Christmas Crackers

This article has been written to shed light on one of the most popular, one of the most essential and at the same time, one of the most unnoticed of Christmas decorations, the humble Christmas cracker.

These small Christmas decorations we know and love today where developed by a Thomas J. Smith way back in 1847. Thomas J Smith was a sweet maker, baker and pastry chef from London, England. Tom would eventually create the Christmas cracker as a development of his sugar almond sweets, which he sold in a twist of paper. As sales of these sweets decreased, Tom began to think about new ways to promote his products. His first idea was to insert popular slogans and sayings into the wrappers of the sweets; however his ideas only brought limited success at first.

An early form of the cracker we see today was eventually developed when Tom became inspired to add the crackle or ‘bang’ element. But what inspired Tom to do this? It all started when he heard the crackle of a log he had put on the fire. This is the simple concept that eventually brought about the design of the cracker, which remains basically unchanged today.

The contents of Christmas crackers were usually a colorful paper hat or crown, a small wooden toy, trinkets like plastic rings or fake costume jewelry, or a motto, a joke, or a trivia written on a small paper. Usually Christmas crackers are pulled before or after Christmas dinner and parties. Christmas crackers can be bought in boxes of three or as many as twelve.

These are usually very festive with designs of red, green, and gold colors. Some families commonly make Christmas crackers from scratch using the tubes of toilet rolls or tissue paper, filling them with handmade toys. These are often a delight for parents; children will make these at home or school to surprise them.

Christmas crackers were in so much demand that competitors tried many different things to make their brand stand out. This included designer wrappers that were intricately hand painted and drew more attention than the original Tom Smith Christmas crackers. They began being sold by the box, popular sizes containing half dozen and one dozen packs that came in cute matching boxes.

Tom Smith was forced to get all of his designs and inventions patented and they adopted the name “Tom Smith Crackers.” This business was lucrative and produced hundreds of cracker designs. They began using Christmas crackers for other festivities like fairs and coronations. In late 1933, printed foil wrappers were brought into the mix and more intricate designs involving pendants, brooches, bracelets, and jewelry became popular add ins.

Paul Myers provides articles on behalf of the Christmas Tree Company, the official website of the Christmas Tree Company Online Ltd, a provider of premium quality Christmas Crackers and Luxury Christmas Crackers. The company is located in the North West of England and delivers nationwide.