Christmas crackers are one of the oldest holiday traditions. As well as completing your table setting, these days they can even contain a gift actually worth keeping (or at least drinking).
While you'll now find a whole range of themed crackers from beauty to fragrance-filled, you can never go wrong with classic luxury crackers or more traditional, simple options either. With sustainability in mind, many have been created using minimal plastic and recycled materials, plus I've found reusable options to bring out year after year.
- The luxury Christmas crackers: Fortnum & Mason Midas Crackers
- The make your own Christmas crackers: M&S Fill-Your-Own Christmas Crackers
- The chocolate Christmas crackers: Charbonnel et Walker Pink Marc De Champagne Cracker
- The champagne Christmas crackers: Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne Cracker
- The Jo Malone Christmas crackers: Jo Malone London Snowman Cracker
From luxury Christmas crackers from Fortnum & Mason to Marks & Spencer's 'fill-your-own' and chocolate offerings from Charbonnel, scroll on for all of the best Christmas crackers available to shop now.
How I chose the best Christmas crackers
- Gifts: I've included crackers with a whole range of gifts, from classic options to luxury items, plus food, drink and fragrance.
- Price: I've only included crackers that I believe are worth the price for the contents, design and level of sustainability.
- Design: I've found a range of designs to upgrade every kind of table setting this holiday season.
The best Christmas crackers to shop for 2024
M&S Luxury Christmas Crackers
How many: 8
What's inside: A gift, a hat, a joke and a conversation starter.
Gifts: A trolley token, mini grater, mini screwdriver set, bottle opener keyring, nail file, loose tea strainer, nail clippers or a tape measure.
These elegant white and gold illustrated crackers feature a festive rooftop scene with Santa's sleigh pulled by his reindeer. Each one has metallic gold foil details and gold fabric ribbon chokes, plus everything in the box is plastic free and recyclable.
Fortnum & Mason Midas Crackers
How many: Six crackers
What's inside: A gift, a gold hat and a motto card.
Gifts: Green tea caddy, Fortnum’s Christmas votive candle, chocolate & orange biscuits, Fortnum's pomegranate rose hand lotion, Fortnum’s bottle stopper, Fortnum's waiter's friend corkscrew, Elizabeth Scarlett exclusive honey bee coin purse or a Fortnum's cocktail jigger.
Christmas table decorations don't get much more luxe than these Fortnum & Mason crackers filled with premium gifts from the London department store. The regal gold packaging will look stunning as part of your table setting.
Charbonnel et Walker Pink Marc De Champagne Chocolate Truffle Cracker
How many: 1
What's inside: Pink Marc De Champagne truffles.
Coming in firmly under the category of Christmas crackers with gifts you actually want is this Charbonnel et Walker cracker. It's filled with delicious milk chocolate champagne truffles.
Hallmark Luxury Christmas Crackers
How many: 6
What's inside: A joke, a snap, a hat, a fun festive activity and a gift.
Gifts: A 10cm ruler, a small padlock and keys, a yo-yo, a keyring/bottle opener, a nail file/multi-tool, or a fun 'Mystery Calculator' card game.
These classic Hallmark Christmas crackers come in two festive designs and are made from 100% plastic free material from FSC-certified forests. Available from Amazon, shipping is super easy.
Jo Malone London Snowman Cracker
How many: 1
What's inside: English Pear & Freesia Cologne 9ml, Wood Sage & Sea Salt Body & Hand Wash 30ml, Peony & Blush Suede Hand Cream 15ml.
Who wouldn't want to sit down to a Jo Malone cracker at their Christmas dinner? Filled with the brand's delicious bestselling scents, it's the ultimate table treat.
Harvey Nichols Luxury Christmas Crackers
How many: 6
What's inside: A gift, a gold or silver crown and a joke.
Gifts: A miniature bottle, a liqueur, a speciality honey, a Waiter’s Friend corkscrew or a champagne stopper.
Harvey Nichols' own luxury Christmas crackers are as amazing as you'd expect. With pink to blue ombré packaging to brighten up your dinner table and filled with premium foodie gifts you'll want to keep, you'll need to order quickly before these sell out.
Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne Cracker
How many: 1
What's inside: A 20cl bottle of Moët and Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne, confetti and a crown.
A mini champagne is the perfect start to any Christmas meal. This luxury Moët cracker also includes a golden crown and confetti to suitably get the party started.
M&S Fill-Your-Own Christmas Crackers
How many: 6
What's inside: A joke and a paper hat. Otherwise, they're designed to be filled with your own gifts.
These beautiful white and gold celestial crackers come empty (besides a joke and a hat), ready to be filled with the treats of your choosing. They have space for a name tag, which gives you the option to make them totally personalised to each guest.
Nancy & Betty Christmas Crackers
How many: 6
What's inside: A paper crown, six gifts and a joke.
Gifts: An eraser, wooden bracelet, wooden spinner, badge, cookie cutter, large wooden die, bouncy ball or crayons.
Nancy & Betty's handmade Christmas crackers are a popular choice every year thanks to their cute festival designs and sustainably-made packaging. Each cracker is recyclable and contains only plastic free gifts. Made with luxurious thick paper and finished with ribbon, they'll arrive in a presentation box and each contain six mini gifts.
Dunelm Premium Woodland Hares Crackers
How many: Eight crackers
What's inside: A bingo game card, a sticker sheet, a joke sheet, and a hat.
At just £6 for eight, Dunelm's Christmas crackers are the most affordable on the market, and they look much more expensive. They have a beautiful and traditional illustrated design.
