Friday 18 December 2020

Homemade Christmas Crackers

 Hello Lovelies, with one week to go until the big day I thought it was a good idea to get on with making my Christmas crackers today. 

I know these are not a worldwide tradition so HERE is a bit of background in case you are not familiar.

I started off by making the paper hats from brown paper. I simply cut strips  slightly longer than the circumference of my head and glued the two ends together. Then I folded them concertina style and cut one end to a point, make the crown shape. I added an embellishment made from cut up old Christmas cards to add a festive touch. 


I found some topical "cracker jokes" online...they are supposed to be corny..... and chose the least political ones for the 5 crackers I needed to make. Christmas dinner is a one household affair this pandemic year. Fine for us, but it's a shame mum can't join us....well it's permitted but not worth the risk.


The only other thing they needed was a small gift. In the end I decided just to go with some cute chocolates. Popular with the whole household and no cheap trinkets which would end up in the bin.


I didn't do any research on how to make crackers online...Why make life easy when you can struggle with trial and error :0) Seriously though, sometimes I just like to wing things...but now I'm doing this post knowing I'll thank myself next year...
"all being well"....

Initially I used a whole toilet roll tube for the centre and two halves for either end. I also stuck down the snap...big mistake.



By trial and error I ended up deciding it was best to shorten the centre tube to 8cm long. The two outer tubes are 3cm.



It's important to leave a big enough gap between the tubes to tie the cracker securely. My tubes were 4.5cm across. I found a 5.5cm gap was ideal for this size of tube.




You don't have to be too accurate. 

Next I glued them to the paper wrap. I was using some old gift wrap, which I cut to 35cm in width, and just enough length to wrap around the tubes with a small overlap.

At this stage add your snap if you want one. They are easily sourced online , like HERE . Just lay it through the tubes and add your other bits. For me it was the homemade hats, choccy bear....


The easy quiz question...festive themed, and one of those corny jokes.

 
Here's everything tucked inside the centre tube.


Then add glue. I decided a blob either side of the tubes and all along one edge worked best for me.

Roll up as neatly as possible


And squeeze together the two places between the tubes, to try and stop your bits and bobs falling out.


Keep the cracker flat and tie some strong string or wrapping ribbon around each end, checking you haven't caught or lost any of the contents in the process.


You need the cracker to be sealed, this is why that 5.5cm gap was so important. 


Check the snap is central in the cracker and adjust if needed, before sticking or gluing into place as firmly as you can...otherwise it won't go bang when the cracker is pulled....which is the best bit! 



I decided to cut points into the ends of my cracker, this is why the cardboard rings are quite small, otherwise they show. I was careful not to snip through the snap though.


Here they are...far from perfect but I'm still pleased with the finished effect. I've done some recycling, avoided loads of packaging and whiled away a few happy hours on a miserably wet December day.


In the end I decided they needed a little something else and found some washi tape in my stash to add.

The only things I bought to make these were the snaps and the chocolate. I'm hoping the fact this is basic, thin wrapping will help them pull apart easily. Brown paper would be a great choice too.


Mine are safely tucked into our tree until Christmas dinner, where I think they look really nice.


I've got snaps left over so next time I'll simply need to source the "gift". 

Toilet roll tubes are easy to collect over a few weeks. These were put in a shoe box last January with this craft in mind...get me, Mrs Organised :0)

I hope this helps anyone else out there who fancies a fun bit of Christmas craftiness.

Jacquie x




19 comments:

  1. Well Jacquie...that is really neat! You are an artist you really are! I think this is brilliant...lovely and clear tutorial too!Very informative too. Many thanks for sharing!
    keep well Amanda x

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  2. Awww, thank you Amanda. Happy Christmas xx

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    1. By the way these last few years its been possible to buy crackers here and manufactured here in Spain! Very much the same as original crackers only one snag they don't snap! Such a disappointment! A x

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  3. Hi Jacquie, I just discovered you were back posting again and popped back through your posts to June so I could get all caught up. Sorry I missed your return.
    Hope all is well and I can see you are enjoying your crafts to get ready for Christmas. Thanks so much for all of the lovely photos and clever crafts you share.
    Happy holidays and best wishes for a fun and healthy New Year!

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    1. Lovely to hear from you Ellen, thank you for the kind words.
      Merry Christmas to you too xx

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  4. Bravo on re-using things for something so wonderful. I was not raised with these but learned of them from reading my UK blogs such as yours. I might need to pick some up at World Market for our Christmas dinner! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉
    *M*E*R*R*Y* *C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S*!*
    ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉

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    1. Thank you Theresa. Interesting to hear you can get crackers in the states these days.
      Stay safe and Merry Christmas
      Jacquie x

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  5. Fun, home made is always the very best :)

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  6. Such a fun make. I am not bothering this year as there is just the two of us and have opted for a table gift instead.

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    1. Sounds very nice. Hope you can enjoy your quiet Christmas x

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  7. Those turned out great! Being from the U.S., I’ve one seen them in pictures and had no idea you could make your own. Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting. I’m curious about where your blog got its name. I used to have a couple angora rabbits for their wool, which I spun and knit. They were the sweetest creatures and of course, beautiful, too.

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    1. Thank you, I named this blog when we did have rabbits. Sadly they are no longer around x

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  8. They look fab, well done! I am very impressed by your forethought, tucking those loo roll tubes away in January. We have shop-bought crackers left over from last year but now I want to make some for next year. You have reminded me of that episode of The Good Life in which Margot's Christmas is not delivered from Harrods and she pulls one of Tom's homemade newspaper crackers and says, "Crack!". Thank you. x

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    1. Yes I was reminded of that episode too. Loved the good life x

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  9. We make them just like this too but my girls do go a bit overboard with stickers and left over bits from craft kits they have received during the year. Bravo to you Mts Organised! Jo x

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  10. Thank you Jo. Homemade is always best and our children's makes are precious aren't they :0) xx

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  11. I have never made Christmas crackers and yet I love crafting, do it all the time, this post is fantastic and I think for next year, I will do just that! Great post and inspiration, thank you

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  12. Thank you for such a lovely tuttorial on cracker making. My son is providing the crackers this year. He says they are crackers with a twist but won't say anymore!! I will be using your version next year. Have a safe Christmas x

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