Gonna make crackers this year.

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It remains to be seen whether it's just us, or with another household, but I'm going to get the snaps and hats on-line, save toilet rolls and buy personal bits that won't go straight in the bin to go inside. DS can write some terrible jokes from the joke book he's going to get.

I bought a set from The Works last year that you fill and put together yourself. I was really impressed with them, so have bought some more for this year.

I am making my own for the first time this year. Fed up of the rubbish gifts in shop-bought ones. I used to get some nice ones in Oxfam but not seen them for years.

I've got my DD a Top Model 'lipstick' style rubber to go in hers. A lipgloss for mine and a pin badge for DS. Was thinking a whiskey miniture for DP - or would that be too heavy?

Yes, I was thinking either nice personalised little gifts, or charity shop nonsense, seeing as it's usually rubbish that ends up in the bin anyway.

I mean, if it's bric-a-brac from charity, it can just go back if no one actually wants it, I haven't added to landfill!

I'm a sewer, so making mine out of fabric, they can be used every year (two tubes, one slightly bigger than the other, that velcro together).

I make crackers every year, usually loo rolls and kitchen paper rolls, if the gift is too long. I fill them with novelty pilens - always get used, by everyone. Ive put in: boxing cats, fluffy flamingoes, giant screw, fish. This year mine is a fountain pen Ones I've made for friends have included novelty rubbers, glow in the dark stars (for kids' bedrooms), other stationery.

Jokes come off the internet. We have a 9yo, so they have to be appropriate. I don't have hats, but I might make some this year. I'm not bothered about the snap - well, I am a bit, because we can't get them here (EU), we just shout BANG as they open.

I haven't made them yet, I'll start when schools break up on the 18th.

• novelty pens

I've got a kit to make them, mainly so I can have toddler suitable gifts. Duplo animals are going in mine

I assembled my own crackers until last year. I bought a basic kit (inner, outer, snap, paper hat and ribbon for securing at each end) and then wrote out jokes (found on internet) and hot together the gifts. And popped some Celebrations in too to fill up the void, and a lottery scratchcard. So everyone had a personalised cracker.

I mostly used things that I already had for the gifts eg mini alcohol bottles, sample sized toiletries from gifts with purchases, novelties from crackers in previous years.

I did buy the bits for the Dc eg a little wooden train.

I found that the higher the cracker, the easier it is to find things that fit.