Christmas Crackers and the Table

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Christmas Crackers and the Table

What is in a cracker, safety, alternatives to landfill and setting a table

Crackers are a small tradition with a surprising amount of waste attached, and a few choices make them better without losing the moment.

How they work

A cardboard tube, a paper hat, a motto and a small gift, with a snap containing a tiny amount of silver fulminate. The snap is what makes the noise and is why crackers are classified as a firework in some jurisdictions.

That classification is also why age restrictions apply on sale in the UK and why they cannot be posted normally or taken on aircraft.

Safety

Pull away from faces and drinks, and keep them away from candles and open fires. Many cracker gifts contain small parts unsuitable for young children, so check before giving one to a toddler.

Store somewhere dry, since damp snaps fail.

The waste problem

Most cracker gifts are plastic novelties that are binned within the hour, and glittered or foiled crackers cannot be recycled. Plain card crackers with a useful small gift solve both.

Refillable fabric crackers are reused for years and let you choose the contents, which is usually the better gift anyway.

Making your own

Snaps are sold separately and kits are straightforward. It takes an evening and lets you put something in that each person will actually keep.

Setting the table

Work out the seating before the day, leave enough elbow room, and keep centrepieces low enough to see over. Candles should never be left unattended or near paper hats and crackers.

Buying decorations

Check any lights carry the correct safety marking, are rated for the location, and are connected within the manufacturer's limits. Switch them off at night and when leaving the house.

Store decorations somewhere dry and check cables each year for damage before use.

Hosting

Ask about dietary needs well in advance rather than on the day, and remember that alcohol-free options should be offered as standard rather than on request.

Keeping costs down

Agree a budget and a format with family well in advance, since the most expensive Christmases are the ones nobody discussed. Secret Santa and gifts for children only are both common and both work.

Buy decorations and crackers in the January sales for the following year, where you have somewhere dry to store them.

Children and small parts

Check cracker gifts, decorations and novelty items for small parts and button batteries, which must be secured behind a screwed compartment and are extremely dangerous if swallowed.

Afterwards

Separate the card from any foil or glitter before recycling, and keep the jokes for next year.

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