Hello and happy Monday! I was hoping to unveil a fresh new look for the blog today, but a few delays pushed that reveal back a week. In the meantime, I’m excited to share one of my favorite holiday projects of the season: ornament piñatas. I found a bunch of colorful, thin tinsel garland at the dollar store and realized it’s perfect for covering piñatas. I developed an easy method to turn them into hanging ornaments—piñata fun for holiday parties, gift exchanges, or festive decor.
Supply list:
- Poster board or cardboard
- Colorful thin tinsel garland (the thinner kind works best, but standard tinsel will also work)
- Gold tinsel garland for the ornament cap
- Masking tape
- Hot glue and hot glue gun
- Paper towel or cardboard roll
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Bowl or round template
- Awl or something to poke a hole
- Ribbon for hanging
To make the base:
Trace around a bowl (or other round template) twice on poster board or cardboard and cut out two circles. Cut a strip of poster board about 5 inches wide and slightly longer than the circumference of your circles. This strip will form the side of the ornament.
Assemble the piñata shell by taping the two circles to the strip with masking tape, forming a 3D disc. Use plenty of tape to secure the joins—this helps the structure hold up while filling and hanging. Leave a small flap open where the ends of the strip meet so you can add candy or small favors later. At the opposite end from that flap, poke a hole through the circle using an awl.
Feed a ribbon through the hole and knot it on the inside to form a hanging loop. Now the shell is ready to be filled—add candy, confetti, small toys, or whatever you prefer—then close and tape the flap securely.
Covering with tinsel:
Working on one circular face at a time, run a line of hot glue along the edge and press the tinsel onto it. Trim the tinsel as needed. Continue adding rows of glue about 1/2″ apart, carefully moving the fringe out of the way so each row adheres cleanly next to the previous one. Some tinsel may overlap into the next row—this is fine and actually helps hide small imperfections. Repeat until the entire circle is covered, then do the same for the other circular face.
To cover the side strip, work in short sections. Start at the bottom edge, run a short line of hot glue, and press the tinsel in place. Wrap the tinsel around the strip, applying additional short lines of glue as you go until the entire band is covered. Move the fringe aside as needed so each row lines up nicely. Patience pays off—this step gives the ornament its finished, polished look.
Making the ornament cap:
Cut a piece of the paper towel or cardboard roll about 1.5 inches thick. Run a bead of hot glue around the center of that ring and glue gold tinsel all the way around to create the metallic cap look. Trim excess tinsel for a neat finish.
Slip the cap over the ribbon loop and secure it by taping the ribbon inside the ornament or using a small dab of hot glue at the base. This completes the ornament look and hides the knot underneath.
Final thoughts:
These ornament piñatas are so much fun to hang and smash at parties, or you can leave them unfilled as shiny holiday decorations. The thin tinsel makes this process faster and less tedious than cutting fringe from paper, and the finished pieces look festive and bright. I can’t wait to hang a bunch of these around the house—tinsel-covered piñatas might just be my new go-to for celebrations.
I seriously want to hang these everywhere—and I’m definitely planning to cover more piñatas in tinsel. It’s easier than cutting yards of fringe and gives instant holiday sparkle.
All photos by Studio DIY