How to Make a 4 Leaf Clover Pinata for St. Patrick’s Day
Being Mexican-American means throwing big parties for your child’s first birthday. By the time my first born’s 1 year celebration came around though, we didn’t have a lot of money to be throwing on non-essentials.
Nevertheless, we were determined to make it work one way or another. That meant cutting as much cost as we possible could, anywhere we could.
One thing I was absolutely not going to budge on was the pinata. It’s tradition of course!
Plus, growing up, I remember the worst parties were the ones without a pinata to bash in. And the best parties were the ones with LOTS OF PINATAS filled with lots of candies!!!
When I arrived to the local Mexican market, I chose 3 pinatas: a small, a medium, and a huge one. Shortly after I would have one of my most embarrassing moments in my life. The guy told me the price and I had to ask him to put them back.
They were out of the budget and I was mortified!
If you’ve never been to a Mexican market before, let me paint you a picture. The pinatas are usually hanging way up high – attached to the ceiling, only to be brought down with a long hook and ladder.
The guy already had to go to the back to get the hook and ladder. Then move the ladder around to reach the 1, 2, 3 pinatas I requested.
What can I say, I was young. I assumed they were cheap because almost all of the parties I went to as a kid had at least 2. Boy was I wrong.
Still, my kid needed a pinata for his party so that meant I was gonna need to make one. The first few were, in a word, laughable.
After much trial and error, I have created the perfect pinata and I want to teach you how to do it.
How To Make A Pinata. These instructions are for a 4 leaf clover pinata but the steps apply for any pinata you want to make. Just change the template.
scroll down to the bottom for the printable How To.
I thought this pinata would be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. You could fill it up with some gold dollar coins or with some gold chocolate coins and watch the kiddos get a kick out of watching the money fly out as they bash it in.
Step 1. Trace two – 4 leaf clover shapes onto cardboard.
One for the front and one for the back of the pinata. Click below to get my FREE printable template – 2 sizes available.
The best cardboard to use for piñatas are the Costco carboard sheets. These are usually stuffed in between the steel cages or within layers of product. If you can’t find any, just ask an employee for a SLIP SHEET – they’ll know what you mean.
Any cardboard will work though. For this 4 leaf clover pinata, I’m using the packaging box from my daughter’s Disney Frozen table.
Step 2. Cut
Using a box cutter, cut out your two, 4 leaf clover shapes. If you don’t have a razor – you can use scissors; it will just be more difficult.
Step 3. Sides
With the leftover cardboard, cut out a bunch of 4″ wide strips – these will be the sides. Then length does not matter, but be sure to cut against the corregation.
Step 4. Assemble
Using masking tape, start attaching the 4″ cardboard strips to one of the 4 leaf clover cut outs. Do this until you have gone all the way around. DO NOT ATTACH THE OTHER 4 LEAF CLOVER CUT OUT YET.
Step 5. Pinata Handle
Every pinata needs something to hang from. Add another piece of carboard where you want your pinata handle to go. This will give it some extra strength when its carrying all that candy.
Poke 2 holes for your pinata rope to loop through. (You can use wire but I’ve noticed that wire rips through the cardboard when being hit.)
Loop the rope through and secure it with your favorite knot.
Step 6. Toughening up the Pinata (optional)
This step is optional but I highly recommend doing it. It’s extra work but well worth it in the end.
Fold one of your 4″ strips to resemble a toilet paper roll and glue it in the center of your pinata.
If you made a larger pinata, add a few more pieces, spaced apart. The more you add, the tougher the pinata will be.
Step 7. Tape the other side
Attach the other 4 leaf clover pinata cut out using masking tape.
Step 8. Reinforce
To make sure all parts of the pinata stay in place, tape long pieces of masking tape around the entire pinata. Use the same motion as if you were winding up a ball of yarn.
I used blue painters tape here just for a better visual. I don’t recommend using painters tape because it does not stick well.
Now it’s time to DECORATE!
Click one of the tutorials below
How to Decorate A Modern Mexican Pinata
I love it!!! Thank you for sharing your creativity tattooed mama!!!