Make Your
Own Christmas Crackers and Holiday Poppers
By
Gina Ritter
Christmas crackers
were first created in 1847 as a festive British party gift for
adults. They are made from pretty paper wrapped around cardboard;
when pulled by the ends so that the wrapper is broken, the friction
causes a piece of paper inside called a cracker snap (which is
treated with an explosive chemical called silver fulminate) to
make a noisy pop. Original crackers contained a balloon, small
hat, a gift and a joke, but they’ve evolved to contain many
themed items.
Crackers are still
widely enjoyed by children today in many countries. You can design
what I call Holiday Poppers around special event themes or holidays
such as birthdays, weddings and Valentine’s Day.
Stores sell beautiful
Christmas crackers for around $2.80 to $3.80 a piece, but you
can make an amazingly simple creation at home. Using toilet paper
cardboard rolls in your crackers is a wonderful way to recycle,
and some of your other decorations and paper materials can be
recycled from old gift wrap, ribbon and other things.
Basic supply
list
Toilet paper rolls
10”x10” squares of wrapping paper, crepe paper or
tissue paper
Transparent tape or double-sided tape
Small trinkets, candy or other surprises
Ribbon or string
Optional
supplies
Cracker snaps
Glue
Other decorative items such as stickers, paper cut-outs, sequins,
etc.
Fortune notes, mottos or jokes on colorful pieces of paper
To purchase Christmas
cracker supplies including cracker snaps, visit www.oldenglishcrackers.com/cracker-snaps.htm.
[NFO is not affiliated with this company. Please be sure you learn
more about them before ordering; just as you would with any online
store]
Find alternate directions
and a supply list at www.imagitek.com/xmas/crafts/cracker.html.
Directions
1. Stuff the cardboard rolls with treats. If you need to, use
transparent tape to hold the surprises in while you work.
2. Place the roll on a 10”x10” piece of paper so that
the roll is closer to the top than the bottom, with an equal amount
of paper on each end.
3. Roll the paper over the cardboard, securing the paper to itself
with a strip of tape. It’s nice to use double-sided tape
here, so no one can see it.
4. Tie both ends of the paper with decorative string or ribbon.
5. Decorate the outside with stickers, sequins, paper cut-outs,
etc.
Without purchasing cracker snaps, you still have a fun holiday
treat for kids and adults. The project is a popular preschool
art project, but can be enjoyed by children of any age. You can
even make up Christmas crackers yourself to give away during the
holidays or any special event.
© Gina Ritter
Gina Ritter is
the owner of Natural
Family Online, co-owner of Balter
Baby and the Balter
Catalogue Company, a mom to three precious boys, and an
artist. You may reprint this article by contacting her at gina
[at] taylexson.org.