Would it even be December without Christmas crackers? Pulling a cracker as you sit down for the annual festive feast is de rigueur, whether it’s a relaxed barbie by the pool in your backyard or roast turkey with all the trimmings served in the more formal surroundings of the dining room.
Whether you want luxury Christmas crackers or are happy with a more affordable bumper pack so the kids can go cracker-crazy, we’ve sourced all the best Christmas crackers to make sure your December celebrations go with a snap, a pop and a bang! Choosing the right crackers can also really enhance your festive decor for a party or Christmas lunch.
From the more unusual Christmas crackers for 2022 to Christmas crackers on sale at pocket-friendly prices, you can find all the holiday crackers you’ll ever need right here. We’ve made sure Christmas party poppers are covered too – in addition to actual nutcrackers! (Well everyone placing shelled nuts in bowls will need at least one pair of those.)
Whatever your idea of great Christmas cracker gifts entails – or even if it’s in fact all about the pretty packaging – we have the party starters to make sure your festive season is as far removed from dull as it could possibly be.
Let’s get celebrating, with the best Christmas crackers for 2022 and beyond! As well as what to put inside them when you’re making your own.
8 top Christmas crackers to pull out of the bag this party season
Here they are – 8 of the top types of adults’ and children’s Christmas crackers to give out to your guests during the festive season.
Luxury Christmas crackers
Let’s get started at the top of the pile – luxury crackers are the kind that people really will remember – not least because of the genuinely useful or even beautiful gifts that they got to keep long after they’d returned home.
If you want Christmas crackers with good gifts, look no further than the likes of Swarovski, Gisela Graham, Mestige, Talking Tables or Toyland. They offer some of the finest luxury Christmas crackers for 2022, containing some truly covetable gifts.
Mestige offer a four-pack of silver crackers containing jewellery made with Swarovski crystals, and the items included are earrings, a necklace, cufflinks and a tie clip. Or you can opt for a six-pack of ‘All That Glitters’ crackers in gold which contain similarly stylish, sparkling gifts.
When practical gifts are the order of the day, a Cath Kidston set of crackers – each with a mini tube of shower gel or pack of bath salts – is ideal for girly get-togethers. Toyland’s glamorous leopard print crackers are also great for female guests, as they contain cute stationery items in yellow or rose gold and pink.
If you’re catering for a mixed age group, one of the the Talking Tables’ luxury Xmas crackers options comes with a fun ‘Who Am I?’ bingo game for all the family to play. This comes in sheep or sprouts themed designs.
Click here to view luxury Christmas crackers on sale at Amazon
Children’s Christmas crackers
If you want kids’ Christmas crackers and you’re hosting for younger children, you’ll be pleased to learn that you can buy no-pop crackers so the little ones don’t get scared – or heaven forbid – injured by a cracker snap containing gunpowder.
You can buy Christmas crackers in packs featuring colourful or more muted designs, and some are suitable for adults as well as kids. Where the contents are toys rather than other novelties, surely any grown-up would rather the the children actually played with the novelty than it was cleared away with the post-dinner debris, anyway.
If you do want crackers containing gifts for grown-ups as well as kids, you can check the contents by reading the product description and checking out the images before ordering.
Click here for a selection of Christmas crackers for kids
Eco-friendly Christmas crackers
If you want to consider the welfare of the planet when picking your table accessories out, you don’t have to be limited to expensive Christmas crackers. With lots of fun Christmas crackers to choose from, Talking Tables and Toyland are very much the go-to brands here.
Toyland and Talking Tables’ eco Christmas crackers are available at Amazon and include gingerbread, sprouts, silver and gold mistletoe, reindeer, sheep and pheasant designs. Some come as a six-pack with a bingo game, while others contain the usual novelty gifts associated with festive crackers.
The plastic-free Christmas crackers from Talking Tables and Toyland look far more like deluxe Christmas crackers than you might expect, too.
Click here for a choice of eco-friendly Christmas crackers
Homemade Christmas crackers
DIY Christmas crackers can be a great way to fill some of those long summer holidays with your kids or grandchildren. What could be more fun to make than something which help Christmas Day or a party go off with a bang?
It’s a creative activity that requires little forward planning or forethought. Once you’ve ordered a kit you’ll have everything you need to get making, apart from a simple gift to put inside. Otherwise, the Christmas cracker snaps, hats, jokes and ties typically come with the kit, making it easy to put together a personalised set of crackers.
