Paper Bag Pinata

OK, so I know I said we were keeping things simple and we are, but St. Michael is The Professor's confirmation saint and one particular heavenly friend that he has been very close to ever since he was two and would point at a picture of St. Michael and say, "Mama, he whacked dat debul!" So to encourage our children to "whack dat debul" we have sometimes enjoyed the fun of a pinata party. Now, the history of the pinata is fascinating, so if you have a moment, be sure to read about it here.

We like the traditional 7 coned pinata representing the 7 deadly sins. Those are hard to find in the party stores these days where is seems like everyone wants to whack their favorite Disney character (I know I've felt that way many a time), and since we are keeping it simple, making my own was out of the question (although I have done that before and it's tons of messy, goopy fun)!

So, a simple, paper bag pinata seemed the order of the day. I made this one in about 30 minutes.

First, I grabbed a bag from my stash. One with handles is preferred, but not necessary. I filled it with just enough candy including Twizzlers (Devil's Tails) and other fun stuff and then stapled closed the top including stapling over the handles for extra reinforcement.

Then, I made small half circle shapes on pretty paper (sin can be awfully attractive, now can't it) and attached some crepe paper streamers from the party box. I rolled them up and just taped them onto bag. I could have spent more time covering the bag with layers of fringed paper before attaching the cones, but didn't want to spend more time than I had. I printed out two pictures of St. Michael and taped them at the sides so they could slip over the handles and rope that will be used for hanging the pinata.

It's not pretty, but it will do the trick. I'll post pictures of it's demise later if I get a chance! Happy Michaelmas!