A staple of outdoor events, piñatas can be interactive or simply a decorative element. Event planners have commissioned the papier-mâché creations in a variety of unusual shapes, including an M&M, a goose, and even Andy Warhol. Here's a roundup of some of inventive piñatas from events.
To mark the one-year anniversary of its M&M’s Pretzel candy in 2011, Mars Chocolate North America built the world’s largest piñata inside New York’s 69th Regiment Armory. The structure, which required a permit from the Department of Buildings and was structurally engineered and approved by a New York State licensed engineer, took a team from Synergy Events about 5,000 hours to complete.
Photo: Gary He/Insider Images for M&M's
Mario Batali was among the guests who took swings at a massive Andy Warhol piñata at the 2010 Brooklyn Museum's Brooklyn Ball. The piñata contained dessert, and guests speculated all evening about what it would contain. The answer: hundreds of Hostess cupcakes, Twinkies, Sno Balls, and Ho Hos for snacking during the carnival-theme after-party.
Photo: Eric Weiss
As part of the entertainment at the 2012 Redmoon Theater Spectacle Lunatique in Chicago, guests battered a colorful dinosaur piñata filled with confetti and hand clappers.
Photo: Christina Noël Photography
At the 2013 Breast Cancer Research Foundation's Hot Pink Party in New York, miniature donkey piñatas were suspended from clear balloons in the Waldorf-Astoria's Silver Corridor.
Photo: Rob Rich
The passengers aboard the "Miracle on the Hudson" flight that made an emergency landing on the frigid river celebrated their survival at an anniversary party in 2010 with dark-humored decor including piñatas shaped like the geese that compromised the plane's engines. After some swings at the structure, a trap door at the bottom opened to let loose US Airways peanuts. The piñatas were designed by Los Angeles artist Tony Dominguez.
Photo: Courtesy of Fifth Avenue Digital
In Los Angeles, Rolling Stone hosted a "Dos de Mayo" party May 2 at Sound Nightclub. To honor presenting sponsor Dos Equis, a piñata shaped like the beer brand's double-X logo hung above the space.
Photo: Troy Acevedo/We Are Night Owls
The piñatas at the Room to Dream Gala in Boston served a practical function by holding individual servings of cotton candy. The 2010 event had a carnival theme.
Photo: Aviran Levy for BizBash
A meeting this month of the Chicago Office Leasing Brokers Association happened to fall on May 5, so planners chose decor around a Cinco de Mayo theme. Miniature traditional piñatas and tequila bottles holding colorful paper flowers decorated the tabletops.
Photo: Slava Shykhert
Paper Dragon Piñatas
Proving that piñatas can work in any season, Paper Dragon Piñatas offers a snowman version.
Photo: Courtesy of Paper Dragon Pinatas
