The Great Piñata Bash

We made one in my class when I was in kindergarten. Perhaps that's where my love for them began. When I was in high school I had to make one for my Spanish class and figured out then exactly how it was done. I have since made several of them through the years. For whatever reason, I love piñatas.

We broke one once before as a family Christmas activity, and I wanted to do it again this year, so I made this one:

I had planned to let my nieces and nephew help me make it, but I just ran out of time, so I did it myself. It takes a week or more to do the layers of paper mache, letting them dry in between, and making sure it is completely dry before popping the balloons inside and then filling it and decorating it.

I filled it with all kinds of goodies for adults and children, ranging from traditional (candy and toys) to strange (gloves, bars of soap, toothpaste, lint rollers, first aid kits). But it didn't matter. It was breaking it that was fun.

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We had the "bash" on Christmas Eve after church. Everybody got blindfolded and spun around and got to take a swing or two at it. I made sure my brother went last, because he is always bound and determined that he is the one who is going to break it. Don almost did -- he was next-to-last -- but Andy gave it the crushing blow.

It made a mess, paper mache and broken candy canes all over the floor, but it was still fun. I hope to do another one next year, hopefully with the kids' help. Maybe we'll make a star . . .