The Complete Handbook of Piñatas

I was hoping for this to be the final word, and in a lot of ways it is. The grading system for construction quality alone is worth the price. But I do disagree with the author's blanket stance on pull-string piñatas; the book insists on a manual stick for kids, but I've seen pull-strings work flawlessly at indoor corporate events. I feel like the safety discussion leaned a little too traditional in that one area. Overall, it's a solid, dense manual, just take the stick-vs-string advice with a grain of salt based on your specific clientele.

I run a small event rental company and have been operating on gut instinct for years. This book gave me the standard vocabulary I needed to explain to clients why one piñata costs more to rent than another. The maintenance chapter is useful, but the real gem is the installation section; the rope rigging tip alone has prevented two incidents at school fairs already. It dropped one star only because it felt a bit light on the structural engineering of the cardboard bases, which is where I see the most breakage, but it's easily the best reference on the market right now.

I bought this based on the back cover promising a 'technical manual,' and it mostly delivers. The breakdown of fill weights and rope diameters is exactly the kind of specific data I need. However, I found the branding on some of the glues to be inconsistent; the book says to use 'white glue' but doesn't always specify if it means PVA or a specific type. It also briefly touches on the environmental impacts of plastic fillers and then moves on without concrete eco-options. It's a strong resource, but sometimes it feels more like a manufacturing manual than a handbook for a working professional.

Finally, a book that treats piñatas like the complex pieces of equipment they are! As a retired engineer turned full-time 'piñatero,' this spoke my language. The chapter on Understanding Piñatas is brilliant; I have now patched and reinforced almost all of my cartoon-character stock, because what the book says is true: they are fragile at the neck and the weight distribution isn't done by the factory. It saved me from a total collapse at a park district event. This one sits on my workbench, right in between the glue gun and the scissors.

I am a professional party planner, and I bought this to have a supplier-neutral guide on hand. It definitely gave me the ammunition I need to argue with vendors about quality standards. The chapter on installation is the most concise and clear guide I have read anywhere, breaking down the 5-step process for hanging a unit weighs more than 5 pounds. It's a little dense for a casual reader, but for the trade, it's a superb reference. I wish the glossary was longer, as I found myself flipping back to it constantly, but I cannot imagine planning a party without this data now.