Make Tiny Christmas Crackers

Years ago I used to make festive dinners for Barbie, complete with crackers, hats, puddings, cakes and turkey or other special fare. The lucky recipient (these were for a children's section of the school silent auctions) could even choose the vegetables for the meal. For some reason the crackers were a real hit. Family traditions of people in silly hats with lame jokes or riddles is part of the charm. Crackers have been around for more than 150 years now, so they certainly keep their popularity!

You can use the same technique as the Dolls House Christmas Crackers to make full size ones filled with your own special treats and color co-ordinated paper crowns, or any other paper hat. Just choose favors that will fit in your cracker or they may start looking a bit lumpy. Crackers were used for lots of celebrations. They're available for birthdays, weddings, New Years and Valentines and there's no reason they can't be part of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. They were an idea based on French Bon Bon's originally, and became a fixture at Victorian celebrations, they are still made under Royal Warrant for the Queen.

Photo ©2008 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.