Hi!
I recently purchased a piñata from walmart. A batman one. My question is how much weight can a piñata typically hold? I’m thinking of now buying 2 because I think I have about 5-6 pounds of goodies. I can’t tell if it’s papier mache or cardboard. Also, I’m concerned that the weight will force the door open or seperate the head from the body of the piñata. Is there anything I can do to reinforce and existing piñata? Like the body to the head and strengthening the door at the base…any advice is so much appreciated. Thanks piñata boy!
Answer from Piñata Boy
Store-bought piñatas are generally made of cardboard and are pretty tough, so I wouldn’t expect five or six pounds of treats to be a problem. But I recommend you check the hanging hook and see how it’s attached. If it’s just a string running through a couple of holes punched in the cardboard, then there’s a chance that the weight and the force of the whacking can cause the string to tear a path through the cardboard. If this is the case I would try to reinforce the cardboard around the holes on the inside with some duct tape or something that will make it harder for the string to tear through. You can test the weight limit by adding some candy weight to the piñata a pound or so at a time, then picking up the piñata by its hanging string and bouncing it in the air a little to see how it feels. Check the hanging hook to make sure it’s secure. If you get close to the weight limit of the piñata, you should see some visual warning signs such as the cardboard bending or the string starting to tear into the cardboard. My guess is that you won’t see any of that, and you’ll be fine with 5-6 lbs of goodies.
You can sometimes reinforce a piñata from the inside by reaching in through the door with some tape and applying it where you’re afraid it might break (like the neck). Sometimes the door is too small to reach into. In that case you can either rely on the toughness of the store-bought piñata not to break at the neck, or poke some small, unnoticeable holes somewhere away from the neck to create a weak spot in the piñata that breaks through before the neck does. When you’re weight-testing it, also keep an eye on the shoulders, the neck, and the bottom of the head to look for any signs of weakness.
Good luck!