Christmas crackers

RSPB.COM, £14 FOR 6; £26 FOR 12

Dating back to the Victorian era, crackers are an integral part of Christmas past and present, but those irksome throwaway plastic gifts inside probably shouldn’t be part of Christmas future (though the mini screwdrivers are, admittedly, quite handy). For a tat-free festive table, consider the RSPB’s Footprint-in-the-Snow crackers, made from FSC-certified paper. Each cracker yields a hat, joke and fact, plus three Top Trumps cards for a bit of bonus birdy trivia while the sprouts are digesting. In case you were wondering, the barn owl (6) trumps the puffin (1) and avocet (4) for max number of eggs.