19 Unusual Christmas Crackers for 2017

The humble Christmas Cracker has can trace its origins back to a London confectioner named Tom Smith. Bonbon sweet seller Smith started adding small, quirky items inside the wrappings of his sweets. Over time he added trinkets, mini fans, jewellery, and love messages. When Smith was inspired to add the ‘crackle’ element of his fireplace into his gifts, the Christmas cracker as we know it today was born.
These crackers have kept on developing through time, and today we have a truly fantastic range of weird and wonderful crackers with unusual contents available for the festive season. We set out to find the most unusual ones around – here are our findings.
Don’t forget to also check out our fantastic lists of 66 Unusual Advent Calendars and 32 Funny Christmas Jumpers.
1. 6-Person Star Sharing Cracker
A truly unusual Christmas cracker that doubles as a table centerpiece, making it great for parties with multiple tables. 6 points on the star mean up to 6 people can pull it at once. As well as the traditional hats and jokes, the star contains photo props – moustaches and funny glasses, great for taking funny pictures.
2. Christmas Cracker for Mums-to-Be
The perfect suprise for a Christmastime mum-to-be. Available in red or white, these crackers are sold individually – not much point in a 12-pack is there? The cracker contains three little gifts from Babybloom’s award-winning, all-natural skincare collection: moisturising lip repair balm, rejuvenating facial moisturiser, and pregnancy oil.
3. Disney Christmas Crackers
4. Gin Christmas Crackers
Booze-filled crackers go down as our favourite Christmas crackers with unusual contents. Get the drinks going this Christmas with cute 30ml drams of award-winning Gin. Also included in each cracker is a party hat, a crap joke, and of course, gin tasting notes. Don’t forget the tonic!
5. Bath Salts & Lip Balm Christmas Cracker
Contrary to what the name suggests, this is not actually a prosecco cracker. What it is however is a luxury gift of bath salts and lip balm. This cracker doesn’t ‘crack’ – just untie the ribbons at the ends to get your reward.
6. Tea Christmas Cracker
Box of six crackers from UK tea mixologists Bluebird Tea Co. As well as the traditional hat and tea-related joke, each cracker holds a different silk teabag from Bluebird’s fantastic range of teas.
Each box contains the following teas in crackers: Mince Pie (spiced black tea), Spiced Clementine (spiced fruit tea), Mrs Claus’ Raspberry Prosecco (darjeeling black tea), Jack Frost (minty herbal tea), Mulled Wine (spiced fruit tea), Earl Grey Creme (award-winning black tea).
7. Swarovski Crystal Christmas Crackers
These crackers are definitely the easiest way to own something Swarovski. Each box contains three crackers with gifts for men, and three with gifts for women. And yes of course, each gift features crystals from Swarovski. The crackers are packaged with silver bow tie ribbons. However, red and gold ribbons are also supplied should you need to mix things up a bit.
8. Christmas Crackers for Dogs
Of course we can’t forget our pets at the best time of the year. This cracker is specifically for dogs only, although you might have to read him the joke! Inside you’ll find delicious (and healthy) turkey and cranberry based doggie treats.
9. Egg & Spoon Game Crackers
This 12-pack of crackers gets everyone going. Each cracker contains and egg and spoon, as well as instructions/rules to make sure you make the most of them. Get active, and start working off all the extra food you just ate for no reason, other than it was there and looked good.
10. Musical Christmas Crackers
These crackers are carefully and cleverly designed to help you create a wonderful orchestra in your own home. Everyone gets a whistle pitched to a different note, and a numbered badge. Nominate someone as the conductor, who follows simple music, pointing at you when its your turn to make some noise. In the right hands these crackers will create beautiful music. In the wrong hands… well, you might not last too long.
11. Play Dough Modelling Game Christmas Crackers
If you like making stuff and are extremely competitive, these crackers are for you. Play-Dough, game rules, and a list of things to make are provided to ensure hours of fun. Let the creativity run loose!
12. Modelling Balloons Christmas Crackers
You know those balloons that people at fairs and festivals bend into poodles and other funny things? Here’s your chance to make your own, in the perfect dose – small. With 6 balloons provided per cracker, you’ll be able to model an animal or two before you lose interest completely. Instructions included.
13. Make Your Own Christmas Crackers Kit
This great DIY kit contains everything you need to make 10 great Christmas crackers. That’s right – the snap, hats, and hilariously bad jokes are all here. Of course, if you need something fancier or more personal, you can easily add in pretty much anything else. Use these to make something really special!
14. Metal Construction Christmas Crackers
This box of six Mecc… eh, non-branded ‘metal construction toys’ crackers will keep you occupied and remind you how to use basic tools again.
15. Giant Christmas Cracker
Standing at 55cm tall, this giant official Shopkins cracker is sure to make an impression! Contains 4 trivia questions, 2 activity sheets, 5 Crayons for colouring, 2 colouring sheets, 4 Cupcake Chic Tiaras, and an A5 sticker sheet.
16. Christmas Cracker Tins
A fantastic twist on the traditional cracker. There’s no ‘snap’, but what you do get is a very quirky cracker experience. These cans are sealed shut; they are opened by using the ringpull on the topside. Personalise these ‘crackers’ with custom messages on the back, and names printed on the front. Customising these online couldn’t be simpler – just fill out the form as requested when ordering.
17. Reusable Christmas Crackers
Reuse these crackers again and again, year after year. Made from durable natural linen and embroidered with satin thread, these crackers will last for many Christmases to come. These crackers are assembled yourself – the linen is wrapped around a sturdy plastic tube, giving them the discinctive cracker shape. A green satin ribbon is then used on both ends to hold it all together. Don’t forget to check out Christmas cracker fillers for ideas on what to pack inside.
18. Christmas Jumper Crackers
These cute crackers are shaped like knitted christmas jumpers! The torso of the jumpers hold the valuable cargo – as well as the usual joke, hat, and toy, you also get selfie props. Personalised wooden name tag engravings are available; simply select this option at checkout.
19. Balloon Christmas Crackers
Yet another fantastic and unique take on the cracker. Fill up the balloons with the supplied toys, blow up the balloons, and you’re set. These will definitely make a noise – there’s only one way to get the toys out!