Senior Care News

Elderly Care Activities: Livening Up Your Next Party with a Homemade Piñata

Games and activities make any celebration more exciting and they are even better when you can make creating preparing these games and activities part of your elderly care plan leading up to the event. Putting together elements of a game is a fantastic way to give your aging loved ones social interaction, mental stimulation, and a valuable sense of accomplishment that makes them feel as though they are a real part of the fun.

Elderly Care in Hilshire Village, TX

Elderly Care in Hilshire Village, TXGames and activities make any celebration more exciting and they are even better when you can make creating preparing these games and activities part of your elderly care plan leading up to the event. Putting together elements of a game is a fantastic way to give your aging loved ones social interaction, mental stimulation, and a valuable sense of accomplishment that makes them feel as though they are a real part of the fun.

Making a piñata may seem like a complicated undertaking, but it is actually a fairly simple project your seniors can enjoy completing with you or with their elderly health care services provider using supplies you might already have around the home or can easily find in your local craft store. While the basic project makes a round or oval piñata, you can add extra details with other materials.
What You’ll Need

  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 tablespoons salt
  • Mixing bowl
  • Whisk
  • Several paintbrushes
  • Large round latex balloon
  • Plastic wrap
  • Vegetable oil
  • Sheets of blank newsprint. You can also use regular newspapers but you will need to use more layers of paint to cover the printing
  • Poster paints
  • Scissors
  • String
  • Paint tray
  • Pin or needle
  • Heavy masking tape

What to Do

• Put the flour and salt into the mixing bowl and use the whisk to combine

• Add the water and whisk vigorously until there are no lumps and the mixture is thin and runny like glue. If the mixture is too thick, add more water one tablespoon at a time until you achieve the proper consistency

• Set the mixture aside

• Blow up the balloon until it is round and firm

• Spray the balloon with vegetable oil

• Wrap the balloon in plastic wrap

• Tear the newsprint into long strips. Tearing rather than cutting makes the strips lie flatter and adhere better to one another

• Dip a strip into the glue mixture, remove the excess with your fingers, and lay the strip onto the balloon, smoothing it down to adhere it to the plastic

• Continue placing strips on the balloon, overlapping them to create a consistent layer

• Make sure to leave the tied end of the balloon sticking out of the top of the strips and leave a small area around the tie so that there is plenty of space to put the treats inside when the piñata is complete

• Tie a piece of string around the tie of the balloon and hang it over the paint tray to allow to dry completely

• Add another layer of strips and allow to dry, repeating this process to make a total of 3 or 4 layers

• When the layers are completely dry and hard, grip the tie of the balloon and use the pin or needle to pop the balloon, being careful to catch the piñata shell when it falls

• Pull the deflated balloon out of the piñata shell and discard

• Use the paintbrushes and poster paints to paint the piñata

• Once the paint is dry, fill the piñata with individually wrapped candies, small toys, or other treats

• Use the scissors to cut four small holes around the opening at the top

• Thread one piece of string through the top left hole and the bottom right, then repeat with the other holes and another piece of string. Cover the opening at the top and secure the strings with heavy masking tape

• Tie the string to a branch to allow it to hang a few feet above the ground and let your guests take turns trying to break it open

If you have a loved one who could benefit from the help of elderly care in Hilshire Village, TX contact At Your Side Home Care. We help seniors and their families with many levels of home care service. Call (832) 271-1600 for more information.

Donna Wrabel, LMSW

Recent Posts

Categories

Contact Us About Home Care

Skip to content