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Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Making Our Christmas Crackers

One of our family's Christmas Day traditions is the opening of the Christmas crackers. Some years, a box of crackers have been a gift to us. Other years, I've bought us a box. This year, one daughter and I decided rather last-minute to make our own Christmas crackers. (Here's the story -- my daughter and I were exiting a store together when another shopper came in and asked the clerk if they had any Christmas crackers left. The clerk replied that they only had the small ones left. As we were walking away, I suggested we make our own, and I gave some ideas of what we could use and what we could put inside for free. I honestly thought this would go down as another one of those ideas that never materializes. But I do love a good craft, especially one that sort of saves us money. I say sort of because we were on the path of just doing Christmas without crackers this year.)

onto the crackers . . .

We spent a couple of hours one afternoon and used only materials that we had on hand.


We began with the paper tube, made with a sheet of copy paper folded in half and rolled into a tube, securing with tape.


We needed items for filling, of course. So I started with simple, corny Christmas riddles. I found a page of them online, selected 6 that I liked, printed them out, and cut them into strips. I've folded each in half so the reader can take a guess themselves, as well as try to stump the rest of us.


We cut a bunch of tiny snowflakes to put in each tube.


My daughter and I dusted off our origami skills (and found some instructions online) and made a couple of creatures, a star, a heart, and a couple of flowers, using scraps of previously used gift wrap paper. Foil gift wrap works best for tiny origami folding.


And of course, a piece of chocolate tops off the list of filling items. It's not really about what is in the cracker, but the fun of discovering each thing. After all, I no longer have any of the trinkets from previous Christmas crackers. They're not exactly of the "keeping" tier of bits and baubles.


We tucked trinkets into each paper roll.


Then we wrapped each tube in tissue paper.


And finally, we tied the ends of the tissue in cuts of previously used curling ribbons and decorated each cracker with Christmas stickers that came free in the mail.


When I've bought crackers for our family before, I've spent between $10 and $15 for a box of 8. We made 6 of these crackers for pennies. Our costs were for 7 sheets of copy paper, a foot and a half of clear tape, 3 sheets of new tissue paper, and the 6 chocolate candies. The gift wrap for origami, the curling ribbon, and the stickers were all either free and new or previously used (basically free). Of course, our homemade crackers won't "pop" like boughten ones. But I think they'll be fun, nonetheless.

21 comments:

  1. I have never heard of Christmas crackers before so I was thinking the kind you eat. Is it opened on Christmas just like any other present?
    Alice
    P.S. My mind is thinking of 10 more items to describe my day thanks to yesterday's post!

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    1. Hi Alice (and everyone else),
      Oh my goodness. I'm sorry. I made an assumption that others knew about these. Part of my family is English in heritage. So my mother would buy these for some of our Christmases. The Christmas dinner would be a festive time, a party, even if it was only our small family. Each person would have a Christmas cracker at their place at the table, and we'd open them before the meal began. They usually contain a paper crown plus other trinkets. We'd all wear these silly paper crowns throughout dinner.

      The boughten ones have a strip of paper in them that when torn they making a popping sound (like firecracker). So you pull on the two ends of the crackers to open them, and the popping sound happens. I don't really know why they became a tradition in England. I'll have to read up on that. If you internet search "Christmas cracker" you'll find photos of these and people pulling at the ends. Ours won't come apart readily by pulling, but will be easily torn open.

      Since we gather at brunch, we'll open these at the beginning of our Christmas brunch, before we eat or exchange gifts. It's just a fun and festive addition to the day.

      And Alice, I love boiling my day down to a handful of words. It helps me "see" my day in a snapshot, and I wind up appreciating my day more. I'm glad you enjoyed that!

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  2. So clever...plus you spent a fun time creating them with your daughter..which is priceless and memories made! It does us good to exercise our creative bone more often rather just opening our wallets. I am definitely smiling at this nice idea.

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    1. Hi Linda,
      Thank you. And I wholeheartedly agree. It has become so easy to just buy whatever we want, that we wind up losing that sense of satisfaction from creating or problem solving. And my daughter and I enjoyed the origami, something I did a lot of as a child and so did she. Glad it made you smile!

      Delete
  3. I've never heard of Christmas crackers before. At the beginning of your post, I was imagining crackers in festive shapes! Are they a PNW tradition? Or something from your family traditions? Curious, as I've lived in several states (Ohio, Georgia, Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan, and California, and now Oklahoma) and never come across these. Anyway, great job on saving money on something your family enjoys!

