Nobody likes waste, but at Christmas you buy crackers just to rip them up and throw them away. Instead you can make your own reusable Christmas crackers and fill them with lovely gifts!
To make this simple project all you will need is the cardboard from inside a toilet roll, some festive fabric and some Christmas cracker bangers! You can buy these very easily (and cheaply) off of any online store.
You can also find a video at the bottom of the page for extra help.
What You Will Need:
2 cardboard insides of a toilet roll
2 pieces of fabric: 5.75" by 8"
Narrow ribbon/string
Fabric glue
Cello tape
General Sewing equipment
Method:
Take one of your pieces of fabric and fold a 1/4" hem along one of the longest edges.
Fold this hem over again another 1/4" and sew flat.
Fold in half, width ways, right sides together.
Sew starting approx. 0.5" from the top raw edge.
Turn right sides out.
Repeat these steps with your second piece of fabric.
Take your cardboard tube and cut it open.
Slightly overlap one of the sides to make the tube approx. 1/4" smaller.
Use cello tape to keep it in place.
Slip the cardboard tube inside the fabric.
Push the tube so that the unsewn fabric is above it.
Glue the top of the inside of the cardboard tube.
Fold the raw edge of the fabric inside the tube.
Repeat these steps to add the fabric to your second cardboard tube (this tube will not be made smaller like the first).
Take one end of your banger and thread it through one of your tubes.
Tie the end of the fabric on the tube with your ribbon/string.
Place your Christmas gift inside the tube.
Tie the other end of the banger in the same way with the other tube.
Slide the smaller tube inside of the other one.
You can add any other decorations you would like to the cracker.
As the bangers are not glued inside of the cracker, when you pull the cracker they may slip out. To stop this from happening you have to hold the banger inside the fabric.
Then hold the outside, where the string is. Now you should get a good, loud bang.
To reuse these crackers, all you need to do is to untie the string and thread a new banger in as before.
If you need extra help here is a video to help: