1. Mini confetti crackers, set of six, £16, from Anthropologie. Photography courtesy of Anthropologie.

Stag & Spot luxury crackers, set of six, £55, from Thornback & Peel. Each cracker contains a hat, snap, joke and a hand-printed festive Thornback & Peel handkerchief. Jolly good.

Giant novelty Christmas cracker, £19.50, from Marks & Spencer. The cracker contains gifts, hats and mottos. Kids would probably get a kick out of the ginormous plus-size.

Fortnum's The King of Crackers, set of six, £1,000, from Fortnum & Mason. Each handcrafted ruched cracker contains all manner of  luxury brand gifts: a black leather card holder from Launer of London; a pair of navy knitted cashmere gloves from heritage Scottish brand Johnstons of Elgin; a silver tie pin from Tatteossian, artisan-made pearl studs from Colman Douglas, a silver bookmark or a silver wine topper. The crackers also contain the traditional entertaining scroll and a fabric crown to keep. Well, I guess a paper hat would be somewhat inappropriate. Wowsers.

Magic Party Crackers, set of six, $29.95, from Lark. This cracker set contains six magic tricks, along with the obligatory party hat, joke and snap. Tricks include exploding dice, 3 ball return and magic cards. Deliver Christmas with a potential bang (via exploding dice). UK readers: head to Selfridges for Ridleys magic crakcers.

Twelve Days of Christmas crackers, set of 12, £20, from John Lewis. Each cracker contains a snap, motto and hat along with one of the following: a bottle opener, metal yo-yo, bottle stop, tape measure, screwdriver set, carabiner, padlock, playing cards, metal puzzle, chess game, place card holder or folding corkscrew. Use each cracker as prompt to sing the Christmas carol around the dinner table... or not.

Light-up burgundy Christmas crackers, set of six, £45, from Marks & Spencer. I'm fairly certain this is the first light-up cracker (or indeed, any kind of technologically advanced cracker) to feature on my annual round-up of the best crackers. Each cracker contains a gift, hat and motto and 'light-up features'. Switch the lights off and dazzle your guests. Well, the kids will love them, anyway. Lights! In crackers! Mind is boggling.

Iconic London crackers, set of six, £28, from The National Gallery. This set of handmade crackers are designed by Jennie Maizels, and each cracker contains one of Jenny's London-themed iron-on patches, hat and motto. Of course, I LOVE the GUTS out of these wee crackers.

Fortnum's Afternoon Tea Christmas Crackers, set of six, £100, from Fortnum & Mason. Take note, Australians, it's afternoon tea, not high-bloody-tea. Each cracker contains a miniature tea caddy containing one of Fortnum's exclusive blends and miniature pot of Fortnum's preserve in complementary flavours: Afternoon Blend and Strawberry Preserve, Royal Blend and Marmalade, Queen Anne and Damson Preserve, Assam and Raspberry Preserve, Earl Grey and Blueberry Preserve and Darjeeling and Strawberry Preserve. Very nice, too.

Children's puppet crackers, set of six, £25, from Heal's. Each cracker contains one animal character finger puppet, a paper hat and a motto. Amuse small children, zaaany adults or get the kids to put on a puppet show after Christmas lunch.

Luxury Nutcracker crackers, set of six, £34, by Nancy & Betty. Handmade by this British design brand with their own very fine paper, each cracker contains a silver or gold foil paper hat, joke and snap. Gifts include marbles, pencil set, die, mini whisk, cookie cutter and egg cup.

Origami party crackers, set of six, AU$29.95, from Lark. Made by British brand Lucky Lad, each cracker set features origami tricks, along with a party hat, joke and snap. Includes 30 origami sheets and instructions, so you can attempt to make tiny and rather impressive origami creations around the dinner table. Warning: could produce unintended hilarity, depending on individual level of fine motor skills and consumption of French bubbles. UK readers: head to Selfridges for a similar box of origami crackers. 

Harrods of London Ice Princess luxury Christmas crackers, set of six, £99.95. Each cracker is embellished with a sparkling crown pin, and contains a paper hat, joke and one of six beautiful silver-plated gifts, including table bell, bottle opener, compact mirror, perfume atomiser, tealight candle holder and tape measure. A bit posh for wanna princesses.

Mackenzie-Childs Crackers, set of six, £500, from Fortnum & Mason. Add a touch of Americana to the dinner table with these crackers from New York's Mackenzie-Childs. Decorated in the brand's signature check, each cracker contains a distinctive gold-plated Mackenzine-Childs keyring, plus the traditional paper crown and entertaining scroll.

Christmas crackers, set of six, £35, from Toast. Each cracker uses Nepalese lokta papers that have been hand block-printed by women in the Kathmandu Valleys of Nepal. Decorated with hand-tied grosgrain ribbon, each cracker contains a riddle, a hat and a gift, such as, glycerine soap; jasmine flower tea bomb; miniature glass tree decoration; sparklers; mini beeswax candle; and rose-flavoured chocolate bar. Crafty types will give these crackers a big thumbs-up!

John Lewis Sausage Dog crackers, set of eight, £15, from John Lewis.
A jolly sausage dog is stretched across each cracker, which contains a snap, motto, hat and a fun retro-style gift such as, marbles; bouncy ball; yo-yo; water pistol; fortune fish; jumping frog; skittles or harmonica.

Yellow tetrahedron pattern Christmas crackers, set of six, £40, by Pentreath & Hall. Each cracker is handmade in Dorset covered in Pentreath & Hall patterned paper, and contains a hat, snap and a joke, along with one of the following prizes; herb seeds, a wooden spoon, nail brush, star cookie cutter, dice, pack of marble, golf ball tees, plant labels. Perfect for design lovers. Or fans of geometry.

Harrods of London Magical Forest Luxury Christmas crackers, set of eight, £120, from Harrods. Each cracker contains a hat, joke and one of eight musical bells with sheet music. Jingle bell jam time around the Christmas table, or just general jingling, tingling chaos. Fun.

Gold, silver and copper Christmas crackers, set of six, £29.50, from Marks and Spencer. Each cracker contains a gift, hat and motto, and you'll get a big tick for being bang on trend this season with mixed metallics. Give your Christmas table an extra touch of sparkle and lustrous sheen.

Edenham print superior Christmas crackers, set of six, £45, from Liberty. Perfect for vintage-lovers and Liberty-print enthusiasts, each cracker contains a gift, hat, and motto.