Can I buy crackers without crappy landfill-ending gifts in them?

[KeiraTwiceKnightley]

Just that. We like crackers. The silly hat, snap and joke are great and can all go in paper recycling. But the gifts are rubbish. Literally. Even if you spend a lot more and get mini screwdriver sets instead of plastic fake nails most still end up in a drawer/the bin eventually.

I've seen fill your own crackers but wondered if anywhere does crackers that contain the paper stuff but no plastic shite?

MIL got some from Waitrose a few years ago which had “proper” gifts in. I got some silver plated earring studs which I still wear. DH got a bottle opener on a leather key ring.

Sorry to hijack the thread but can anybody suggest any ready made crackers with nice gifts in that's aren't going to break the bank?

Fantastic ideas, thanks for the chime bar tip! 8 of us for Boxing Day, 2 5 year olds, that’s an ideal idea!

I fill my own every year. The kids get cash as their main gift so I roll it up and put chocolate coins in there too.
Gift cards just about fit in.

Aldi have Christmas bingo crackers. So everyone gets a bingo card. It's picture bingo so even my youngest will be able to play. All recyclable afterwards.

We've got origami ones from tkmaxx this year. We've had moustache and balloon modelling before which is still rubbish but at least fun beforehand.
Can't stand the landfill ones either.
I have done fill your own without adding gift as they come with hat, snap and joke. I know we could manage without any crackers but they look good on table.

If it's waste your concerned about, the crackers themselves aren't great either!

Best we got one year had wind up racing brussel sprouts. We had fun for ages after dinner racing the wee things. In fact they're in the Xmas box and come out year after year.

We got the ones with little bells, so that one person conducts us in carols. We have reused them lots.

How can you personalise them for the recipient when you don’t know who is going to win each cracker pull?

The works have fill your own, usually £3 for 6 but always offers.
To know that, it's clear that this is what I buy - every year! We allocate who is buying for whom, and are all now all experts in what will fit inside a cracker. Mostly.

10k you can make it quite obvious by the present , or if there are 3 kids of similar ages, then you have 3 of the same thing.

Oh and we write a tiny initial inside the end to aid with placement on the table.

Place marking

I'm going to make some this year
I'm on a massive push to reduce plastic waste in my house. Blue Planet (BBC) tipped me over the edge on this issue...about time too.

I make my own. Example of how I've filled them: I've put little models (vintage herlad models), miniature dolls and objects and even old sixpences, along with paper hats and individually wrapped sweets or chocolate.

To whoever asked. You get the items in without breaking because it starts out as a flat rectangular sheet of cardboard and you add everything then, before rolling, securing and sealing.

Downside is that I don't bother to make one for myself

These are gorgeous and filled with confetti. Not the cheapest though! www.shopmerimeri.co.uk/libertyminicrackers.aspx

We do the fill your own and as pp suggested everyone is tasked with buying for someone else so like secret Santa in a cracker.

Update - we bought fill your own crackers from Amazon. They were great and I put a celebration choc and a lottery scratch card in each for grown ups, a tiny Xmassy teddy for the kids. No waste and everyone liked. Will do the same next year I think!

We got some from oxfam which were lovely, filled with scratch cards and wooden tree decs. Oxfam had grow your own Xmas tree seeds which worked well too for the kids.

I got some mini-crackers from Oxfam that just had a joke and a hat.

We got racing Santa’s. Which the kids have kept