WA Advent Calendar 2025 - Sunday 7th December

byGail-UK

3.8K followers

1 week ago

Welcome to Day 7: Can we really be a week into December already?!

The Delightfully British Christmas Cracker

Christmas wouldn’t feel quite the same without that familiar pull, or in my case, it's usually a physical tussle with my sister to see who gets the main part of the cracker!

However, I digress... Christmas wouldn't be the same without that little pull, the tiny pop, the cloud of glittery paper and… the joke that makes everyone groan. The Christmas cracker is one of the most charming British inventions, and its story is rather lovely.

Crackers are credited with being created in 1847 by London confectioner Tom Smith, who originally wrapped French bonbon sweets in twists of paper. Inspired by the crackle of a log fire, he later added a small “snap" or "bang” mechanism in the 1860s and replaced the sweets with gifts and riddles. The idea spread quickly and became a firm Christmas tradition across the UK and beyond.

Today, Christmas crackers are big business and you can get everything from very budget ones with the usual plastic thimble, cellophane fish, or jumping frog, to very expensive ones like the Fortnum and Mason Luxury crackers which cost £1000 for 6!

Christmas crackers are very common in Britain and Ireland and in other Commonwealth countries, but are much less well known in the USA and other countries.

The UK Obsession

According to the BBC, over 100 million Christmas crackers are sold in the UK each year, but many include a chemical “snap” (silver fulminate) and other non-recyclable bits like glitter, which often end up in landfill. So why not think about the environment a little more with your choice of Christmas crackers and enjoy the tradition without costing the planet?

Some companies are now offering “crack-less” crackers, replacing the chemical snap with the natural crack of cardboard and including a message about recyclability instead of a plastic snap strip.

I like to do a lot of Christmas crafts, and this is a great way to keep the family amused, reduce, recycle and reuse and have a cheaper, more environmentally friendly Christmas.

Gail's Guide to Making Your Own Christmas Cracker

Homemade crackers are personal, affordable and surprisingly fun to make and put together. You only need a few basics:

What you’ll need:

• Cardboard tubes (like toilet roll or kitchen roll inserts, or even Pringle tubes work too)
• Wrapping paper or decorative craft paper (make sure it's fully recyclable, so no glitter or foil finishes)
• Instead of a chemical snap, just add a strip of thin cardboard that will tear and make a noise
• Small gifts or handwritten notes
• Paper hats (optional but traditional)

How to make them:

1. Cut the paper large enough to wrap around the tube with extra on each end.
2. Place the alternative cardboard 'snap' inside the tube and secure it lightly with a bit of tape.
3. Wrap the tube in paper and tape along the seam.
4. Tie one end with a ribbon to create the classic cracker shape.
5. Fill the cracker with your gift, joke and hat.
6. Tie the other end and decorate if you wish.

You can theme your crackers for family or turn them into a niche craft idea for your WA blog: mindfulness crackers, sustainability crackers, business inspiration crackers, self-care crackers, creative challenge crackers and more.

Ten Cracker Jokes for Your Creations

No Christmas cracker would be complete without a terrible joke, so here are some of the best bad jokes! (Clean ones for family fun!)

1. What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck? - A Christmas quacker.
2. Why did the turkey join the band? - Because it had the drumsticks.
3. What do you call a snowman with a suntan? - A puddle.
4. Why did the Christmas tree go to the hairdresser? - It needed a trim.
5. What do elves post on social media? - Elfies.
6. What do you call Santa when he stops moving? - Santa Pause.
7. How does the snow globe feel after Christmas? - A bit shaken.
8. Why don’t penguins fly? - Because they’re not tall enough to get through security.
9. What happens if you eat Christmas decorations? - You get tinselitis.
10. Why did Santa go to music school? - He wanted to improve his wrapping.

Variations

You can add small riddles, poems, quiz questions, logic puzzles, Maths games, or anything you want. We had some 'racing reindeer' one year, and 'hopping Santas' too, which were fun, so you can use your imagination to create whatever you want.

We've also had some small handbells and some Christmas carol sheets to follow, so everyone got to play the carols by following the sheet and shaking their handbell at the appropriate time.

One year, we all sat around on Christmas Eve and made our own crackers, decorating them individually.

There are so many things you can do to add Christmas crackers to your Christmas cheer, so please let me know what your favourite cracker inserts are, and whether you intend to make your own this year too.

Wishing you lots of festive fun.

Gail