These days kids birthday parties tend to be more of a big deal than ever and parents are often under a lot of pressure to make them even bigger and better than the last one, something that can be pretty expensive as well as pretty stressful.
Sometimes though birthday party activities that are really great fun for kids – or adults come to that matter – do not have to cost a fortune. Take piñatas. Lots of parents have figured out that these inexpensive items can actually end up being the biggest hit of the whole occasion.
A Brief History of the Piñata
These days when it comes to piñatas parents and kids tend to think of them as just a fun item to play with at modern birthday parties but piñatas actually have a very long history.
Contrary to what most people believe the piñata did not originate in Mexico or in Spain but in ancient China! The Chinese version of an early piñata was shaped like a cow or an ox and it was used as part of the New Year’s celebrations.
Instead of being filled with the sweets and small toys that UK partygoers are used to, they were filled with different types of seed to help encourage the spirits to send bountiful harvest in the coming year.
Piñatas did not make their way to South America and Europe until the sixteenth century and even then they were used only during religious festivals. However, within a century they were a feature of all kinds of celebrations and began to resemble the very colourful creations we are all familiar with today.
Playing Fair with Piñatas
The reason that piñatas have become so popular all over the world and such a big hit at parties is that they are so much fun. after all what other time are kids told that they should break something on purpose to score themselves some treats and gifts!
Who gets the treats and gifts though can be the one problem with piñatas and kids parties. After the piñata breaks usually everyone scrambles around scooping up whatever they can get their hands on. The problem is that someone always seems to get a bit left out and that can lead to all kinds of hurt feelings and sulks.
One way to avoid all of that is to take a leaf out the Mexicans book. When they use piñatas as a part of a celebration that children will be at in addition to the treats stuffed into the piñatas themselves they offer children the chance to pick extra treats from trays called colaciónes.
Offering you own colaciónes to prevent hurt feelings does not have to be expensive. Small toys can be purchased online to fill them with and you can even make up special treat bags in advance to save time.
Piñatas Are For Adult Parties Too
Though they are a big hit at kids parties piñatas can be just as popular at adults only bashes as well. From using one to help ring in a New Year, celebrating an anniversary or just having a bit of extra fun, adding one to your party plans is easy, inexpensive and, we promise, sure to impress your guests.