    Cat

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    1. Hi Cat,
      I'm sorry I didn't give more background to the crackers. My thoughts were inside my own bubble as I wrote about making Christmas crackers. I can definitely imagine how others might think we baked crackers (which would also be a fun thing to do for Christmas). My answer to Alice's comment explains the crackers better. They are an English thing, probably from the Victorian period. Here's a link to the history behind them:

      https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Christmas-Crackers/

      Anyway, these are fun to make. My mind is running a million miles an hour over what other trinkets we could add and how we could make the paper crowns for next year's crackers or perhaps New Year's Eve crackers (we sometimes do those, too).

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  4. I'll join the crowd and say I thought that Christmas crackers were something to eat. Looks like a fun craft that all will enjoy.

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    1. Hi Live and Learn,
      Jokes on me -- I wasn't thinking outside my own little bubble. Sorry I didn't explain better. Edible Christmas crackers would also be a fun tradition, especially since they could be savory and a nice alternative to all of the sweets.

      They're fun to make and I hope my family enjoys the riddles, candy and homemade paper trinkets.

      Delete
  5. I've seen the crackers in the store before, but haven't tried them. You came up with a cost effective way to add some fun to your celebrations!

    I think that Christmas crackers were originally a British tradition. They are referenced in the Harry Potter books and I saw them being used on an episode of the newest edition of All Creatures Great And Small on PBS (which, btw, is an EXCELLENT program that I think most of the readers here would enjoy--season 2 is available free on the PBS website right now and season 3 will be starting in January).

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    1. Hi Kris,
      Yes, you're right. They are a British thing in tradition. And thank you, thank you for the mention of ACG & S. I've been looking for a show to watch in January. I'm guessing my library has DVDs for the first season, maybe the 2nd too. The shows you've mentioned before have been right up my alley. So I think I'd like this one, too.

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    2. PBS is also airing another season of Miss Scarlett and the Duke soon, and that's a cute show (I bet your library would have previous seasons of that, too), but All Creatures is amazing. One of those rare gems of a program. We have been re-watching old episodes at my daughter's request .... and I have noticed that everyone ends up watching it.

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    3. We LOVE All Creatures Great and Small! Both the current show, and the old original version. Can't wait for the next season!

      Cat

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    4. I knew I liked you, Cat! ;)

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  6. I too never heard of this tradition before. I love the idea of putting little fun treasures in a tube. Really brings out the kid in me to open one of these. This would be great for any occasion.

    Have a great day!!
    Laura

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    1. Hi Laura,
      I agree, these would be fun for many types of celebrations. Great suggestion. Our family also does these on New Year's Eve when we have enough leftovers from previous boxes. But I may make some for this New Year's Eve. I have an idea for how to make a paper crown using some crepe paper we have. I'll be thinking what other fun trinkets I could make that would be New Year's themed.

      Wishing you a beautiful day, Laura! You're likely enjoying sunshine and warmth. We're under snow again and it's 17 degrees F, here, this morning. Brrrrr. Have a great day!

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    2. Oh my that's so cold!!! Yes, can't complain about our rain and wind.

      Laura

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  7. Hello Lili,
    I’ve heard and had Christmas crackers for years.
    They sell them here in Canada.Individuals of British origin would have had the most exposure to them.
    My husbands family always used them. You cross crossed your hands and pulled the one on your left with your right hand and vice versa. Everyone does it around the table. We usually count down to the pull.
    Years ago I thought I would make my own also. So I ordered some of the snaps( a thin paper glued on top on another with a tiny bit of an explosive for the snap in the center)
    Oh my I have so many snaps, enough for the rest of my life.
    I always thought I would sew them and give them out to friends for their families one year as a recyclable activity.
    I really like your simpler idea.

    You and your daughter might like making paper bag stars out of glued together brown paper lunch bags from the dollar store. The patterns we liked the best were from www.babbledabbledo.com
    They are outstanding looking and we gave them away to so many people.
    Teresa

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    1. Thank you for all of this information on Christmas crackers, Teresa. And I'll check out those paper bag stars, too! Thank you!

      Delete
  8. Not sure if you can use the CBC ( Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) app called CBC Gem.
    They have the first two seasons of All Creatures Great and Small. Also Miss Scarlett and the Duke, Call the Midwife and , currently Around the World in 80 Days.

    They have so many of the British programs.

    If you access Kanopy through your library card they have an extensive library of British Shows. They have series, if you watch a series it only counts as one of your uses for the month. It is an awesome free resource.

    I have found for myself in Canada that I donate $60+ a year and have the use of the PBS Passport App to watch. I viewed Broadchurch over the summer. Wow, first time I saw Olivia Coleman act.

    Teresa

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    Replies
    1. Yes, we did have Kanopy! Thank you for the reminder. And good to know about a series counting as only one check-out title. Thank you!

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    2. I meant "do have Kanopy", not did.

      Delete

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