Tis’ the season to be jolly… fa la la la la la la la la! The festive season is fast approaching. As it draws nearer, get some things off your to-do list. Christmas crackers are always a must. Instead of buying them, why not create your own this year. Get your kids involved and make it a family affair.
What you need:
- A4 piece of paper (one paper for each cracker)
- Ribbon, string or rafia
- Cardboard rolls, such as toilet or kitchen rolls
- Craft glue
- Pair of scissors
- Cracker surprises (paper hats, printed jokes and toys)
- Cracker snap (optional)
Follow these simple steps:
- Decorate the paper; you can use craft paper which already has decorations, or you can use plain white or brown paper and add stamps, drawings, stickers, or paint it entirely. As a personal touch, add your guests’ names.
- You can use a Christmas cracker template, which can easily be found online. For a more rustic and to be honest easier route, we’ll be making Christamas crackers without the online template.
- Place your A4 piece of paper face down on a flat surface. Make sure that the paper looks like a wide rectangle when facing you (this means the long sides are at the top and bottom). Now place the cardboard tube in the middle of the paper, longways. Make sure the cardboard tube fits within the surface area of the paper; cut the cardboard tube if need be.
- Now it’s time to put it all together, so wrap the paper around the cardboard tube, leaving a little space to glue it down.
- Twist only one side of the cracker and fasten using a piece of ribbon, string or rafia (depending on the look you are going for). Now insert the cracker snap; this is the long cardboard piece that gives your cracker that exciting sound and adding this is optional.
- While one side of your cracker is still open, add your cracker surprises such as paper hats, jokes and toys. Now you can close the other side of the cracker using matching ribbon or string.
Not as difficult as you thought, right? It’s a great craft project to take on and of course the fact that you made something from scratch will be greatly appreciated by your guests.
