Wrapping paper Christmas crackers

Make your own Christmas crackers from wrapping paper!

Christmas crackers are usually either too expensive or just terrible. The cheap plastic toys that are used for 10 minutes then get thrown out with the rubbish and the terrible jokes can easily be replaced with handmade crackers that you can fill with items you actually like. They are a fun activity to do with kids, you could even turn their drawings into crackers for a really personal touch. 
You can get everything you need from most craft shops or grab a kit HERE with everything you need to make 4 crackers including a sticker and badge for each.

The kits use my wrapping paper designs to make the crackers which is an easy way to have cute designs on your crackers. You could also download the template and use any other paper you like, or even thicker card if you want something stronger. You could even design your own paper! Here are some of my other dinosaur products that fit inside these crackers, keyrings, snow ball fight decoration, ugly jumper decoration, mini badges, necklaces, snow-rex sticker, Santa Claws pin and my other pin designs too. 

Supplies:

1. Cut out the template and trace it onto the back of your paper/card	2. Cut out the traced design.	3. To cut the diamonds - Fold along the centre of the diamonds, then cut out the diamonds and then repeat on the other end.	4. Fold along the points of the diamonds. Using the ruler as a guide can help
5. Insert snap and tape down	6. Stick double-sided tape on to the tabs, making sure you do this on the patterned side	7. Stick your cracker shell together	8. Tie up one side of your cracker
9. Fill your cracker with your selected goodies	10. Tie up the other side of the cracker	11. Trim the snap if it sticks out the ends	FINISHED!
For a cute little twist, reduce the size of the template to make mini Christmas crackers! You can even hand write some jokes to add inside the crackers.   Words and photos by Charlotte Najdecki