Anyone for a thread on homemade Christmas crackers?

[JemimaCuddleMuck]

Anyone else making them and like to share what you're filling them with for inspiration?

So far I have got extendable straws in little cases (with a little cleaning brush), and some cheap butterfly studs curtesy of eBay.
Still need something for DS who's 2 🤔.

Anyone else?

Im following as considering this ! What are you using to make th actual crackers ? Toilet roll middles ? And what kind of paper ? Will you write bad jokes ?!

I’m not making any for this year, I’m going to do some next year and buy bits through the year. So far I have a pandora charm for my daughter on my list

@RoseHippy1 yes, toilet roll tubes for the middles, wrapped in fabric but have done Christmas wrapping paper before. Admittedly mine never 'crack' but I think you can buy snaps to put in them. Not thought about joes before but may do them if I can think of suitably awful ones.

@Saladd0dger great idea, so I hope easier to collect things throughout the year. Wish I'd started earlier with mine this year. A charm is a great idea.

*much easier 🙄

I’ve used the thick kraft paper from the inside of wrapping paper before. Just fold and cut out a diamond pattern so that they fold in properly and tear easily. I tied them with rough garden twine and added mistletoe on the day. They looked lovely.

Contents were a bit dull: various people’s favourite sweet, scratch card, jokes provided by the dc, and cracker tat and party bag tat that I’ve been recycling for years (it always gets left behind on the table anyway).

I used to give a thoughtful small gift but it got quite expensive and time consuming so I don’t bother these days.

Attached a picture of diamond cut outs as I don’t think I was making much sense. With thicker papers you don’t even need the toilet roll.

Try again

Scratch card is good idea.

Mum has hand cream
Dad has stamps
Dd has a cross stitch kit
Partner has sachets of posh coffee

I give dd mine to fill

I was going to try to find mini candles, bath oils and perfume samples for mine

A Milky Way for the two year old.
Or a chunky crayon and a printed picture to colour.

I have done them with booze miniatures, and also with little kits that make up into a Christmas decoration.

The dc usually get a Lego minifigure blind bag, dh gets an alcohol miniature. I give dh mine to fill, usually get an alcohol miniature or a bottle of nail polish, one year he put the eternity ring he'd had made for me in it though which was a lovely surprise. Other ideas for dc, hairslides, small sticker sheets, older dc: perfume/aftershave miniatures, inexpensive jewellery, nice key rings, small make up items.