Christmas Cracker Information
Tom Smith was the man who supposedly invented the Christmas Cracker in 1847.
He was a London confectioner who sold bon bons wrapped in a twist of paper.
He then added a motto which was not particularly successful.
Tom needed a brainwave!
While sitting by the fire the crackle of a log triggered off the idea of the snap which we know and love today (is this really true?).
The twist of paper had to be made larger and the sweets were eventually replaced by a gift.
Tom's son Walter added the paper hats and the varied designs to keep the company "Tom Smiths" ahead of the other cracker companies jumping on the bandwagon!
In World War II cracker production was banned, maybe to save money.
Tom Smith's merged and took over various companies and moved out of London to Norwich where they merged with Caley's.
In 1963 one of their factories caught fire, the third in their history but they managed to survive and produced crackers again until the 1980's when they had a management buyout.
Unfortunately the company was not able to continue in an independent state and in 1998 it was bought out by Napier Industries, but that too came to a sad end.
Today there are still crackers made under the brand name of "Tom Smith" produced by Brite Sparks who are owned by International Greetings Plc.
To get a real insight into Tom Smith then go to Peter Kimpton’s website The King Of Crackers. As a former employee of Tom Smith’s he has written a fascinating book on Tom Smith.
Mr Kimpton has more details to add in a second edition which may put a completely different slant on the introduction of the cracker altogether!
Crackers are an English tradition although they can be found in various forms around the world.
The types of Christmas cracker are varied from the really inexpensive to the truly sumptuous.
The cracker can be made from paper or card with a cardboard tube to strengthen and keep the shape of the barrel.
The cracker can be many different sizes from really small the type you put on the Christmas tree to the giant which sits on the table and has lots of gifts in it.
The biggest cracker ever made was made in Australia in 1998 and it measured 55.45 metres long and 3.6 metres high. What a whopper!
Crackers are now being used at anytime of the year for New Year, Weddings (as favours), Hen Parties, Anniversary and Birthday Celebrations, Thank you's or promotion of corporate events.
There is a lot of help on the internet to "make your own" and you can buy kits which have all the bits included to help you make the crackers.
The paper card, hats, snaps, jokes and ribbons to tie the cracker up.
Children love to have a go at these.
You can also buy the crackers which are "Fill Your Own". These crackers come ready made with the cracker formed but open at one end and come complete with hat, snap and joke.
All you have to do is find a gift to pop in and tie up the open end! Simple!
These can be tailor made to the individual with a gift you know they will love.