Christmas crackers - like them or loathe them?

[Artemesia's Garden]

So, christmas crackers... sparkle, gunpowder, jokes, hats and some kind of toy. Do you like them and if so, why? Or if not, why not? I enjoy the smell of gunpowder at christmas dinner, it's a unique feature!

[BlackCurtains]

I don't think we have them in America... at least not where I grew up. I learned what they were from a game several years ago We do have party poppers. They're little jugs and when you pull them strands of confetti comes out with force. But that's it. I still have some from a millennium party I went to in 1999

[bladed]

yes and no.. they're terrible for me because i have a compulsion to just keep EVERYTHING so the dumb little trinkets and whatnot just clutter up my space until i get rid of them!!
though one of them i got had a miniature nail file set that i still use to this day so i guess they're not all that bad. i guess it is pretty funny to see everyone with the paper crowns on around the dining table too

[Carrehz]

Haha I'm the same as Bladed, I love crackers but I also don't know what to do with all the toys But they're so much fun.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I'm in murica but I like little trinkets and treats. I do see them available at World Market and they don't look worthwhile as investments, but I like surprises.

[Artemesia's Garden]

I'm in murica but I like little trinkets and treats. I do see them available at World Market and they don't look worthwhile as investments, but I like surprises.

Me too. I think you can get really high end crackers with valuable things in, but mostly they are just a bit of fun. I forgot about party poppers! Another gun powder-related table item. I think the hats are an important part of UK Christmas dinner, but I find they make me feel hot and they slide down. Somehow they are enforced!

[Beth3346]

sounds interesting. i've never heard or christmas crackers. party poppers are more of a new year's thing here. usually christmas is church and/or presents and dinner. new year's is when things get noisy and boozy. i don't do church anymore but there's something about midnight mass that was kind of fun. maybe it was just being out late.

[TheClassCalico]

I don't care for the prizes, but do like competing with others, it's fun trying to get the long side. If I do get the prizes, somebody else can have them.

[Ponybookworm]

I like the good-quality ones, but the cheap ones aren't worth it. In this day & age I'm not keen on too much plastic tat which will just become landfill & pollutants. Good quality ones have some nice stuff like nail-kits, mini screwdrivers, & so on

[SnorkMaiden]

They're okay. I like the jokes, and I think it's funny when everyone is wearing the paper hats, but I don't much care for all the plastic.

[Ponyfan]

I'm in the US.  I've seen them in mail order catalogs, but I don't think I've seen them in stores.  I've always wanted to open one though.



Ponyfan

[Leave a Whisper]

I don't ever recall seeing them, though we have poppers for 4th of July.

[Heart Of Midnight]

I have always thought that Christmas crackers are an American thing!    Finland does not have this tradition either.
On May Day, we have small party poppers similar to these which, when pulled, pop/explode and send small paper strips everywhere. I don't like them.

[Taffeta]

I quite like them but more because they're silly family things...there's always the silver puzzle that nobody cares about solving, the really bad jokes, the bottle opener or the nail clippers, the corkscrew which always ends up with someone who doesn't drink...or things like plastic frogs (? - my sister added one of those to her nativity about 20 years ago, along with a large plastic beetle and an elephant, probably all from crackers) and so on.

I used to have a set of cracker mini screwdrivers in my clarinet case when I was in secondary school. Size was perfect for tightening key valves when they got a bit loose/accidentally fell off because I was fiddling with them.

It's kind of funny we have gunpowder at the Christmas table.

Christmas crackers and mince pies. Two things I think of as pretty standard British Christmas items...

[brightberry]

My father-in-law makes mince pies as he and his wife are from the UK.  I'd never had mincemeat before but now he sends me home with my own batch.  They're so yummy.  He also makes Trifle and crepes with lemon and sugar.  And I now I also love black pudding (when it tastes like licorice).

I see the crackers at places like World Market but my husband says they're not the same and not worth it.  They cost more than they should here in the US.