Why buy Christmas crackers when you can make your own? Add your own hilarious jokes & tasty treats to your homemade Christmas crackers!
Homemade Christmas crackers
So yes I am well aware that you can buy Christmas crackers. They're not that expensive and they come in a huge range of sizes, colours and extravagance and there's really reason to make your own. That doesn't stop me though. To me, homemade Christmas crackers are the way to go. It must be my crafty side showing through.
I like that by making your own you can decide what to stuff them with. It also means you get to choose the jokes to make sure they're hilarious. If you follow me on Twitter you would have already had a little bit of my hilariousness this week with my daily #lameChristmasjokes. Oh how I love them.
I'd share the list of jokes that went into my crackers with you but I don't want to spoil the surprise for the ones cracking them this weekend. Let's just say Google helped me out a lot.
I'm not sure that I should admit this but making crackers also means you can coordinate the hats to match your Christmas decor. There I said it. I'm just a little bit OCD about all my decorations matching. My gift wrap always matches my tree, in fact Will caught me moving a non-coordinating present to the back of the tree the other day (it just didn't look right).
I collect the rolls from plastic wrap and aluminum foil for a few months leading up to Christmas but you can just roll up cardboard (I did that one year). As well as the rolls, you will need:
- paper to make the hats
- jokes
- present (I used chocolates this year)
- crackers (you can get these at your local craft store)
- tape measure/ruler
- string/ribbon
- paper that coordinates with your decor
- sticky tape
- scissors
- decorations
I went all out and put two jokes in each cracker but you can also put little fortunes... anything you like really.
To finish them off, go crazy on decorating. I used my salt dough name tags and hot-glue-gunned them on that way the crackers will double as place settings for dinner.
What about you, have you made crackers before? Would you ever?
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Recipe
Ingredients
- paper to make the hats
- cardboard tubing
- jokes
- present I used chocolates this year
- crackers you can get these at your local craft store
- tape measure/ruler
- string/ribbon
- paper that coordinates with your decor
- sticky tape
- scissors
Instructions
- Cut the tubing down to size (I cut mine to 10cm).
- Make the hats - measure around your head and add a couple of cm. Measure out the tissue paper and cut the hats to size. I folded a few sheets together and cut them all at once.
- Tape the two ends together to make a hat.
- Decide how big you want your crackers to be and measure and cut the paper to wrap up the roll in.
- Use a little bit of tape to secure the cracker to the inside of the roll (make sure you only tape the bit in the middle where the two ends join)
- Insert your jokes, hat and present in the tube then roll it up and secure with sticky tape.
- Scrunch the ends next to the end of the roll and tie with ribbon.
- Decorate as you like.
Ekta Ravalia says
What a brilliant idea! I love the way your decor for crackers, it's more attractive than the readymade. Thanks for such tricks, will definitely try this DIY for Christmas gifts.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
This sounds utterly stupid but I didn't know that you could get that centre cracker bit in the middle at stores! Now that you explain it, it sounds so straightforward! :D
Claire says
Neither did I until a few weeks ago. I still don't know what they're called though. I sounded mighty stupid asking for 'cracky things' in Lincraft a few weeks ago.
Christine @ Cooking Crusade says
These are so awesome Claire! I've never even thought you could make Christmas crackers before, but it is a brilliant idea.. Especially because some of the storebought crackers have the *lamest* gifts/jokes/hats inside of them hehe, I love the idea of customising them at home :D
Claire says
You can indeed Christine! Next year?
Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen says
This is such a great idea, Claire! We're, well, I'm always buying boxes of these.. only to be disappointed and have a ripped tissue thin hat. These really could adapt to any decor or theme.. awesome! xx
Claire says
You could totally go all out and make fancy hats too! You're only limited by what can fit inside the roll.
Hotly Spiced says
What a good idea. I've often thought about making my own crackers but every year it seems I run out of time and the idea is shelved for the next Christmas. These are gorgeous and I love the salt dough name tags. My mother used to make things with salt dough xx
Claire says
I do the same with quite a few Christmas ideas Charlie. If only I had a house with enough rooms that I could dedicate one to all my Christmas projects.
Marika says
I made mine this year with my Son. We bought a pack which had everything apart from the gift and joke and he's decorated them to his little hearts desire. We used christmas stickers, glitter, stars, anything messy we could find to make them as christmassy as possible. We put christmas themed erasers in them as the gift. I'm not sure if I want to crack them now ha ha:)
Claire says
What a wonderful way to do them Marika! I bet your son had a ball. I know what you mean about cracking them. Seems such a shame when they're so pretty and you've gone to so much trouble!
The Life of Clare says
I've always talked about making Christmas crackers and my aunty made some once but I love the bad hats, the hilarious gifts and a horrible jokes too much! These look fabulous!
Claire says
Oh don't you worry I still have the same hats and terrible jokes. I just made sure they were all Christmassy. I don't like the non-Christmas one-liners! Thanks!