A global field guide to design, (life)style and secret finds est. 2007
Wee Birdy’s Top 30 Christmas Crackers 2013
Did I mention that we were moving? Well, we did it. We're in our new home. The stockings are hung, the tree is up and we've strung a few Christmas lights. But the rest of the house is in chaos, and we're now at around the 12-week mark of our Big Move from Little City Apartment to Big Bush Home. So I'm a wee bit tired.
Please forgive me for the tardiness of this post, but I just couldn't face Christmas Day without posting my annual round-up of my favourite Christmas crackers. I know, it's a bit mental. But after seven years, I think I can call it a tradition?
A few of my favourites have already sold out (hello, lovely Anthropologie and Liberty print crackers, et al), but the thing GOOD thing about posting so late? SALES! DISCOUNTS! DEALS! Most of these little beauties have already been reduced, so if you haven't got your Christmas crackers sorted, go forth and start pulling. So to speak. Or buy now and stash for next year!
p.s. Can you spot the Michelin-starred cracker? See the answer below...
1. Single dog cracker, containing three gourmet dog biscuits, £7.95, from Crackers UK.
2. Box of six Robin Reed 'Grow Your Own Christmas' crackers, each containing a packet of seeds, recipe card, plus a snap, party hat and jokes, £18.95 from Selfridges.
3. Boxed single handmade 'Jelly & Cake' Christmas cracker, containing a hat, snap, joke and a hand-printed Thornback & Peel cotton handkerchief, from Thornback and Peel.
4. Bespoke limited edition box of crackers, each containing a hat, joke and a selection of gifts, £45 from the Michelin-starred Petersham Nurseries (not available online).
5. Single Tatty Devine 'Make your own jewellery' cracker, containing everything you need to make your own Tatty Devine necklace, £25 each from Selfridges.
6. Box of six 'vintage pudding' crackers, each containing a luxury item such as a money clip, keyring, letter opener, mini make-up brush set, glasses case, pouch, as well as a hat, snap and joke, AU$65 from Papier D'Amour.
7. Box of 'Fill your own crackers fiesta confetti', containing flat crackers, ribbon for tying up crackers and instructions, AU$15 from Papier D'Amour.
8. Box of six Talking Tables Origami crackers, containing origami sheet, entertainment scroll with a joke, charade, trivia and hat from John Lewis.
9. David Jones Home mini tree crackers in 'Retro Bambi Charades', each containing a charade game, AU$14.95 from David Jones.
10. Harrods box of six 'vintage design luxury Christmas crackers, each containing handmade bespoke headgear, joke and trivia booklet and a superb individually wrapped gift, such as silk handkerchief and cufflinks, silk scarf and scarf pin, leather passport holder and mobile phone case, mirror compact and blue crystal earrings, leather USB and pen set, crystal drop earrings and bracelet, £599, from Harrods.
11. John Lewis set of eight 'Merry Christmas Crackers', each containing a gift such as clothes brush with mirror, folding scissors, mini stapler, bottle stopper, tape measure with keyring, wire egg cup, padlock, placecard holder plus hat, snap and motto, from John Lewis.
12. 'Conscious Blessed Bee Crackers', each containing a bottle of organic, bee-friendly seeds, one of twelve blessing cards, a hat and a snap, £22.95.
13. Box of six 'luxury gingerbread crackers', each containing a gift such as marbles, pencil site, die, mini whisk, cookie cutter and egg cup, silver or gold foil paper hat, joke snap, £32 from Nancy and Betty Studio.
14. Make your own gorgeous crackers, free tutorial from Tuts+.
15. Set of six crackers using a mix of papers hand made by women in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, each containing a gift, an old Christmas recipe and hat, £35 from Toast.
16. 'Rainbow wallpaper rosette crackers', each containing a snap, hat and motto as well as a gift such as packets of seeds, a little sack of marbles, recycled aluminium star biscuit cutter or tiny grater, £6.50 from Sarah Moore Vintage.
17. White gloss Christmas crackers, each containing a selection of tempting treats ranging from Ilia beauty goodies to Rococo chocolates, £65 from the Conran Shop.
18. 'Lovely ladies crackers', each containing some Madmen-inspired gifts, £75 from Selfridges.
19. Box of six 'Holly Fulton Crackers', each containing a paper hat and joke and a specially commissioned miniature leather-bound notebook, embossed with the Holly Fulton motif, £85 from Fortnum & Mason.
20. 'Hand Marble Christmas Crackers', each containing a gift such as Lacqua Nail Polish Pen, Ilia Lipstick, L’Atelier Du Vin Bottle Stopper, Macon et Lesquoy Brooch, Warman Silk Knot Cufflinks and D.R Harris Lip Balm, £85 from The Conran Shop.
