DJ: Frances Ambler
Illustration: Shutterstock
Our soundtrack to December. Take a listen here.
Or have a look at previous Christmas playlists here, here and here.
Photography: Kirstie Young
The beginnings of board games
From Cluedo to Call of Cthulhu, we’ve the Mesoptamians to thank
If you’ve ever played Monopoly with an enthusiastic eight-year-old at Christmas you might have experienced the strange phenomenon by which two-and-a-half hours can seem like four-and-a-half centuries. So if you’d like to woo them away from an unending game with the lure of something that really has been going for four-and-a-half centuries, you might like to step down to the British Museum before Christmas.
The museum has on display a copy of the world’s oldest playable board game, known as The Game of Ur. “Er… what?” we hear you cry. Well, here’s the lowdown.
The game was uncovered in a tomb in a royal cemetery at Ur, southern Iraq and is thought to date from around 2,500BC, making it 4,500 years old… That’s about the length of time your great aunt likes to cook sprouts for, for context. The wood has long since decayed but the beautiful board is intricately decorated in shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli. It certainly knocks Cluedo into a cocked hat,
It’s a ‘race’ game (like Snakes and Ladders) but with a bit more skill and strategy involved, for two players. It uses two sets of seven pieces similar to draught pieces, and the board consists of two ‘boxes’ with smaller boxes within, joined by a narrow bridge. You make your move by rolling two four-sided dice. The winner is the first person to move all their pieces through the board and off. It’s a lot more complex than that but there’s nothing more tedious than reading board game instructions un-anesthetised by half a bottle of sherry.
This year, The British Museum Shop has created a replica of the original game using ancient writings and archaeological evidence to piece together the rules. There’s also an advanced gameplay rules just in case you get too good at Ur, and even an Ur scarf, for anyone wanting to signal their approval but sit this particular ancient game out and head off for a bracing walk instead.
Now. Whose turn is it to go first?
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More festive fun and games
More from our December issue
December | Things to Appreciate
A few things to see this month, and a folk tale to read, too
December’s evergreens bring a feeling of hope in an otherwise frozen landscape. It’s no wonder stories have been written around the evergreens for centuries.
Legend has it that evergreens don’t lose their leaves as a reward for their kindness one winter, long ago. Folklore tells that as the birds flew south for winter, one bird broke her wing. With snow falling, she asked the trees for help. The birch, oak and willow refused, however, the spruce offered to let her shelter on its warmest branch, the pine offered to protect her from the north wind, and the juniper offered berries to eat. By spring, she’d healed and rejoined her friends. Having heard what happened, the Frost King told the north wind it must never touch one leaf of the spruce, pine or juniper trees, but should strip the oaks, beeches and willows bare for their unkindness. And that is what happens each winter to this day.
This folk tale was featured on our Almanac Pages, where each month we collate a few seasonal things to note and notice, plan and do. The nature table image above was taken by Alice Tatham of The Wildwood Moth who takes a photograph for our back cover each month, featuring things to appreciate in nature. She also runs workshops on seasonal photography and publishes seasonal journal stories from her home in Dorset.
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Playlist | Christmas favourites
We asked you to share your Christmas favourites and we made them into a playlist. Take a listen here. Find yourself a mince pie, sit back and enjoy.
If you want more Christmas tunes, you can listen to some of our previous playlists here, here and here.
Photography by Kym Grimshaw
Make | Festive Things on Strings
The best decorations are the ones you make sitting round the table over mince pies and hot chocolates with carols on in the background. Here are a few things you can fling on strings and then hang about the house looking pleasingly cheerful yet rustic…
Popcorn. It’s our go-to garland string item. Fun to make, delicious to eat as you decorate, and it looks so pretty wrapped around the tree, too. (For most effective results, hang the popcorn garlands in a spiral going from the top to the bottom of the tree, widening with each circuit as you go). You can find out exactly how to make popcorn garlands on page 11 of the December issue of The Simple Things.
Cranberries. Plump, deep pink and so Christmassy, cranberries look stunning threaded onto cotton. For more natural garland inspiration, turn to our home tour in the December issue and read about Christmas Crafting Queen Holly Grundy’s Norfolk home.
Dried orange slices. Dried in a dehydrator or a very low oven, slices of orange look like tiny stained glass window when threaded onto cotton and hung in the light. They smell absolutely delicious, too.
Dried apple slices. If you core the apple before slicing you’ll have rings which look charming with lengths of ribbon threaded through the holes. Try tying a cinnamon stick in for every few apple slices you thread for a more textured and even more fragrant look.
Bay leaves. For a simple, evergreen look, strings of bay leaves look wonderful. You probably need a bay tree to pull this off or you’ll need to invest in an awful lot of Schwartz jars.
