Christmas Crackers are brightly coloured decorations. They consist of a tube of card, usually containing a paper hat, a small gift and a motto or joke, and covered in christmas wrapping paper, twisted at either end. The idea developed from French 'bon bons', introduced by Tom Smith to Britain. The cracker contains a 'snap', which bangs when the cracker is pulled by two people. The person holding the largest end wins the prize.
Crackers are used to decorate Christmas trees, and are also often placed on the table. As the jokes are often awful, this can cause much groaning and laughter around the table.
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