Christmas Craft: Christmas Crackers

Christmas Cracker Christmas crackers are a fun way to decorate your Christmas table. Although you can buy them in the store, they are so easy and fun to make. When you make this fun craft idea yourself you can decide what goodies and treats to put inside. Traditional crackers contain a hat, a joke or riddle, candy or nuts and a little treat. If you are having trouble thinking of a riddle or joke look at Squigly's Jokes and Riddles. Treats for your crackers can be bought at a Dollar Store where you will find lots of items. Here are a few suggestions:

key rings
a ring
toy car
a small puzzle (taken out of the box)
erasers
nail clippers
lip gloss
nail polish
candy

Use your imagination and I'm sure you'll find something just right!

What you need:

	empty toilet tissue rolls- enough for everyone at the table. It is a good idea to bring along an empty toilet roll to the dollar store to make sure your gift fits inside.
	curling ribbon
	tape
	scissors
	tissue paper or Christmas wrapping paper
	marker or pen
	treats
	stickers (optional)

What you do:

1.	Start collecting empty toilet tissue rolls until you have enough for everyone that will be joining you for your holiday meal.
2.	Use left over Christmas wrap or tissue paper to cover the outside of the tissue roll. Lay the tissue roll on the paper and make sure to leave two inches or five cm overhang on both ends of the toilet roll. Your piece of paper should be approximately 8 1/2" wide and 7" long. Since tissue paper is so thin you might want to double or triple the length.
3.	Secure the paper with tape or stickers along the length of the cracker.
4.	Use curling ribbon to tie closed one end of the cracker.
5.	Fill the cracker with goodies. Once you have everything in the roll tie up the last end. Use scissors to curl the ribbon ends.
6.	With a pen or marker write the recipient's name on the cracker. If you want you can also use stickers to decorate your cracker.