On the 15th day of December…..we’ve gone Christmas crackers.

Have you been enjoying BooMamas Home Tour and Hooked on Holidays House Tour?

I love visiting everyone’s blogs, and there are an amazing number of bloggers joining in.

I have been asked about the Christmas crackers in my last post, and I forgot these are not a traditional item around the world. Apparently they are mainly used in UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

Here are ours for this year (actually amazingly identical to those we had left over from last year!)

Usually there is a cracker for every guest at the Christmas Dinner.

You pull the cracker with someone else at the table., holding on to your end for dear life. There is then a tiny snap (or huge bang if you are a kid), the cracker rips in two, and you enjoy (!) the contents. Usual contents are embarrassing paper hats, an ancient joke, and a novelty toy that will make your life complete – like a plastic ring, a mini screwdriver/offensive weapon etc.

It is almost guaranteed that the “gifts” inside will be the most inappropriate for the recipient (earrings for my Dad, and mini-screwdriver set for my 8 year old, and a tyre gauge for my 3 year old). There is usually a bit of bartering going on, and swaps made until all are happy(ish).

Enough of my rambling, read on.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christmas crackers, also known as bon-bons in Australia, are an integral part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom and in other Commonwealthcardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper, making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper. The cracker is pulled by two people, and, much in the manner of a wishbone, the cracker splits unevenly. The split is accompanied by a small bang produced by the effect of friction on a chemically impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a cap gun). countries. A cracker consists of a

In one version of the tradition the person with the larger portion of cracker empties the contents from the tube and keeps them. In another each person will have their own cracker and will keep its contents regardless of whose end they were in. Typically these contents are a coloured paper hat or crown; a small toymotto, a joke or piece of trivia on a small strip of paper. Crackers are often pulled after Christmas dinner or at parties.

Assembled crackers are typically sold in boxes of three to twelve. These typically have different designs usually with red, green and gold colours. Making crackers from scratch using the tubes from used toilet rolls and tissue paper is a common commonwealth activity for children.

It is a running joke that all the jokes and mottos in crackers are unfunny and unmemorable, along with being the same as those which have been used for many years past, resulting in most people either knowing or predicting the answers. Similarly, in most standard commercial products, the “gift” is equally awful, although wealthier individuals – notably, the British Royal Family – may use custom crackers with more expensive rewards.^{[citation needed]} And some people will make their own (typically from kits) and add inexpensive but personalised gifts.

Here is where we usually buy ours

Here is where we don’t buy ours! (Check out those prices!!!)

Today my son had a swimming party instead of his usual swimming lesson, and all the kids had a wonderful time playing.

We have 3 carol services happening in the next 3 days.

Join me tomorrow for my next Christmas blog post.

Take care.