Son (17) and I sat down last night and made our crackers and they do look pretty superb if I say so myself.

I had written out those lovely quotes you shared with me and had 3 quotes for each of the 12 crackers.

If any of you have the time and want to do so - it really is so much cheaper to do your own.

Got 2 lovely rolls of paper from $2 shop (1 gold - 1 red), curling ribbon and hats (also $2 shop) the cracker snaps were $2.50 for 12 from Spotlight, I made a batch of Tammy's lovely fudge and rolled up a chunk in a little cellophane mini cracker, the sheet of quotes written out on left over pieces of coloured card from my scrapbooking and finished them off with a little Xmas sticker.

They are sitting on the dining room table looking quite splendid.

I am so looking forward to everyone opening them and sharing the quotes.

At least making your own - you have control over what's in them. It has always been been a ritual for this son and I to do them - he's the creative one. The eldest has always helped with the mince pies - I will miss them when they leave home - these are the NICE things about all this rushing and stress.

Have a cracking good Xmas everyone

I quite agree about the home-made crackers. Mum has traditionally made them, but she turned 90 during the year and has almost no vision now, so Emma has taken over. We usually like to include wee "presents", but it's really hard to think of ideas that will fit for everyone - adult males, teenage males, teenage females and adult females. Any ideas? We also include chocs, and a little joke, clipped out of a book bought for that purpose.

A couple of years ago Mum won a Christmas hamper, and in it was a box of crackers - I found them in the cupboard the other day - after homemade ones, commercial ones are very uninteresting - even to the kids!!! Janet

i also make crackers for our immediate family each year. as we get together with our extended family on christmas day we have the homemade crackers either on christmas eve or in the evening when everyone is feeling a little 'flat'. each year i vary the style and paper i make them out of. i wish that i had photographed them each year to see how different each one is. this year i have gone totally gold on some and silver on others. they are named - sometimes just an initial on the 'snap' part, or this year with matching gold or silver swing type tags.
this year i found some little plastic liqueur glasses which where only $2 each (with different liqueur in each one) a bit of a squeeze to get them in but fine, put a lipstick i wanted in mine, lip screen in one, pocket knife in another. also we each get a $1 christmas scratchy, a party popper, a hat, joke, and a chocolate. so they are FULL. some years i have had to make the odd one longer than normal, but when in the pile they look the same. i always put them out on display so they are enjoyed and anticipated too.
i love christmas and making traditions which hopefully will be carried on in years to come.

I have made Christmas crackers too and agree with your comments about them. I haven't made them every year though, instead my husband, myself and 3 children, each have a fabric stocking. that I made when the kids were very small, from Christmas fabrics. And we have a heap of little presents, all wrapped in these. Each year when I suggest we stop them, the kids , ( now 23,19 and 15), say no, that is one of the things they enjoy most about Christmas. The gifts are sometimes useful things, new knickers/socks, ( not so exciting, but I try to buy really special ones), pens, pencils, lip gloss, special food treats, little novelties, and if possible a few oddities, soemthing, where they won't know exactly what it is maybe, or something funny. We always sit in a circle together and open them one at a time, waiting until the last person has opened theirs..... makes Christmas last longer!!!!
Our other Christmas tradition relates to an advent calendar that my Mother embroidered for for the kids when they were small. I package up sweets etc and tie them onto the little gold loops all over the hanging. I have also suggested they are getting a bit big for this, but still they like it. This year my daughters were still in the city, studying and working through December, so I did up and advent box for each of them with the number of little packages until they could come home, and share the ones on the hanging, with their brother. Because they are a bit more health conscious, I included things like cashew nuts, nice teabags, dried peaches etc and well as a few sweets. Not sure when my crew will let me stop, but these are out family Christmas traditions.
Kaye.