Alternative Christmas Crackers

You know those sad little crackers you buy every year, and they have the silly hat, bad joke and cheap toy in them? You could say that the worse the crackers are, the more charm they have. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without them, right? Well, how about these fancier versions? You could do them instead of, or as well as. What about putting the bad ones out on the table as is tradition, and giving one of these out as people go home?

Chocolate Crackers from Hotel Chocolat :  You get three chocolates (as if you won’t have had enough to eat already) and the traditional hat and joke, so you don’t miss out on those, either. Any excuse for more chocolate, right?

Snowman Crackers from Not on the High Street: Not on the High Street has a really nicely curated range of Christmas crackers, but these ones especially caught my eye. They might have very traditional insides, but look at how cute they are! A little extra decorative touch to the table.

Nails Inc Christmas Crackers: One that’s good for a girly night in on the lead-up to Christmas, you could pull one each and paint your fingers and toes in whatever colour comes out of it. Have everyone wear their comfy clothes, put on a proper Christmas movie and set up the snacks!

Gin Crackers by Gin Tales: One for the grown-ups, I’m afraid! If you know your party likes to drink, why not invest in these? They’ll keep the conversation flowing before you’ve even pulled them and drunk the contents. Somewhat on the pricy side, but you get six in a pack with a small bottle of gin in each, in three different flavours. You might want to be careful if you’re pulling them, so you don’t break the bottle. Also contains the traditional hat and joke, which are always better once you have some alcohol in you, so it’s a win-win.

Make Your Own: You can buy kits with everything in them already and it’s a great activity to do with children. Why not buy lego figurines or small individual chocolates to go inside them? You could also but in a scattering of sequins to cover the table. If someone is a comedian, they could write the jokes, too. Based on the people you have over, you could do family in-jokes, geeky references or passages from a favourite book. Get creative and have fun!