How to make Christmas Crackers at home.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make Christmas crackers, you’re in the right place. This tutorial shows you how to make them at home from simple materials you probably already have, and how to fill them with small handmade gifts, like crochet finger puppets, that people will actually want to keep.
What Is a Christmas Cracker?
A Christmas cracker is a festive paper tube with tiny gifts that, when pulled apart with a sharp tug, makes a loud “bang” and releases toys, jokes, or trinkets hidden inside. For many, especially kids, the excitement of the pop, the surprise of the contents, and the flying debris, can be even more thrilling than the Christmas dinner itself!
Originally a Victorian-era tradition, crackers have been a staple of holiday celebrations in Northwest Europe (particularly the UK and Ireland) for generations. Growing up in Irelaand, we never had Christmas without them. But their fun isn’t limited to Christmas or geography: you can use them anywhere in the world for birthdays, parties, or any celebration that needs a little extra spark. I’ve noticed them becoming increasingly popular for staff party’s in workplaces, for example.
Why Make Your Own Christmas Crackers?
While shop bought crackers are undeniably fun, they’re not always easy to find outside of places like the UK and Ireland. Even when you do, the gifts inside can be low-quality trinkets that end up in the bin, leaving everyone underwhelmed. I’ve seen many boxes of crackers that contain nothing but tiny plastic shapes, that are just sweapt into tge bin as soon as dinner is over, while poor mother nature wears.
Making your own crackers lets you personalize every detail. From the gift inside to the joke or hat. You can even handmake the gifts for an extra-special touch. Yes, it takes time, but there’s something magical about dedicating an afternoon to crafting them. It’s like wrapping presents, but more artistic and intentional. You’re not just hiding a gift; you’re curating an experience, thinking about what will bring each person joy.
And if an eco-friendly Christmas matters to you, DIY crackers are the way to go. Commercial versions are often packed with non-recyclable plastic waste, from the gifts to the wrapping. When you make your own, you control the materials, ensuring everything is recyclable, reusable, or truly cherished.
When you make your own Christmas crackers you can also set a budget and control costs. Like everything else, a nice boxes of crackers seems to get more expensive every year. But you may find you have everything except the optional snaps in your craft cupboard to make a much more beautiful and meaningful set.
Materials You Need to Make Christmas Crackers
The beauty of this project is its simplicity. You don’t need a cracker kit or any hard-to-find supplies. All you need is:
Cardboard Tubes (eg loo roll tubes)
The humble loo roll is the perfect cracker body! When I qualified in childcare (over 30 years ago) we were taught ‘no loo rolls for under 3 year old’. The belief was that, having sat in a bathroom, they could have picked up E coli bugs. When researching updated info to write this note, I discovered that today, experts say thats a myth! However, if you wish to be extra careful anyway, or you just dont have loo rolls to hand, you can cut down paper towel rolls to the right length, or just roll up some cardboard from a breakfast cereal packet, and stick it firmly together.
Cracker Snaps
If you decide to use these, you will probably need to buy them. They are the one thing not likely to be in your house already. They tend to come in large packs in craft shops, ‘pound shops’ or discount stores, or online. For my lively, local Irish readers, try Farely, for my UK readers, try The Cracker Company. For everyone else, if there isnt a local buisness selling them, never fear, there are hundreds of listings on both Amazon and Etsy.
Paper
Paper to wrap the cracker, and make the paper hat. I used coloured tissue paper for the samples, as thats what i had in the cupboard. As a kid and teen, I usually made these each year for my siblings using large rolls of crepe paper. You can use christmas wrapping paper for a bright colorful cracker that needs no extra bling, or for a more minimalist or natural look, use natural brown paper, or unbleached baking parchment sheets, and decorate with natural twine. Anything you have to hand, plus a little imagination, is sure to work.
Decorative Touches
Consider seasonal stamps and ink pad, stickers, ribbon, twine or string.
Gifts
You will need whatever you plan to stuff the cracker with, see below for more ideas. Typically, these are a paper hat, a joke or quiz question, and a small gift.
Tools
Scissors, and possibly prit stick, sellotape or a hot glue gun
What to Put Inside: Handmade Gift Ideas
This is where homemade crackers truly shine, and where handmade gifts get their moment. The only limit to what to include is size. The contents needs to fit in the little tube. Choose what each family member gets, and pick something they will like. Items are usually inexpensive, although there was always the couple who got engaged, when he had an engagement ring placed in her custom cracker.
The victorians first started making crackers to package little parcels of sugared almonds. But the tradition rappidly evolved, so today each Christmas cracker usually contains a paper hat, a slip of paper with a joke or quote or quiz question, and a small gift.
