Our first Christmas tradition comes from Caroline. I like the way it works as a fun activity designed to show that Christmas is special, while at the same time re-orienting the message of Christmas around Jesus by using Bible verses:My Christmas idea is making our own Christmas Crackers. You can buy 50 “snappers” for $2 at Spotlight, save your toilet rolls for a month, visit your local $2 store and wrap with gold paper and coloured curling ribbon and hey presto, you have a cracker.
To make them special, I try and put a Bible verse in each one. Last year I used quotes from Luke’s gospel for the children and John’s gospel for adults. This year I’m all over the NT with promises and encouraging, hope-filled, future-oriented verses. Everyone gets a lolly, and I work hard to chose $2 gifts that suit each person and are useful. Last year I found a $2 mini-screwdriver for my dad which had a storage space inside the handle for 4 different screw heads, and all small enough to fit inside a toilet roll! If there is room, I might squeeze a party popper in, but usually its tight. Each cracker is labelled with the person’s name on a little tag so there are no mix-ups. They all go in a box with some tissue paper (and poppers?) as a gift to a family.
Last year, my (small) ladies Bible study group made some as our end of the year Christmas fun, enjoying the fellowship, craft, prayer and preparation for Christmas as Christian women together.
My tips for making Crackers:
1. Buy everything you need first – make a list.
2. Have a list of people’s names, write down what $2 gift you have bought them so you don’t double up.
3. Secure the “snapper” in the toilet roll with sticky tape
4. Make sure everything will fit inside the toilet roll before you put the paper around it.
5. Use double-sided sticky tape (if you have it) to stick the gold paper around the toilet roll.
6. Label with recipient’s name immediately!
7. Don’t let it spread out over the whole dining room table for weeks, causing disruption to dinner-time and grief to one’s husband :)
3 comments:
Small in size but large in inspiration. Ask Caroline for more ideas as she has loads of practical tips that she has passed on to me.
I am part of this ladies group and my husband was so impressed that he wants me to make them for his family christmas this year. I better get 'cracking'!!!
This is marvellous! I was always so bitterly disappointed by the contents of Christmas Crackers in my childhood...not any more! Thanks Caroline
Nice pun, Laura!
It's a great idea. All you generally get from crackers these days are bad jokes and plastic frogs. What sort of verses would you recommend if one's extended family is non-Christian?
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