What to put inside each is entirely down to you. Lollies would do the trick very nicely if you’re catering for kids, while for grown-ups an edible chocolate treat is sure to go down a storm. Of course you can go way beyond sweet treats if you want to – the only limit is your imagination.
Jewellery, bookmarks, pens, make-up, keyrings or even a small festive ornament all make good fillers, for example, and you can pick the items according to whether you want to make a pack of deluxe or cheap Christmas crackers for all the family.
Click here to see make-your-own Christmas cracker kits
Bon Bon Christmas crackers
In some areas crackers are known as Christmas Bon Bons, and that is indeed the name they go by at Christmas Warehouse. Available in packs containing between 4 and 16 crackers – or bon bons – they come is all kinds of colours and designs to suit your festive table.
There are stylish silver and white crackers with a subtle mistletoe design, or colourful, cute creatures ones for the kids (these are not recommended for those aged under 3, however).
You could pick glittery gold and silver, opt for a Nordic-style red and white theme or go for cracker bon bons with a festive message such as ‘Noel’, ‘Joy’, or a simple ‘Merry Christmas’. Whichever you like the look of, don’t hang around – at these bargain prices they’ll soon be snapped up.
Click here to see the Christmas Warehouse range of crackers
Christmas nutcrackers
Few festive foodstuffs are as timeless – or as healthy – as shelled nuts. Cracking open the nutritional powerhouse that is a walnut, Brazil nut or macadamia makes a refreshing change from munching chocolate, lollies or popcorn while the festive films are showing, and they look so pretty scattered around your living areas too.
If you’re buying shelled nuts for your Christmas guests this year, for goodness sake don’t forget the nutcrackers! All kinds are available to buy, from a highly rated set by OXO Good Grips to an iconic designer piece from luxury lifestyle brand Alessi.
Whether you want a cheap pair, an industrial look or a cute squirrel-shaped product, why not crak open a few delicious and nutritious nuts this December? Then you can go nutcracker crackers instead…
Click here to check out nutcrackers for Christmas
Christmas poppers
If you’re seeking more unusual Christmas crackers, why not go one further and pick out some Christmas party poppers instead? They make the best Xmas crackers when it comes to providing the wow factor when the string is pulled.
You can purchase them in all sorts of sizes and with all kinds of contents for the most unique Christmas crackers around. Buy a 12 or 20 pack from Party Central to release lots of shimmering confetti, or go for larger ones which long, colourful twisted streamers will burst forth from.
Whether you want round, shiny confetti or square pieces of coloured paper, you can find plenty of party poppers to make sure every celebration gets off to the best start.
Click here to discover Christmas party poppers
Christmas party favours
Whether you want them for DIY Christmas crackers or you want to put festive favours into a different kind of wrapping, there are lots of styles to choose from for all age groups. If you like, you can also buy resuable bags to put them in.
Go for a 28 piece pack of fidget toys for a large kids’ party, or buy a set of wind-up toys that knock the socks off many of the other novelties found inside Christmas crackers.
If you want to make Christmas crackers with unusual gifts, how about sequinned keychains, slap bracelets or party glasses? (We’re talking about eyeglasses or spectacles here of course – surely no one would put a breakable item into a festive cracker?)
If you’re stuck for ideas regarding what to put in Christmas crackers or alternatives to use as party favours, simply click the link below. From cute burlap party bags or hat making kits to mini pots of Play-Doh or snap-and-click toys, there are so many options that may never have even crossed your mind. Or is that just us?
Click here to explore Christmas party favour options
Which Christmas crackers will wow your guests?
Whether you want gold, multicoloured, silver or red Christmas crackers, there is lots of choice when it comes to buying your festive crackers this year.
If wearing paper crowns at Christmas is the done thing in your household, then you can pick between budget and premium Christmas crackers for the festive season.
When even the most expensive Christmas crackers don’t hold much appeal, why not go for making your own or packaging party favours in a different way instead? That way you can give each guest something that will suit them down to the ground, instead of a generic novelty gift.
Whatever you go for, keep crackers away from kids under 3 unless they say they’re suitable for that age group – and be mindful of any household animals, too.
If you feel like letting someone else help with the party planning this year – as well as the clearing up – why not check out our guides to the best venues in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth or the Gold Coast?
Join our Facebook group to jumpstart your Christmas planning all year long!
