Tanya Marsh

For your next hoppin’ party, what would be more fun than a piata? My mom used to make these with me when I was little, and over Christmas I watched some real live Mexicans make one! So here’s how to get your own going.

1. Gather your supplies. You’ll need a balloon, some old newspaper, a pie tin or other dish, flour, water, candy and tissue paper.

2. Prepare the supplies. Blow up the balloon. Rip the newspaper into strips, about an inch wide by six inches long. In the pie tin, mix some flour and water to form a thick paste. Set the candy and tissue paper aside for later.

3. Goop it on. One strip at a time, get the newspaper covered in the paste and put it onto the baloon until the whole thing is covered. Keep it as smooth as you can. You’ll probably have to let it dry and do about three layers to make it sturdy.

4. Finish up. Once you’ve got this dried shell, pop the balloon and pull it out of the paper mache. Then decorate with tissue paper, fill with candy and hang it up so when its broken, candy rains down!

Decorating ideas: You can make the piata into an animal by attaching cardboard and tissue paper features. For a more traditional Mexican piata, attach four or five cones made of rolled-up newspaper and cover them with feathered tissue paper.