La Pinata Vacia

At Caroline's birthday party last weekend, there was mucho controversia surrounding the Dora Pinata. While decorating for the party, I hung the pinata from the chandelier so it would hover over the table; I thought it was a festive touch in a room filled with yellow streamers, a Dora cake and "fiesta bowls" filled with Starburst jelly beans. However, James immediately pointed out that it looked like Dora had committed suicide in the dining room. In his defense, it did. But I was confident the three-foot toddlers would appreciate it from a much less morbid angle. They did, and by all accounts, couldn't wait to bust that pint-size seniorita open.

Toward the end of the party, the kids gathered out on the driveway. James held Dora way up high and each child -- already hopped up on chocolate after a mind-blowing Easter egg hunt -- enthusiastically grabbed a string. Caroline shouted "pull! pull! pull! and just like that, they tore the pinata open. Nothing. James began shaking it. Nada. It became abundantly clear that the pinata was empty. Vacia. The kids, while confused, remained huddled in position, waiting for candy and toys to shoot out of Dora's bottom.

"But..but the people at the party store told me it had candy in it," I said to the outer circle of adults, moms and dads who were entertained yet astonished by my cluelessness.

"Hellooo? why do you think they sell the $9.99 filler bags?" said one mama. Filler bags? I don't remember seeing filler bags in the vicinty but then again, I'd been distracted at the store by a lifesize cardboard cut-out of David Ortiz which was, quite frankly, a little unsettling. Also, the clerk at ITZAPARTY made my question seem like some kind of party foul. "Of course it has candy in it. It's a pinata." She told me it had party favors in it too. Clearly, she could have told me it was full of unicorns and fairies and I'd have probably believed her.

Luckily, I'd over-purchased Easter candy. I ran upstairs, grabbed a Ziploc full of individually-wrapped mini Reeses, M&M eggs and Hershey's kisses, ran back outside and without hesitation, flung fistfuls of candy into the air like confetti. Crisis overted.





Here are a few pre-pinata shots of 14 kids -- all under age 5 -- running amok in the backyard. Together, they all created a game that involved dragons, princesses and a pygmy marmoset. Oh and Vito as "Baby Jaguar." I have to tell you, these kids know how to party.