im making a pinata for my son who’s turning 4 please help. Thanks.
Answer from Piñata Boy
If you put the piñata in direct sunlight to dry, the heat from the sun can expand the balloon beyond its maximum and cause it to burst. This is more likely to happen if you apply papier mâché strips directly to the balloon itself, because as the papier mâché dries it sticks to the balloon and creates spots that don’t stretch. If the sun is expanding the balloon and part of the balloon can’t stretch, then the balloon will often burst at that point. Also be careful not to blow up the balloon all the way before applying papier mâché. If the balloon is blown up all the way and then set in the sun, it will almost always break.
One way I try to avoid having balloons burst is by wrapping the balloon in a layer of dry newspaper before applying the wet papier mâché. This minimizes the sticking problem. The dry newspaper is taped to itself but not to the balloon.
The safest way to avoid having balloons burst is to keep them out of direct sunlight when drying. On hot summer days I’ll sometimes put the piñata in the shade and set a fan blowing on it. This way it dries quickly, but it isn’t subject to as much heat that can expand and burst the balloon. If I blow up the balloon all the way, I try to keep it away from sunlight altogether and just use a fan in my garage or some other place that is out of the sun to help speed the drying along.