CHRISTMAS  CRACKERS

But what are these crackers?

A Christmas Cracker is a brightly coloured paper tube, twisted at both ends. There is a "banger" inside, when pulled by two people will create a loud snapping "Crack" or "Bang"!

 

When are they used? Crackers are very popular in England and accompany many meals over the Christmas period, but especially on Christmas Day. The large formal mid-day meal of Roast Turkey, Roast Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, Parsnips and The Christmas Pudding would not be complete without each place setting at the table decorated with a Christmas cracker! What emerges from within each Cracker is a paper crown made from tissue paper, a riddle or joke and a small gift. What is the best way to open a cracker?  Crackers are usually shared between two individuals, one pulling on each end. The traditional way to pull a cracker is crossing your arms and pulling a whole circle of crackers around the table. Everyone holds their cracker in their right hand and pulls their neighbors cracker with the free left hand. Today, virtually every household in the UK has at least one box of party crackers to pull at meal times, parties, and family gatherings over the holiday season.

CHRISTMAS  CRACKER  HISTORY

Christmas crackers are a traditional Christmas favourite in the UK. They were first made in about 1850 by a London sweet maker called Tom Smith. He had seen the French 'bon bon' sweets (almonds wrapped in pretty paper), and one night, while he was sitting in front of his log fire, he became very interested by the sparks and cracks coming from the fire. Suddenly, he thought what a fun idea it would be, if his sweets and toys could be opened with a crack when their fancy wrappers were pulled in half.
When Tom died, his expending cracker business was taken over by his three sons, Tom, Walter and Henry. Walter introduced the hats into crackers and he also travelled around the world looking for new ideas of gifts to put in the crackers.
The company built up a big range of 'themed' crackers. There were ones for bachelors and spinsters (single men and women), where the gifts were things like false teeth and wedding rings! There were also crackers for Suffragettes (women who campaigned to get women the vote), war heroes and even Charlie Chaplain! Crackers were also made for special occasions like Coronations. The British Royal Family still has special crackers made for them today!
The Christmas Crackers that are used today are short cardboard tubes wrapped in colourful paper. There is normally a Cracker next to each plate on the Christmas dinner table. When the crackers are pulled - with a bang! - a colourful party hat, a toy or gift and a festive joke falls out! The party hats look like crowns and it is thought that they symbolise the crowns that might have been worn by the Wise Men.

At this point we have plenty of

Christmas Crackers in stock!