Emma Watson has pinata-filled birthday

Emma Watson's friends made 23 pinatas to celebrate her birthday.

The 'Harry Potter' actress - who celebrated her 23rd birthday in New York City last week - was shocked by the effort her pals went to for her special day, as they spent hours handcrafting papier-mach models of her for each year of her life - including one of her iconic character, Hermione Granger, in the hit fantasy movies.

A source told The Sun newspaper: 'Emma was gobsmacked when she arrived at the party to see all the pinatas. There was everything from her as a child, and as Hermione in the 'Harry Potter' films, to her in the Chanel advert a couple of years ago.

'They had even gone to the effort of stuffing a few of the pinatas with sweets and treats, so Emma could smash them open.'

Emma was also left blushing as her friends created a few extra papier-mach surprises - male body parts in a nod to her role in 'The Bling Ring', in which she stars as a fame-obsessed teenager who robs celebrities' homes.

The 'Perks of Being a Wallflower' actress had more reason to celebrate as she was honoured with the Trailblazer award for her blossoming movie career at the MTV Movie Awards earlier this month .

She said at the ceremony: 'Watching the video clip of my work showed me most importantly how bad my hair was in the first 'Harry Potter' film but the cool thing is you have supported me in all of my awkwardness and helped me grow into the actress and person I want to be.

'I was the eager beaver in school, the first to put her hand up which is often not cool and I was teased mercilessly but I have learned if you put your heart into something amazing things will happen.'