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For my son’s third birthday (It was a Mickey Birthday Party) I wanted him to have a pinata. Smashing something up mixed with candy is fun for all kids after all. After realizing that a three year old would have a pretty tough time actually breaking a pinata I opted to make a Balloon Pinata (thanks to coming across the blog Inchmark). I know I could have bought a pull string pinata but I wanted a little more excitement than that.
What is a Balloon Pinata
A balloon pinata is basically candy filled balloons that you have the children pop. The candy filled balloons are attached to a board of some sort. The board can be made of wood or foam-whatever you can stick the balloons to will work. People use darts or push pins to pop the balloons. It is a fun and easy craft for birthday or holiday parties.
Making a Mickey Balloon Pinata
To go with the theme of the party we decided to make the board that the balloons go on the classic mickey head silhouette. I had my husband cut a piece of plywood into that basic shaped. We read that the ratio of Mickey’s head to his ears is about 5:3 so he tried to make it as close to that as possible. Once he got the shape cut out he painted it black.
Putting Candy Inside a Balloon
Putting candy inside a balloon is harder than it sounds. I had hurt eardrums and cuts on my hands from the attempts I made. I did find a method that worked for me though.
Method 1: Putting Candy Inside a Balloon with a Tube
The first method I tried was attaching a balloon to a tube. I shoved candy as far down the tube as I could. I found that the perfect sized
tube for this was a regular sized foil tube-the cardboard tube foil is wrapped around. Once the candy reached the end of the tube I blew into the tube which blew up the balloon enough so the candy fell out of the tube and into the balloon. Then I had to blow up the balloons the rest of the way and tie. While the method did work it reeked havoc on my ears. I only could do a few of these before I decided to come up with another way to put candy inside a balloon.
Method 2: Putting Candy Inside a Balloon with a Milk Jug
This method was by far the best for me. For this method I used a washed out milk jug since it’s opening was about the same size as the cardboard foil tube I used in the other method. I cut a hole in the bottom of the milk jug that was big enough for me to place candy and my hands in. I did get a couple of cuts from forcing the balloon onto the milk jug opening but I much rather deal with that than busted eardrums.
I then stretched a balloon onto the milk jug’s original opening.
Then through the hole that I cut I put candy inside the milk jug and pushed it into the balloon.
Once I filled the balloon with candy I easily removed the balloon from the milk jug.
Once I filled all of the balloons with candy and blew them up all the way they were attached to the mickey head silhouette board we had cut out and previously painted. We attached each balloon with a thumb tack. We made sure they were very secure so none would come flying out when the kids popped the balloons. We had to practically hammer them in them plywood so they weren’t going any where.
Okay, this may sound a little dangerous but to pop the balloons we taped a thumb tack onto the end of a wooden pole. My husband helped each child pop the balloons making sure there was no swinging of the popping stick or anything. The kids had a blast popping the balloons to get candy!
Are you a piñata fan?
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
“Every day is another chance to get stronger, to eat better, to live healthier, and to be the best version of you.”
What an ingenious idea for a pinata. I am sure the party goers would love the idea. I can imagine some of the store made pinatas can be pretty difficult to break. 🙂
Yes, store ones are really hard younger children but they had no problem popping these balloons 🙂
Now this is a great idea I had not heard of balloon pinata before but think it is a great idea and I will keep it in mind for future events………..
Thank you Jo Anne!! Kids love it.
How fun! My grandson’s birthday is coming up and I’m going to suggest this to my daughter. The kids at the party would love it. Thank you!!
I hope your daughter tries it. It’s super fun!!
what a great idea, thanks I am going to have to try for my sons next birthday.
You’re welcome Renee! I hope your son has a lot of gun!!
an idea for the kids @ Sunday School:)
This is a good idea, I haven’t heard of this before, but now I can do this with the kids!
You should try it. They will love it!
SO COOL, I love this idea. I’ve got a ballon plunger somewhere from when I made ballons with gifts inside. I can’t even think of the name of it. I love this idea. Having your choice of what candies you put inside is fabulous, especially with all the food allergies. I wonder if you had a toy small enough to fit through milk jug top it would work. Just thinking.
Love your idea and come October this year our birthday guests will have a lot of fun thanks to your fabulous idea. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
You are SO welcome! Oh, I remember vaguely something like a balloon plunger when I was a teenager working at Walmart. One day they wanted me to help out the florist department and they were putting gifts inside balloons for valentines. It was interesting. I bet I could of fit balls, rings, matchbook cars, chapstick…I think a lot of little things would fit through the milk jug. I would just test them and see. I hope you have a fab party! My 11th wedding anniversary is in Oct so I will be celebrating too 🙂
This is so cool and I remember when my sons were younger and we had pinatas in the basement. Thank you for linking up with us at #WWDParty – I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
This piñata was great fun for a little kid that can’t quite hit a regular piñata just yet. You are very welcome!
Such a neat idea! My kids love pinatas! Thanks for linking back to us at the Weekend Wind-down Party!
It’s great for birthday parties. You are welcome!!
This is great! I’m going to pin this to my own party boards! Thanks for linking up with the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board!
Awesome! Thanks Tammy!! They are great for little kids 🙂
That is a cute idea. I will have to remember this when my boys birthdays roll around over the summer.
They will love it!
Fun idea, not sure how I feel about the latex influencing the taste of the candy but definitely easier for little ones!
We didn’t notice a change in the candy’s taste. They weren’t in the balloon very long to have an effect I think.
This is such a fun idea! My daughter and I were just talking games for her party this afternoon. I can’t wait to show her this idea!
I hope she loves it!!
This is such a great idea! I can’t wait to try this for our next party!
I’ve always thought candy in a balloon was such a fun idea but never actually tried it. Thanks for the how-to!
That was a great idea. Besides water for water balloons, I’ve never thought of putting anything else inside of mine.
Thanks! It’s great fun just like water balloons 🙂
Sounds like fun! Great tips to help others!
What a cute idea. I never thought of doing something f like that before. Who would have thought it was that hard to get candy in a baloon.
It’s a lot harder than it sounds 🙂
I always wondered how people got stuff inside balloons. I am going to have to remember this for one of our community events we do.
I hope it helps!
Genius! Milk jug? It would’ve never crossed my mind … I’m the one who tries to shove a circle in a square peg. Thanks for the idea!
Haha. Thanks! It works like a charm 🙂
This is awesome! I love the idea instead of using a piñata. Much more versatile and cheaper =)
Yes, very economical. Pinatas can be expensive!
I actually never used a pinata, but that’s definitely a unique way of creating one. I know that my children would love something like this!
Really? Pinatas are a classic. But popping balloons is fun too 🙂
I’ve never thought of doing pinata balloons like this. Thats so awesome. I love the mickey mouse shape as well!
😉
It’s super fun and the kiddos love it 🙂
For a theme party, yes! I am going to have to try that! Thanks for sharing!
It could almost work for any party I think if you just regular colored balloons in a pattern like a square.