Thursday 9 December 2010

Christmas Cracker

Here is another one of our favorite British tradition as well as a family tradition -- The Christmas cracker. My mother is Scottish and I remember most Christmases having a Christmas cracker on our Christmas dinner plate before our meal. I know you can find Christmas crackers in the states as I have been able to find them for our family for years in specialty shops. But recently we have found them in stores such as Tuesday Mornings. Although it has not caught on in America, they are very popular here. In the month of December if you go out to dinner you will often find one on your dinner plate. My kids love this and it keeps them entertained while waiting for dinner

This is a great site for explaining this great British tradition. Until I read this site I had no idea there was a special way in which you were to open a Christmas cracker at the dinner table. We are going to try it this year!

It used to be Crackers for only for Christmas but now in England you can find them for all occasions. Inside a cracker is paper crown, joke or trivia question and a novelty item or candy. Prices can range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars depending on what is inside the Cracker.

Left over Birthday Party Crackers from this year.







Our family always has a Christmas cracker on our plates for Christmas dinner and we enjoying wearing the crowns, telling the jokes and seeing the surprises.


Our Crackers for this year!!! I placed one on each dinner plate and the kids love to open them before we serve dinner. It is a great Christmas tradition that I wish to pass down to my children.





LAST DAY TO ENTER IS TODAY DEC 10th
Tracy, Lynda and I are GIVING JOY TO THE WORLD when one blogger will receive a $30 Target gift card from our "No Ordinary Blog Hop" giveaway! Just click on the button below for more details on how you can join this fun blog hop throughout December and try to win a Target gift card at the same time. Hurry! The last day to enter the giveaway is on Dec. 10th, but you can continue to link your blog hop posts until the end of December!

I GIVE JOY to the world when I share with others

If you have a Christmas post you can link up here and share it with other bloggers:
http://ourworldwideclassroom.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-fun-2010-week-two.html

25 comments:

  1. Hi, I'm a new follower - I found you on homegrownfamilies. I have a food blog that is geared towards making healthy and fun kids lunches, and I'm a Blogger.com 'Blog of Note'. I hope you'll follow me back -

    http://bentobloggy.blogspot.com/

    Thanks!!

    BTW, they sell those crackers at Costco!

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  2. One of the many reasons I love following your blog...I learn something new every week! Love the crackers-how fun! :) Do you make your own crackers (out of toilet paper rolls, like I had done on my blog :) ) or do you always purchase them?
    I didn't know Costco sold them before reading Emily's comment. I'll have to see if our local Costco has them next time I visit :) Clicked a vote for you!

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  3. Oh I didn't know that the US wasn't big on crackers. We in Oz love them, obviously our English roots for sure!!!

    Thanks for linking to Week 2 of Christmas Fun, would you mind including a link in your post somewhere to here - http://ourworldwideclassroom.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-fun-2010-week-two.html

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  4. love popping the crackers.
    new follower- http://www.bassgiraffe.com

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  5. ooohhhh, so remembering this when we do Christmas Around the World again next year.

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  6. I tried making the crackers a couple of years ago. They worked all right, but it was a lot of work for a little bang. Maybe I didn't do it right. lol I voted for you. {Hope the kids get to feeling better soon.}

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  7. HI Erica and Emily,
    Thanks for following and I am following back:)

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  8. Hi Tracy,
    Yes we have made our own. You can even buy the popper strips so your home made ones sounds just like the store bought one. We made Thanksgiving ones last year when we had company. The kids came up with the question about Thanksgiving and it was a great discussion. I am sending you and Lynda a box of crackers, you guessed right:)

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  9. Hi Lynda,
    Did you have the popper strips to add inside that is what makes the big pop:). I am sending you a box hope it arrives in time for Christmas but if not you can use them for New Years dinner. We do that sometimes if I have extras:)

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  10. Hi Kylie,
    I have added the link sorry I forgot in my haste to publish yesterday:).

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  11. I liked seeing the crackers. We were just reading about them in one of our Christmas books that highlights traditions in various parts of the world. Looks like fun!

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  12. Thanks Anna-Marie! I look forward to getting them! You are so kind to send them :)
    Clicked a vote for you ! Have a blessed Friday!

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  13. Hi Angela,
    Thanks for following and stopping by. I am following back I couldn't find a place on your blog to leave a comment:( But I will be back to visit often

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  14. As part of the Not your ordinary blog hop, I'm a new follower from Mom of all Trades.

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  15. I'm visiting from No Ordinary Bog Hop and am a new follower. I blog at http://reneeannsmith.com/. Blessings!

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  16. I absolutely love Christmas crackers. It just wouldn't be Christmas without them! The other day I saw this YouTube video on how to make them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNINP9UIyY8&feature=player_embedded . I don't know where to buy the snaps, though.

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  17. I love how when I went to follow you...google had "follow life's adventures" yes please. LoL
    Here from the bloghop.
    I follow you on GFC. I'd love for you to follow me back
    Tiffany
    http://tiffspixiedust.blogspot.com
    Tiffypoot @ (aol.com)

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  18. Found you on the blog hop! I'm your newest follower! http://aworldofcrafts.blogspot.com/
    Great tradition!

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  19. Thanks Jenny, Tiffany, Jessica and Renee thanks for stopping by and following and I am following you now as well.:)

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  20. Hi Susan,
    We have made our own crackers here in the UK but I can find the snaps here not in the states however. My kids love them:)

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  21. Thank you so much, Anna-Marie, for sharing with us. Have a wonderful weekend. I voted for you.

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  22. I have bought crackers for almost 15 years now and they did used to be difficult to find. Now, they are much more common here (in the U.S.). Oddly, I somehow thought they were supposed to be a New Years thing, so we have them on New Years. I've thought of correcting the tradition, but the kids seem to really enjoy having them on new Years and quite frankly, Christmas already has enough excitement.

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  23. My kids would love those!

    New follower from the blog hop on Chubby Cheeks Thinks

    www.shakymommy.com

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  24. Welcome Shaky Mommy glad you are following and I am following back:)

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  25. Hi Maureen,
    We use them on New Year also if I have extras. I think it can be done for both. I should have made that clearer.

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