Making Christmas Crackers

Our second holiday craft project for the vacation (be sure to check out tiny gift boxes made from greeting cards, if you missed it) is Christmas crackers!

This is our newest favorite holiday tradition! Tomorrow we will put one on each plate set out for the Christmas meal, so that everyone can have the fun of pulling their crackers and then wearing their paper crowns at dinner.

Here are the instructions from Diane in Denmark, plus my photos and tips.

Zac and my mom are in the kitchen doing holiday baking (pumpkin pie, apple crisp, pecan pie squares) and I am making the Christmas crackers!

Here are the supplies:

cardboard tubes (whole and half), snaps, paper crowns, jokes

tape, curling ribbon, wrapping paper scraps, knife, scissors, treats

You can use toilet paper tubes for this (this bamboo toilet paper has nice sturdy white tubes) but they don't hold as many treats, so I've been using the cardboard tubes that curling ribbon comes on. They are lovely and fat.

toilet paper tube (top)
curling ribbon tube (bottom)

I made six crackers today.

(The half tubes are just for shaping the crackers; they aren't consumed.)

You can use all kinds of treats to fill your crackers. Paper crowns and jokes are traditional. We also like to put in lots of candies. I usually do a big shop at TJ Maxx or HomeGoods and go through their holiday food aisles and look for everything that is in individual packaging. Each cracker only holds about 6 candies, so we definitely over-shop.

Tip #1: Taste all the candies in advance! (I think this is Zac's favorite part.) One time we got a fancy Limoncello candy that was extremely nasty.

Tip #2: This craft is a lovely use of large-ish wrapping paper scraps. The paper needs to be wide enough to fit all the way around your center tube, and long enough for your center tube and the two half tubes plus a bit more.

To fit my tubes today, I used pieces that were about 9 inches x 15 inches.

Once you have your wrapping paper cut, get your remaining supplies ready. First, tape the snap (if using) into your center tube.

Then add the paper crown, Christmas joke, and little treats!

Now lay the center tube onto your wrapping paper, with a half tube carefully in place on either side, and tape the wrapping paper to the center tube only. That's because you'll be removing the half tubes later.

Next, roll the wrapping paper in place around all the tubes and tape it in place (for this, put tape on the wrapping paper that is around the center tube as well as the half tubes). Now, before you slither out the half tubes, you'll want to scrunch the wrapping paper a bit right there at the joins.

That is to prepare it for the ribbon, which will be coming in just a moment.

Now tie the ribbon tightly in place.

Tip #3: Don't place the ribbon too close to the end of the tube, or it will tear on the stiff cardboard edge when you pull it tight.

Tip #4: Before tying a knot in the ribbon, slip the half tube out a bit and check to see that the hole is not too big still. It will feel tight but may not be tight. And if it's not tight, beware. We had a sneaky lemon drop slip out!

You want it to look like this:

Now do the same with the other end, curl the ends of your ribbon, and step back and enjoy the results of your handiwork!

These are really fun and easy to do, and you can make them for all sorts of holidays and celebrations, including Valentine's Day, Easter, and birthdays!

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