DIY: Christmas Crackers

By Courtesy My First Christmas Craft Book November 15, 2016

How to make your own Christmas crackers

Making your own crackers is fun and easy, and it means you can put your own choice of novelties and silly handwritten jokes inside. Make the crackers from colorful wrapping paper and trim them with sequins or glitter finished with pretty bows. Or throw in some confetti to add a fun element to your New Year’s Eve party.

You will need:

Cardboard toilet rolls
8-by-8-inch piece of paper per cracker
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Glue or sticky tape
Snaps for crackers (you can find these on Amazon.com)
Gifts, paper hats, and jokes
8 inches of ribbon (¼ inch wide) per cracker
Sequin trim

Directions:

Lay the cardboard roll in the center of the paper and mark the position of each end using a pencil. Set the roll aside.
Using the marks made on the paper as a guide, fold the paper, right sides together, and press the folds flat. Using a ruler, mark out lines along the fold approximately ¾ inch apart, stopping approximately 1 inch in from the outside edge of the paper.
Use scissors to cut along the marked lines to create slits in the paper. Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the other side. These slits help the cracker ends to be tied more easily.
Now unfold the paper and lay it flat, wrong side facing up. Place the cardboard roll on top. Apply a dab of glue or use a small piece of double-sided tape to hold the paper on the roll. Wrap the paper around the roll as tightly as you can. Apply glue along the whole edge of the paper and press firmly in place. Allow to dry completely.
Push the cracker snap through the open end of the roll. This is also the time to insert any small gifts or trinkets, a paper hat, and a joke or other motto.
Cut the ribbon in half and tie a length of ribbon around one end of the cracker. Tie in a knot. Repeat at the other end. Trim the ends of the ribbon on the diagonal with scissors to prevent them fraying.
Measure the circumference of the cracker and cut three lengths of sequin trim to fit. Glue the sequin trim in rows around the cracker. Allow glue to dry completely.