Pull the other one!

Crackers are easy to make and you can add your own gifts

You will need

• Toilet roll tubes (you’ll need 2 extra to help with construction) • Wrapping paper (we used a selection from Caroline Gardner and Rex London)

• Pencil and ruler • Scissors

• PVA glue

• Paper hats, snaps and jokes (£5.40 for 30, The Little Crafty Bugs Company) • Mini gift or a wrapped sweet • Twine or ribbon

Make it

❶ Place a toilet roll along the bottom left edge of a piece of wrapping paper, roll them up until the toilet roll is covered and there’s a 2cm overlap, and mark with a pencil. Open the paper back out.

❷ From the pencil mark, use a ruler to draw a horizontal line parallel to the bottom edge. Measure 20cm in from the left edge of the paper and draw a vertical line down from the bottom of the horizontal line you just drew.

Cut this rectangle out with scissors.

❸ Run a line of glue along the toilet roll and position in the centre along the bottom edge of the wrong side of the paper.

Pop a hat, motto, snap and small gift or sweet into the toilet roll.

❹ Place the extra toilet rolls either side of the toilet roll. Roll the paper round them, then apply some glue along the long edge and hold in place until secure.

❺ Once the glue has completely dried, pull one of extra toilet rolls out slightly. Then, holding the cracker with both hands, twist one hand one way, and the other the other way, to create a crease. Repeat on the other side.

❻ Pull the two extra toilet rolls out and add lengths of twine or ribbon, tying them in a bow over each crease.