With a less-than-thrilling Halloween looming on the horizon thanks to COVID-19, I wanted to make the holiday somewhat memorable for my daughter in a way that didn’t involve a worldwide pandemic. As you know, I’ve made both a Ferris wheel and a sand castle pinata in the past – and while both of them were completely terrible-looking, they at least served their purpose in keeping her happy for a few blissful moments. Since I came to terms with my lack of creativity long ago, my mind immediately went back to these DIY pinatas because, hey, a pumpkin is round, right?

My eyes came to rest on a half-broken wicker basket that was lying on the floor of my basement. Upon picking it up to throw it in the trash, the idea came to me that maybe, just maybe, I could somehow turn this upside down basket into something worth bashing to pieces. More out of desperation for something to do on a rainy afternoon than really anything else, I offered to let my daughter help me decorate it – and little did I know that this would turn into the highlight of her week.

Together, we found our supplies: 6 sheets of orange construction paper, 1 sheet of black construction paper, a hot glue gun, a roll of packaging tape, the basket, a piece of string and the bottom of a shirt gift box. We cut a big circle out of the box that matched the size of the basket’s opening, along with a rectangular piece that would later become our stem. We covered the circle with orange paper and the stem in black. We then covered the basket itself (minus the inside) in orange as well, being careful to leave a single strand of the wicker basket weave at the bottom open so that a string could be hooked onto it.