Who buys posh crackers?

[evilharpy]

This is not intended to be goady - you'll never find me on Style & Beauty being arsey about people spending £2k+ on a handbag, and I have boxes full of overpriced Christmas decorations that come out year after year. I'm just genuinely confused on who buys posh Christmas crackers with slightly less crappy but still crappy prizes.

Examples here and here. Now obviously they are a bit nicer than the usual plastic tat you get in a box of crackers from Tesco, but apart from possibly the mini jar of jam, which will last till breakfast the next day, I can't imagine any of these prizes will be kept and treasured beyond the end of Christmas dinner. I could sort of understand it if it was something edible like fancy truffles, or something consumable like make up, or even a set of wind up racing Santas which we had one year (they were shit, they either went in circles or threw themselves off the edge of the table). And far less entertaining than a plastic fortune telling fish.

Does anyone here actually buy these?

I bought some with wooden baubles in one year, I still have them and they’re cute and not the usual plastic tat. We’re talking £15 expensive not £50 expensive though 🤣

I wouldn’t buy ridiculously OTT crackers but we did get Hotel Chocolat last time as I hate the cheap plastic tat and the foul smell and the jokes and the hats and basically everything about them. Them and Mince Pies can get in the sea. I think crackers were a £5 each, and I thought they were worth it.

These are just the usual contents these days. Not even luxury, not child oriented, not really more eco as not esp recyclable.I also don't get modern crackers. The grater looks the same as the one in an M&S or Sainsburys pack that DH cut his finger on a few yrs back. Also heart motif says valentines not Christmas . Complete waste of money, at least the plastic tat got played with briefly. I'd rather they had chocs in because it's just one more treat thing on a special day and the packaging could be recycleable

I hate crackers, so we never have them. I do table boxes instead.

Not me. The whole point of crackers, IMO, is that they should NOT be tasteful. They are supposed to contain plastic tat that may provide a little amusement at the table, but will end up in the bin, or the fruit bowl, where you find it 3 months later.

Any ‘posher’ ones I’ve ever bought (only once, IIRC) have just contained more expensive tat.

LOL we used to buy them when crackers that didn’t have plastic tat were less common. Although Selfridges always used to heavily reduce them to less than half price a few days before Christmas. All of those items apart from the wooden comb would have found a grateful recipient in our family in the traditional post dinner cracker novelty swap. But there is a limit to how many nutmeg graters, mini silver plated photo frames and bottle opener key rings you need 😂 We make our own crackers now.

People for whom £50 is basically like £5 for us

You mean you’re not coveting a mini cheese grater?
My autistic DS is obsessed with Christmas crackers, he’s already done a box this year after spotting them in The Range, so we basically try and get the cheapest ones we can find!

I thought you meant crackers as in “biscuits for cheese”..! Yes, buy expensive ones!!

I bloody hate crackers - although my partner did buy wind up racing sprouts one year that went down well…

Considering Sarah Raven failed to deliver my lupins in March, and are still claiming they'll be dispatched soon, they have a bloody cheek adding more products to their books! With luck if you order those crackers today you might get them by Easter.

I buy posh crackers but not those ones as that’s just non plastic tat. Have bought ones with little teddy bears in each, that hang on Xmas tree - they were cute and we use them each year. Also bought House of Games ones with quiz in them for when quizzy family were here for Xmas day. And bought fiddle gadget ones with little popper things, fidget toys etc - they sit around and get played with. Had the racing penguins that were a fun game later in the day. Yes it’s all frivolous but they’re fun games to play with over xmas.

Ive been eyeing up the ones with rspb pin badges this year as my mum would like them. Last year we had some fiddle gadget ones where the toys were good fun but they were absolutely chock full of soooo much confetti, it went absolutely everywhere. Luckily the comedy outweighed the gigantic inconvenience 😁

agree - if you are going to spend above the 'normal' amount, then it has to be for somethng that you would actually enjoy or use

Spending more, to also get something no one really wants is just pointless. Actually worse than that because often the cheap ones have things that can amuse children before dinner.. whereas the 'posher' ones are more grown up.. yet contain nothing adults want.

Perfect christmas - a set of crackers that had fun toys in each for the kids.. then something edible or drinkable for the adults. + hats that are big enough for big heads...

You can spend a grand on crackers if you go to Harrods.

Every year I get Tom Smith luxury crackers they're roughly £15-20 depending where you buy them, they look really luxurious and you get a choice of colours to match your table..

Absolutely!

I make my own using sets from The Cracker Company | The Home of Crackers - DIY Cracker Making and put my own gifts in them. They are very easy to make and I choose the design to match my wrapping theme. They come with the usual rubbish hats and jokes.

DH is getting AirPods (which is part of his main present but its more fun to put them in the cracker)
DD1 is getting an AirPod case
DD2 has a bracelet
DM has posh handcream
DSD has fancy lip balm
Son-in-law has a Swiss card
DGDs have personalised bracelets.
DD2 will get me something and slip it in my cracker so I still get a surprise.

They could also be filled with chocolates, lottery tickets etc. as preferred.

I was coming on to say that I buy M&S onion and poppy seed crackers year round as they're delish - wrong crackers 🙈

My single brother buys ridiculously expensive posh crackers and brings them to my house as he's always here for Christmas. Last year they were filled with luxury beauty miniatures - DD and I had a field day!

I like my crackers cheap and cheerful

I buy nice crackers for half price or less in the January sales to use the following Christmas. They'd have to be truly spectacular though for price of those OP.

Oh, and while we're on the subject, the most useful thing you can ever find in a Christmas cracker is a little set of those miniature screwdrivers. They are covetable!

Honestly those are ridiculous price for the contents which probably cost less than £10 combined! I would be tempted to make my own with thoughtful gifts and it would come in at less than £60.
We love crackers but I tend to buy the ones that have games in them like escape room or murder mystery ones. I normally get them from Aldi.

I get my kids to fill empty toilet rolls with whatever they want. They wrap them up with wrapping paper and twist the ends. They love it and can never remember what they put in them so it’s still a surprise 😂

I love my mini cheese grater - it's perfect for parmesan! Although I think the cracker one didn't last very long but inspired me to buy one......

I wish they'd put consumable gifts inside like luxury food or luxury toiletries, then I would consider buying "posh crackers". I agree that the stuff inside is just junk that no one needs or wants but the outside looks nice.

I love the fortune telling fish in cheap crackers.
We had a set of whistles (do re mi etc) one year and the kids took it in turns to direct the “orchestra” through a Christmas carol.
Well worth £12.
So was the one with mini bottles of Baileys crashing down onto our dinner plates!

Love crackers. Normally buy cheap and open up and put in eg a scratch card and an
alcohol miniature. Last year I bought Taskmaster crackers which were mainly ok but not worth the money. We love crackers for the snap, hat and joke and they are the same regardless of cost.