Putting sweets inside your piñata? Here are 5 tips to keep you right!
1. Make sure the sweets are wrapped
Let's be honest, they're going to end over everywhere after being smashed out of your pinata, so they need to be wrapped! You can either use sweets that are individually wrapped (boiled sweets, mini bars of chocolate, etc) or little packets (haribos, love hearts, etc).
2. Think about dietry needs.
If you're smashing your piñata at a party, find out if any of your guests have dietry needs. Things to think about are coelic disease (can't eat gluten), have an allergy such as diary or nuts, are vegan, halal, etc. If so, make sure that you cater for them as there's nothing worse than being left out! Find a selection of sweets that will work for everyone - people can always swap them over at the end if they pick up ones that they can't eat - it all adds to the fun!
3. Sizes of sweets
This may seem obvious, but the bigger the sweet the more likely it will get bashed to bits as the piñata is smashed. Large flump type sweets may survive but larger, more brittle chocolate bars may not! Also remember that you'll need to put the sweets into the piñata through a little door in the side, so a huge lollipop won't fit. The doors I make are usually around 4cm by 4cm, so use that as a guide when buying sweets.
4. Don't overfill the piñata
The more sweets you put inside, the heavier the piñata will become, making it more likely to fall to the ground before you've finished smashing it to bits. It might be tempting to fill the piñata full to the brim with sweets, but go for quality over quantity!
5. Have a theme
It's fun to have a theme for the sweets! You can theme by the time of year - at Halloween, Easter, Valentine's or Christmas there are usually special sweets in the supermarket that you could buy. Or for an occasion such as a hen or stag do you could find rude body part sweets! Or if the birthday boy or girl has a favourite hobby / TV programme you might be able to find sweets that tie in with it.
Above all, whatever sweets you choose to put inside your piñata, make sure that you have lots of fun getting them out!