Homemade Christmas "Crackers"

Christmas crackers, or bon-bons, are a necessary component of Christmas dinners in England. A tradition dating back to the mid-19th century, these cardboard popping mechanisms house tiny toys, candy, or bits of trivia. Why buy these fun little "crackers" when you can make your own? Invite your child to help you create them as well as the contents inside for a fun party treat this holiday season!

What You Need:

• Toilet paper rolls
• Christmas wrapping paper (or red and green tissue paper)
• Red or green ribbon
• Clear tape
• Wrapped candies
• A small gift, craft, or toy (have your child draw a small picture or make another craft that would fit inside the roll, or the dollar store has mini-ornaments that usually come in packages of 6 or 8)
• Messages like “Have yourself a very Merry Christmas” or “You are going to have a wonderful new year!”

What You Do:

1. Have your child take the toilet paper roll and fill it with candies, goodies, drawings, mini-ornaments or stickers.
2. Encourage your child to think of some neat sayings, jokes, or greetings, and write those out. Ask your child to add this to the roll. To keep these things from falling out while he is filling them, ask your child to tape the bottom of one end of the roll.
3. Have your child add his Christmas greeting. Your child may wish personalize one for each person, for example: “Merry Christmas Grandpa!”
4. Then have your child take the roll and wrap it with Christmas wrapping paper, or red and green tissue paper. Translucent tape works best to give the "cracker" a clean look.
5. Help your child tie the ends of the device with red or green ribbon; try curling the ribbon for an added touch!

If you would like to personalize each Christmas Cracker, try attaching a picture of the person or her name on a piece of paper.