DIY Christmas Crackers

If you’ve read any of my posts before, you may have noticed that I have an unhealthy obsession with all things Rifle Paper. In my little boy Jenson’s room a Rifle Paper animal parade card and Noah’s Ark print adorn his shelves. In the hallway I’ve hung Rifle maps of cities we’ve visited and loved. In our bedroom Rifle’s girly dog cards frame the window. So what else to craft Christmas crackers with but Rifle Paper gift wrap?!

At £8 for three rolls it’s a little on the pricey side, but it’s so worth it when you take into account the fact that you’d pay twenty odd quid for a box of factory-made Christmas crackers. I managed to make four crackers per roll so there’s enough left to use as actual wrapping paper too. Plus, I think being able to completely personalise each person’s cracker and ensure that Great Uncle Jeremy gets a golf ball and Lyra gets a My Little Pony sticker (etc etc) is such a nice touch.

I found my wrapping paper at Northlight and it looks like they’ve sold out of the ‘Holiday Greens’ design, but equally as chic and Christmassy are Mistletoe and Winter Wonderland. (Enter Northlight if you dare…I guarantee you will get lost in all the lovely homewares and probably end up spending a million pounds on paper pretty). Alternatively, Lottie swears by Wilko giftwrap, and I also reckon leftover wallpaper would work well as it’s nice and thick and doesn’t tear easily.

What You Will Need

Some good quality wrapping paper
Cracker snaps
Scissors/craft knife
Ruler
Printer
Twine/ribbon/wool

Step 1

Cut up the wrapping paper into A4 sized pieces.

Step 2

Print this cracker template directly onto the plain side of the giftwrap.

Step 3

This is the really fiddly bit. You need to cut out all the parts marked in black lines on the above template. Yes, that means cutting out what feels like hundreds of little diamonds. The most precise way to do it would be to use a craft knife however I found a small pair of scissors did the job perfectly.

At this point if you’re impatient or not crafty you may lose the will to live. So make sure you’re settled down in front of Love Actually or Elf, or another suitably festive film.

Step 4

Fold along the dotted lines. I found the easiest way to do it was to hold a ruler down over the cut-out diamonds and fold the cracker up towards me. (I had to raid Lyra’s pencil case for a ruler as I haven’t owned one since GCSE Maths, and ended up using a Paw Patrol ruler).

Step 5

Fold the area with the cut-out diamonds inwards.

Step 6

Roll the cracker up and insert the middle tab so it stays in shape. Thread a cracker snap through the middle. Pop in a gift, a paper hat and a joke, and then roll up the ends and insert the end tabs.

Step 7

Tie a bow around both ends of the cracker using pieces of twine and thread on a gift tag so you know that Great Uncle Jeremy won’t be opening a My Little Pony sticker and Lyra won’t be getting a golf ball. I made the tags using kraft card and an East of India ink stamp.

Step 8

Repeat for however many crackers you need, and then wow your guests with them come 25 December.

If you’re pushed for time, then head over to Rock My Family where I’m talking about dead easy, super quick, but still super-stylish Christmas crackers. I’m now torn because I’m not sure which ones to use! The RMF ones will definitely fit in better with my Scandi dining area but these Rifle ones look much more sophisticated. Which would you go for?

Have you ever tried your hand at DIY crackers? Will you be indulging in any Christmas making or baking over the festive period?

{SHOP THE CRACKER FILLERS}

{PIN THE CRACKERS}