Christmas crackers are a wonderful, long-standing Christmas tradition. We love the fun of pulling them open, seeing who wins, wearing the festive paper hats during Christmas dinner, even sharing the terrible Dad jokes! What we don’t love so much is the cheap plastic gifts inside, which more often than not end up in the bin. So, this year, we decided to make our own Christmas crackers!
These crackers were fun and easy to make. You can fill them with whatever gifts you like, and even personalise them for each of your dinner guests. See below for the simple method and lots of great gift ideas!
What You Will Need
- Wrapping paper / Tissue paper
- Cardboard tube (e.g. the inside of wrapping paper, cut to approximately 10 cm)
- Sellotape / sticky tape
- Scissors
- Curling ribbon (optional)
Optional Fillings
- Gift
- Joke (you can print jokes for Christmas crackers/bon bons here)
- Paper hat
- A snap (from craft/discount stores)
- Christmas confetti (e.g. stars)
Method
1. Cut your paper to size. We found about 16cm x 26cm worked well. Wrapping paper looks beautiful and decorative, but for little kids, you may find that tissue paper works best as it is easier for them to pull apart.
2. Lay the paper flat. If adding a snap, lay it lengthways on the paper and tape it down at each end. Using a snap is optional. The crackers will still be fun to pull without one. But if you’d like to add a snap, you can buy bundles of them on ebay and other discout craft stores for a reasonable price.
3. Place the cardboard tube lengthways in the centre of the paper. Then fill the tube with your choice of fillings. (For joke ideas, just Google ‘Christmas jokes’.) An optional extra is to sprinkle in some Christmas-style confetti, such as gold stars, for that extra surprise when the crackers snaps!
4. Wrap the paper around the tube and tape it in place.
5. Then twist the paper at the either side of the tube. If using curling ribbon, tie this around each end, then drag the back of the scissors along the ends of the ribbon to curl it. If not using ribbon, simply secure the ends with more tape, or use string or wool and tie a bow.
6. If you’ve personalised your crackers for individual guests, just remember to add their name or initials on the cracker.
7. Now set the table with your beautiful homemade crackers and enjoy the excitement as your guests receive their thoughtful gifts!
Gift Ideas
Any trinkets small enough to fit inside the cardboard tube make great Christmas cracker gifts. Here are some fun ideas to try:
- Keyring
- Christmas chocolate
- Friendship bracelet
- Jewellery
- Ooshie
- Hair scrunchie
- LEGO minifigure
- Mini perfume
- Essential oil
- Lip balm
- Novelty rubber
- Pencil topper
- Make-up
- Badge
- Fridge magnet
- Novelty pencil sharpener
- Hair slide / clip
- Mini toiletries
- Nail varnish
- Charity pin
- Christmas tree ornament
- Marbles
- Toy car
For Adults Only
- Miniature spirits / liquor
- Scratch card
- Wine glass charm
- Novelty bottle topper
- Cufflinks
If you have any other great Christmas cracker gift ideas, just let us know in the comments!
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