DIY Christmas Crackers

I can't quite believe it's the festive season once again but here we are and I have a Christmas cracker DIY for you this year! I've been thinking for the past few years that pre-made shop bought Christmas crackers are just a bit...well...crap! The gifts inside are naff- who needs a tiny tiny photo frame or a set of minuscule spanners!? I also find the jokes just offensively rubbish so I took to my craft room and came up with my own!

For this DIY you will need:

• Toilet-rolls
• Crepe paper (or wrapping paper that isn't too strong so you can pull your cracker apart)
• A decorative pen- I went with a copper one to draw on everyone's names and do a little design.
• Sellotape
• Cracker snaps (you’ll find them on Amazon, eBay etc)
• Scissors
• Thin card, at least 20cm long
• Decorative string or ribbon
• Small but exciting things to put inside the crackers- I went for nail varnishes, flower seeds, beard oils and bath bombs!
• Paper hats (again from Amazon, eBay etc)
• Jokes! I found some online and had some lovely people tweet me some original ones too!

1. Step 1
2. On your crepe paper/ paper of choice, draw out your design and name for your cracker

1. Step 2
2. Place a toilet-roll on the long edge of your paper, in the centre, and hold it in place with some sticky tape. Measure the length of crepe paper you need and cut off the excess.

1. Step 3
2. Roll the tube across the paper, then secure with 3 bits of tape along the seam, in the centre and ends.

1. Step 4
2. Thread a cracker snap through the toilet roll and tape it down to one side of the paper.

1. Step 5
2. Cut two 20x5cm strips from the thin card. Curl each one into a circle and place one inside each end of the cracker, leaving roughly 2cm sticking out of the end. Hold the card in place with a little sticky tape.

1. Step 6
2. At one end of the cracker, squeeze the crepe paper around the gap between the toilet roll and the card. Gently squeeze and twist a little with your thumb and forefinger, while using your other hand to hold the card in shape. Keep squeezing until the cracker has a nicely defined neck to it. 

1. Step 7
2. Tie a piece of string or ribbon around the neck of the cracker. Cut off any straggly bits or make a bow.

1. Step 8
2. Insert your Christmas hat, joke and gift in the open end of the cracker.  Seal the open end as before.

1. Step 9
2. Cut off the excess crepe paper from the ends and ta-da! You have just made your own homemade Christmas crackers!

 I am so pleased with how simple and easy these crackers are to make yet they look really effective and are a great to make crackers personal to your guests on Christmas Day!

Will you be trying this DIY out for Christmas and what else are you planning to make home made?

For a step by step video on these crackers, check out the Youtube video below!