How to Make a Turkey Pinata

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with a Turkey Pinata! This project is fun to do with children and even better when you get to fill and play with it.

What you will need:
paper mache
14-inch balloon, inflated
10-inch-wide bowl
newspaper
comics
plain newsprint, torn up into 1 1/2 by 11 inch strips
string
9 inch red balloon, uninflated
yellow construction paper
tissue paper, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange, 1 brown, all 20 by 30 inch sheets
9 inch orange balloon, inflated
tape
black marker
cloth
scissors
white paper
stapler
glue
wrapped hard candies or small chocolates

Mix up a batch of paper mache.

For the base of the pinata:
Put the inflated 14-inch balloon into the bowl to keep it stable. Drag a strip of newspaper through the paper mache paste, wipe off any excess that stays on, and lay it carefully at an angle on the balloon. Continue placing strips of newspaper covered in paper mache on the balloon, overlapping, until it is covered.

Leave a square at the very top, around two inches or so, to put the candy through. You will need to give this a good 24 hours to dry, and also cover the paper mache mixture with plastic so it doesn't dry out.

To make the hanger for the pinata, wrap the middle of some string around the bottom of the balloon, and then pull the end up to the top. Tape the string to the balloon in a few strategic places, and then securely knot the ends of the string about 6 inches above the square opening.

Start dipping a layer of comic strips in the paper mache and recover the balloon, and the string, but not the square opening. Put them on in a different angle than the first layer. When that layer is dry, cover the balloon with more strips of plain newsprint in yet a third angle. As you are paper-maching the balloon, smooth the rough edges so they lay nicely. Again, allow the balloon to dry completely.

To make the head, hang up the pinata from the string. Get the orange balloon and tape it to the end of the pinata that is wider, using the cloth tape. On the white paper, draw two circles for the eyes, using the black marker to define the pupils. Cut them out, and then tape them to the front of the orange balloon. Take a small piece of the yellow construction paper and fold it in half to make the beak, cutting a 3-inch-long triangle at the fold of it. Tape the yellow beak and an uninflated red balloon to the orange balloon for the beak and the wattle.

For the tail take three full sheets of one red, yellow, and orange tissue paper. Overlap them so you can see the top inch of each sheet. Fold the whole stack in half so that five strips of color can be seen, and then fold it lengthwise like an accordion. gather up the bottom and staple it to form a fan. Then tape it near the knotted end of the pinata body. For the legs, use the yellow construction paper, and cut two strips, about 14 by 1 and a half inches. Fold the strips like an accordion again. Cut out two feet, tape to the ends of the legs, and then tape them all to the bottom of the pinata.

For the feathers, use the rest of the tissue paper lengthwise into 4 inch strips. Make fringe out of the bottom of them, and then cover the uncut side with glue. Glue the strips to the pinata so that the fringe is sticking up. Layer them horizontally from the bottom to the top of the pinata.

When all the decorating is done, you can pop the inside balloon and take out all the pieces. Fill up your turkey hallway with candy, cover up the opening with tissue paper, and hang! You're all ready to play!