Since christmas crackers are typically used at a meal, I dont include sweets. Especially if kids will be involved. Because you cant blame the kids for eating the sweets and ignoring the turkey, spuds and Brussels sprouts, if the sweets are right there, flying about. But you may be making your crackers for a different type of event. So consider chocolate or sweets if it feels appropriate for you.
My favourite fillers
My favourite filler this year is a crochet finger puppet (this pattern is coming soon, and will be featured as part of the 2026 Giftstraviganza blog hop by the Underground Crafter. I will update the link once the blog hop is live). A handmade finger puppet is small, squishy, survives the cracker pop beautifully, and becomes a toy rather than rubbish. If you’re filling crackers for craft-minded friends, small handmade makes from other designers work wonderfully too, like Concrete Gems Crochet’s earrings. They make a tiny, gorgeous surprise that fits perfectly inside a cracker.
You can also download my suggestion sheets with ideas for gifts to include. I have a suggestion sheet for kids, a suggestion sheet for crafters, one of small self care items, and one for grown ups who are hard to shop for. Do share your ideas below if you have any others.
How to Make Christmas Crackers, Step by Step
Time needed: 1 hour
How to make christmas crackers at home.
- Prepare paper hats
Measure your paper. You want paper strips for your hats that are 4 inches tall (or as tall as the cardboard tubes). Then cut to length. As a guide, a baby head is 18 inches, a kid is 20 inches, a woman, 22 and an average man has a 24 inch head. Don’t get caught up in perfectionism for fit. Christmas cracker hats never fit well. They arent supposed to.
Stick the ends together so your length of paper forms into a tube, then fold up in a concertina. Snip the corner at an angle to form the peaks of the crown. Your hat is made!
- Prepare the jokes
Each cracker traditionally contains a slip of paper with a joke. Sometimes, they may have quiz questions. Cracker jokes are normally classic ‘Dad jokes’. Groaners, rather than actually funny. Think family friendly (unless you know they will be used at an adult only event). You can print out my downloadable sheets below. You will find classic christmas jokes, a quiz about dinosaurs for the kids, and a quiz about crafting for yourself. Alternatively, have some fun creating your own.
- Stuff your tube.
Place the snap in each tube first (if you are using one). Then add the hat, joke, and gift.
- Wrap your tube
Cut your paper to be three times as tall as your cardboard tube, and long enough to wrap around fully.
- Twist the ends closed, and decorate.
Twist the ends of the paper at the top of the toilet roll tube, the fluff the handle back open. Decorate however you wish. I have used simple christmas stickers, but you can use stamps, decoupage or anything. Pinterest is a great source of artistic inspiration. Make yours unique! If the gifts inside are highly personalised, you may want to add a gift tag to each one.
How to use Christmas Crackers (and when)
Christmas crackers are traditionally used across the 12 days of Christmas, especially at mealtimes. On Christmas day they are a must. New years day tgey are also nearlybalways seen. In Ireland, it’s not a proper Christmas dinner without a cracker at each place setting. But use them any day from Christmas Eve (24th Dec) to Women’s Christmas (6th Jan) whenever in a party mood.
Time to pull the crackers
The key rule? No one pulls a cracker until everyone is seated at the table. As long as you remember that, you cant really go wrong, and can set your own family tradition.
A cracker is designed to be opened by two people. Each person holds one end, and with a sharp tug, the cracker pops open with a bang, and the gifts tumble out. But what happens next depends on your family’s tradition:
– In some families, whoever’s side the gifts fall out on wins them, no matter where the cracker started.
– In others, each person keeps the gifts that fall out of the cracker that was ‘theirs’, even if it falls out the other persons side.
– And in others still, the gifts are pooled and redistributed based on interest — why send the teetotal sewist home with a bottle opener while Uncle Paddy, the beer lover, ends up with a thimble?
If you’re making your own crackers and personalising the contents, you might want to clarify that the gifts are intended for specific recipients, no matter which end they fall out of.
Who pulls the cracker?
As for the pulling itself, you can:
– Have two people pull their crackers together, one pair at a time, moving around the table.
– Have two pairs pull simultaneously with crossed hands.
– Or, for maximum chaos and laughter, form a huge circle where everyone crosses arms, holds a cracker end in each hand, and pulls all at once
Frequently Asked Questions
No! Snaps give the traditional bang, but they’re optional. Without one, the cracker still pulls apart and reveals its treat, just quietly. (Good for very young children or nervous pets, too.)
Yes! You can roll a tube from cardstock or use a rolled-up paper sleeve. The loo roll method is simply the easiest and most recyclable.
Crackers keep indefinitely if stored somewhere dry. Just avoid filling them with chocolates that might melt or sweets that might go stale!
Get the free printables here
Download your 7 free prinable sheets to help make your Christmas Crackers.