21. Giant Cherub Cracker, containing everything you need for a complete carol concert, including eight xylophone keys with mallets, handbells, percussion instruments, a conductor’s baton and eight numbered hats. Each person is assigned a hat that corresponds to their xylophone key, and then the conductor, guided by the numbered score, points to each person when it is their turn to play, £75 from Fortnum and Mason.
22. Box of eight 'Children's Christmas Crackers', each containing a joke, a paper hat and a felt finger puppet, £10 from Fortnum and Mason.
23. Box of 12 eco Christmas crackers, each containing useful little kitchen or gardening tools, making them ideal for keen gardeners and cooks. Jokes and tips, recipes and hints are also included, £36.95 from Selfridges.
24. Box of six 'Terrific Tipples Crackers', each containing a miniature bottle of alcohol such as Somerset Cider Brandy, Brecon Special Reserve Gin and Irish Single Malt Whisky, as well as a joke and paper party hat, £50 from Fortnum and Mason.
25. MERI MERI Make Your Own Christmas Cracker set of 10, including 10 crackers, cracker snaps, hats, jokes, stickers, bells tags and ribbon, £21.95 from Selfridges.
26. Turquoise & Orange Christmas Crackers by Pentreath & Hall, each containing a hat, snap and 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, from Ben Pentreath.
27. David Jones Home ’12 Days of Christmas Pack of 12 Christmas Crackers’, each containing a snap, joke, trivia question and charades game, AU$17.47 from David Jones.
28. Mix And Match Christmas Crackers, each containing a special gift such as Malin &Goetz Travel size toiletry, Macon et Lesquoy Iron on Patch, Merchant & Mills Tape Measure, Golf Ball Joke, Puebco Marker Pen, £65 from the Conran Shop.
29. Pack of six Chairman's Choice Christmas crackers, £95 from Selfridges.
30. Box of six Brussels sprout Christmas crackers, £65 from Selfridges.
Phew. So there you go. My annual cracker round-up for 2013. It's hard to pick a favourite, but I think The Conran Shop has come up with some beauties this year, with hand-marbled papers and exquisite gifts. I'm also loving the rainbow Sarah Moore Vintage crackers.
Which one is your favourite?
Disclosure: Some, but not all, of these links are with affiliate programs, which helps to support Wee Birdy. Please note that affiliate links do not influence my edit of lovely things. I don’t put crap on Wee Birdy, yo.
Did I mention that we were moving? Well, we did it. We're in our new home. The stockings are hung, the tree is up and we've strung a few Christmas lights. But the rest of the house is in chaos, and we're now at around the 12-week mark of our Big Move from Little City Apartment to Big Bush Home. So I'm a wee bit tired.
Please forgive me for the tardiness of this post, but I just couldn't face Christmas Day without posting my annual round-up of my favourite Christmas crackers. I know, it's a bit mental. But after seven years, I think I can call it a tradition?
A few of my favourites have already sold out (hello, lovely Anthropologie and Liberty print crackers, et al), but the thing GOOD thing about posting so late? SALES! DISCOUNTS! DEALS! Most of these little beauties have already been reduced, so if you haven't got your Christmas crackers sorted, go forth and start pulling. So to speak. Or buy now and stash for next year!
p.s. Can you spot the Michelin-starred cracker? See the answer below...
1. Single dog cracker, containing three gourmet dog biscuits, £7.95, from Crackers UK.
2. Box of six Robin Reed 'Grow Your Own Christmas' crackers, each containing a packet of seeds, recipe card, plus a snap, party hat and jokes, £18.95 from Selfridges.
3. Boxed single handmade 'Jelly & Cake' Christmas cracker, containing a hat, snap, joke and a hand-printed Thornback & Peel cotton handkerchief, from Thornback and Peel.
4. Bespoke limited edition box of crackers, each containing a hat, joke and a selection of gifts, £45 from the Michelin-starred Petersham Nurseries (not available online).
5. Single Tatty Devine 'Make your own jewellery' cracker, containing everything you need to make your own Tatty Devine necklace, £25 each from Selfridges.
6. Box of six 'vintage pudding' crackers, each containing a luxury item such as a money clip, keyring, letter opener, mini make-up brush set, glasses case, pouch, as well as a hat, snap and joke, AU$65 from Papier D'Amour.
7. Box of 'Fill your own crackers fiesta confetti', containing flat crackers, ribbon for tying up crackers and instructions, AU$15 from Papier D'Amour.
8. Box of six Talking Tables Origami crackers, containing origami sheet, entertainment scroll with a joke, charade, trivia and hat from John Lewis.
