in puerto rico, ecuador, peru, venezuela, colombia and in some other latin american countries, piñatas are traditionally used only at children's birthday parties. they are usually made of cardboard, colorfully decorated to match the birthday party theme and filled with candy, chocolates, small toys and confetti. colored strings (long enough to reach the ground) are attached to the bottom of the piñata, where a trap-door is hidden under the decoration. the piñata is then hung somewhere where everyone can see, but the strings are kept out of the reach of children. toward the end of the party, usually after the cutting of the cake, an announcement is made that the piñata will be 'broken' and each child is given an empty party bag. all the children get together directly underneath the piñata and each child is given a string to hold. then, at the count of three, the children pull their strings all at the same time. this opens the hidden trap-door (or 'breaks' the piñata) and the children receive a shower of candy and confetti while they rush to fill up their bags with the treats.