Color Your Own Homemade Christmas Crackers

Christmas crackers provide traditional festive fun on Christmas Day in Ireland.

They're also very popular throughout the United Kingdom.

To celebrate the importance of Christmas crackers as part of Irish Christmas traditions, I thought it might be fun to create a little homemade Christmas cracker craft for little ones.

You can print the free templates provided at the bottom of this post. They're perfect for little ones to shade in using decorative festive colors of their choice.

Markers, coloring pencils, or crayons work great for adding festive flare to these designs.

Supplies For Homemade Christmas Crackers:

Instructions for Color Your Own Christmas Crackers:

The first step is to add some color to the templates.

Once the templates are colored in, it's time to make your cracker and they're super easy.

The outline of the cracker pattern has dotted and solid lines. All you need do, is cut along the solid lines and fold along the dotted lines.

If you can find cracker snap strips you can tape one down to one side of the central cracker section. They make a cracking, snapping sound when the cracker is pulled. Unfortunately I can only find them on the Amazon UK site.

The template has a flap which is used to glue the cracker closed.

Next, you'll need to cinch one end of the cracker. Press the cracker on one side of the inner tube to form a nicely defined neck. Tie a piece ribbon around the neck of the cracker. Make a bow or curl the ribbon.

Pop a surprise inside your cracker. These are paper crackers so you can't use anything too heavy. A small piece of paper with a joke or a cooking tip works great. Paper Christmas hats are also traditionally found inside crackers.

If you wish to add something heavier inside the cracker I recommend placing a portion of a cardboard toilet paper tube inside the cracker to reinforce it.

Seal the second open end with ribbon as outlined above, and then you're all done. You've made your very own homemade Christmas cracker.

Free Printable Christmas Cracker Coloring Template:

Here's a free printable for these Christmas cracker coloring pages.

Simply click on the image below or right here and you'll open a printable PDF file.

These patterns are great for school activities so please feel free to share with any teachers or home schooling parents who might find them useful.

Have fun coloring these Christmas crackers and recreating an Irish Christmas tradition with your kiddos.

Thanks for following my recipes and ramblings.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Here are some more recipes and ramblings you might enjoy...

Pine Cone Christmas Tree Craft

A Candle In The Window - An Irish Christmas Tradition

Christmas Chocolate Yule Log Recipe

Plus here's  Pinterest graphic if you'd like to file this craft on your boards.