Alternatives to Christmas crackers?

[BellissimoGecko]

Has anyone got any ideas for less wasteful crackers? Table gifts? Jokes we pick out of a hat? Thank you!

We get “fill your own” crackers and upcycle them to make gift-tag cards for next year’s gifts. You can get lots of eco /plastic free or reusable crackers and buy extra snaps - you can even buy ones made of “seed paper” and plant them in the garden in spring!

One year dd made little cardboard crowns for everyone and wrote the jokes round the outside and we just gave everyone a table gift (I think we made fudge, gave people little pot of herbs or some bird-feeder fat balls)

I've got reusable crackers that I bought years ago. They're good quality and look nicer on the Christmas table than the supermarket ones that I bought previously.
https://keepthiscracker.com/shop/

Oxfam Donnie’s that recycle also they don’t have stupid plastic gifts in

I bought some reusable fabric crackers from Oxfam a couple of years ago. They join together with velcro so you can still pull them but obviously they don't make a 'bang'. I put a lottery scratchcard and a small useful gift in each one, and I print up random cracker jokes off the Internet and blindly select one for each cracker (so I don't know which joke I'm getting!).
I also bought fabric Christmas hats which tie on (also from Oxfam)

I like the idea of them but yes they are a waste . Last lot I bought were in the sideboard forgotten about didn't find them till I was putting things back, so I reckoned we didn't miss them.

I used to do some sweets in a re-usable gift box ( bought some gorgeous mesh wire sided boxes and picked some nice sweets/chocolates each person would like )

I think this year I'll go with a ScratchCard each

Yes table gifts are nice. Ultimately I am tempted not to replace them with anything due to the waste and environmental impact and I wonder if anyone will notice.

I am planning on buying a pass the parcel cracker I’ve seen at dunelm , not sure how it works but it’s just one thing and less waste.
They also have some lovely fabric reusable ones.
I just looked on Oxfam online as per pp but couldn’t see any.
https://www.dunelm.com/product/santa-pass-the-parcel-1000269671

I’ve replaced them with a small table gift each, including a small Lego set for my son so he can build that at the table

Check instagram, I saw a napkin cracker idea, someone had wrapped a tumbler in a linen napkin (shaped like cracker with twisted ends) and gift inside?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DROpKe9jblx/?igsh=MTc1NmZmb29oeDAyaw==

This wasn’t the one I saw, but concept is same.