Escape to the Chateau's Angel Strawbridge can turn her hand to anything, taking great pride in crafting her way around Château de la Motte-Husson one room at a time, but this particular make left one of her guests in tears…
Angels' team runs their brand Instagram feed @the_chateau_tv, and while looking through the archives of Angel's seasonal crafts, they thought they would reshare her Christmas cracker alternatives.
In the video shared to the family's 374,000 followers, Angel was seen carefully hollowing out old books to leave gifts inside and use the books as favours on her Christmas table, and at the very end of the clip, one of her guests was seen looking emotional as she was given the special keepsake.
Angel was heard saying, "Oh look, don't cry" as she comforted the lady sitting at her festive table.
The comments section was awash with praise for the clever craft, with one writing: "I love this idea!!! I have a ton of old books that I use for collage and this would be a wonderful second use of them," and another adding: "Always with the most creative ideas." A third penned: "So beautifully presented, what a gorgeous idea"
Meanwhile, a few others weren't so keen and declared it sacrilege to be "ruining" the books in this way. "Ruining books?? Cute idea but could make a box. No?" and "The fun part of crackers is the popping, like the personalisation but wouldn't sacrifice antique books for that, but bet it looks amazing."
The caption on the video read: "Have you started planning your Christmas tablescape yet? We've taken a look back through some of Angel's loveliest festive ideas…this Christmas Cracker alternative is a beautiful way to include a hidden keepsake surprise at the dinner table. We'd love to know what festive craft ideas you have for the big day!"
Sharing a festive update on their personal Instagram, Dick and Angel revealed a series of seasonal snaps, captioned: "It's certainly been the week to be jolly!" The cute images included a photo of their children Arthur and Dorothy and behind them, the family's twinkling Christmas tree at the chateau.
The Strawbridges could well be planning a traditional Christmas at home, but the new year will see them venture Down Under for a very exciting project - their Dick & Angel's "Forever Home" Australia 2025 Tour.
When the nine dates were revealed on Instagram, fans rushed to the comments section to share their absolute delight. "Omg so excited," "Fabulous see you again in Adelaide" and "Absolutely can't wait!!! See you in Perth" were among the comments.