold it up kept tearing right through the paper. The duct tape helped, but in the end, it was just too heavy to hang on it's own and I had to hold it up while the kids went at it.

Still, what a hit! (Ha! Ha!) The kids were Jedi's, attacking the Death Star with their light sabers (see future craft coming soon) and they loved it. I was afraid the pinata would break before everyone had a chance to go at it, so I had told the kids they would get one whack each. But they were all so excited they swarmed around eagerly and, in unison, like a planned attack from the Rebel Alliance began whacking away. An army of Storm Troopers couldn't have stopped them. I can't believe no one got hit in the face!

Alas, the Death Star didn't stand a chance. Within a minute the Rebels had it defeated and destroyed. By far, my favorite part from the party! And yes, I am well aware that I forgot to take a finished picture! Trust me: it was pure awesomeness!


Elliott's Evaluation:
It was good. I liked putting the candy in. I loved breaking it because everybody joined in. It was very fun. I liked making the whole Death Star pinata. I liked making a hole in the Death Star pinata. Now, this is the last thing I have to say: I liked putting the glitter on. I have more to say: I liked putting the glue on and I liked breaking it. I was trying to bat at it so it would break all the way. Gravity made all the candy fall out when it broke.

From Me:
And that my friends, is an awesome review.