9. David Jones Home mini tree crackers in 'Retro Bambi Charades', each containing a charade game, AU$14.95 from David Jones.
10. Harrods box of six 'vintage design luxury Christmas crackers, each containing handmade bespoke headgear, joke and trivia booklet and a superb individually wrapped gift, such as silk handkerchief and cufflinks, silk scarf and scarf pin, leather passport holder and mobile phone case, mirror compact and blue crystal earrings, leather USB and pen set, crystal drop earrings and bracelet, £599, from Harrods.
11. John Lewis set of eight 'Merry Christmas Crackers', each containing a gift such as clothes brush with mirror, folding scissors, mini stapler, bottle stopper, tape measure with keyring, wire egg cup, padlock, placecard holder plus hat, snap and motto, from John Lewis.
12. 'Conscious Blessed Bee Crackers', each containing a bottle of organic, bee-friendly seeds, one of twelve blessing cards, a hat and a snap, £22.95.
13. Box of six 'luxury gingerbread crackers', each containing a gift such as marbles, pencil site, die, mini whisk, cookie cutter and egg cup, silver or gold foil paper hat, joke snap, £32 from Nancy and Betty Studio.
14. Make your own gorgeous crackers, free tutorial from Tuts+.
15. Set of six crackers using a mix of papers hand made by women in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, each containing a gift, an old Christmas recipe and hat, £35 from Toast.
16. 'Rainbow wallpaper rosette crackers', each containing a snap, hat and motto as well as a gift such as packets of seeds, a little sack of marbles, recycled aluminium star biscuit cutter or tiny grater, £6.50 from Sarah Moore Vintage.
17. White gloss Christmas crackers, each containing a selection of tempting treats ranging from Ilia beauty goodies to Rococo chocolates, £65 from the Conran Shop.
18. 'Lovely ladies crackers', each containing some Madmen-inspired gifts, £75 from Selfridges.
19. Box of six 'Holly Fulton Crackers', each containing a paper hat and joke and a specially commissioned miniature leather-bound notebook, embossed with the Holly Fulton motif, £85 from Fortnum & Mason.
20. 'Hand Marble Christmas Crackers', each containing a gift such as Lacqua Nail Polish Pen, Ilia Lipstick, L’Atelier Du Vin Bottle Stopper, Macon et Lesquoy Brooch, Warman Silk Knot Cufflinks and D.R Harris Lip Balm, £85 from The Conran Shop.
21. Giant Cherub Cracker, containing everything you need for a complete carol concert, including eight xylophone keys with mallets, handbells, percussion instruments, a conductor’s baton and eight numbered hats. Each person is assigned a hat that corresponds to their xylophone key, and then the conductor, guided by the numbered score, points to each person when it is their turn to play, £75 from Fortnum and Mason.
22. Box of eight 'Children's Christmas Crackers', each containing a joke, a paper hat and a felt finger puppet, £10 from Fortnum and Mason.
23. Box of 12 eco Christmas crackers, each containing useful little kitchen or gardening tools, making them ideal for keen gardeners and cooks. Jokes and tips, recipes and hints are also included, £36.95 from Selfridges.
24. Box of six 'Terrific Tipples Crackers', each containing a miniature bottle of alcohol such as Somerset Cider Brandy, Brecon Special Reserve Gin and Irish Single Malt Whisky, as well as a joke and paper party hat, £50 from Fortnum and Mason.
25. MERI MERI Make Your Own Christmas Cracker set of 10, including 10 crackers, cracker snaps, hats, jokes, stickers, bells tags and ribbon, £21.95 from Selfridges.
26. Turquoise & Orange Christmas Crackers by Pentreath & Hall, each containing a hat, snap and 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, from Ben Pentreath.
27. David Jones Home ’12 Days of Christmas Pack of 12 Christmas Crackers’, each containing a snap, joke, trivia question and charades game, AU$17.47 from David Jones.
28. Mix And Match Christmas Crackers, each containing a special gift such as Malin &Goetz Travel size toiletry, Macon et Lesquoy Iron on Patch, Merchant & Mills Tape Measure, Golf Ball Joke, Puebco Marker Pen, £65 from the Conran Shop.
29. Pack of six Chairman's Choice Christmas crackers, £95 from Selfridges.
30. Box of six Brussels sprout Christmas crackers, £65 from Selfridges.
Phew. So there you go. My annual cracker round-up for 2013. It's hard to pick a favourite, but I think The Conran Shop has come up with some beauties this year, with hand-marbled papers and exquisite gifts. I'm also loving the rainbow Sarah Moore Vintage crackers.
Which one is your favourite?