Chillis. Festive and fiesta-ish, fiery chillies look fun strung up in the kitchen.
Pretzels and monkey nuts. This is a fun one as an edible decoration for a pre-Christmas drinks gathering. Be prepared to clear up lots of crumbs.
Wine bottle corks. Start saving them up and simply thread onto cotton with a needle. Whether you’ll look like a lush or just like you know how to throw a great party, we wouldn’t like to comment.
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Photography by Rebecca Lewis
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Photography and Recipe: Anja Dunk
Recipe | Lucky Meringue Mushrooms (Gluckspilze)
Sweet, advent treats to make to get you in the mood. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Mushrooms are seen as a symbol of good luck in Germany. As well as glass ornaments for the Christmas tree, they are also made into edible marzipan confections and these light and crunchy meringues. With a chewy centre, these are delectable on their own, but also make great ‘lucky’ decorations.
Makes about 20
2 egg whites
140g caster sugar
80g dark chocolate
¼ tsp coconut oil
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Preheat the oven to 100C/Fan 80C/ Gas ¼ and line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
2 Put the egg whites into a bowl and, using an electric mixer, whisk for a couple of minutes on a high speed until stiff peaks form. Reduce the speed and add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, whisking all the while, until incorporated and glossy.
3 To make the caps of the mushrooms, spoon 20 tsp of the meringue mixture, spaced 2cm apart, onto one of the baking sheets. Flatten the mounds with the back of a spoon until they’re between 2–3cm in diameter, then round off the tops.
4 To make the stalks, spoon heaped teaspoons of the mixture 2cm apart onto the second sheet. This time try to lift the spoon up as you do so to create taller (around 3–4cm high) peaks. Bake for 45 mins and don’t be tempted to open the oven door. Once the time is up, turn the oven off and let the meringues cool completely inside the oven.
5 Once the meringues are cooled, put the chocolate and coconut oil into a bain-marie with a 1cm of water in the bottom. Heat on low then, once the chocolate starts melting, stir until glossy. Spoon chocolate onto the underside of each mushroom cap. The chocolate will act as the glue to hold the stalk in place. While holding a cap in one hand, gently push a stalk into the centre of the chocolatecoated side – you will hear a cracking sound as it breaks through the base of the meringue cap; don’t worry, it’s a good thing as it means they will stick together well. Place cap-side down on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining caps and stalks.
6 Once the chocolate has set (which will take an hour or so), turn them over onto their stalks and, using a sieve, dust the tops of the caps with cocoa powder.
Cook’s note: Stored in an airtight container, these will keep well for about 2 weeks.
Taken from Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas by Anja Dunk (Quadrille). Photography: Anja Dunk. You can find more of Anja’s recipes for Advent bakes and makes starting from page 75.
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Featured
A Could-Do List for December
Background image: istock
Our could-do lists are designed to bring a bit of seasonal fun to your month. You could do all the things on the list, pick one or two, make up some of your own, or just read and enjoy. We’re definitely doing the pyjama day - and maybe the mince pie competition if we feel energetic enough.
A very merry December to you all.
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Photography: James Lampard
Think | Christmas Eve magic
It’s that most wonderful time of the year again…
Tradition dictates that you shouldn’t bring your Christmas tree home and decorate it until Christmas Eve itself. But we’ve always believed in making your own traditions. Particularly this year.
Whether you’re bringing your tree home today or have had it up since Halloween, however, there’s something really magical about that moment when everything ‘just stops’ for Christmas.
As you pull your tree into the house and shut the front door on the cold; or finally close the laptop and pour yourself a sherry; or trudge in from the garden, plonk the bags of sprout stalks and parsnips down on the table, take off your coat and put Carols from Kings on the radio, take a slow breath or two and whisper to yourself: “it’s nearly here!”
Merry Christmas from us all at The Simple Things.
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From our December issue…
More Christmas spirit…
Photography: Kirstie Young
Recipe | Blackcurrant and Bay Creme Brulee
A fruity, custardy festive pudding sure to satisfy any cravings for a sweet treat
Who said you had to wait until Christmas to bring out the festive puds? An afternoon making something sweet and sticky to brighten a dark winter evening is always time well spent. This fruity, festive twist on a creamy pud is just one of the recipes in our Night Before Christmas feature in our December issue by Erin Baker. But we think you can make it as early as you like. And perhaps have a practice run or two beforehand just to be absolutely sure you’ve got it right…
Serves 4
4 large egg yolks
4 tbsp caster sugar
400ml double cream
100g blackcurrants
6 fresh bay leaves, separated
40-60g golden granulated sugar
1 Preheat the oven to 150C/Fan 130C/ Gas 2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together until the mixture begins to lighten in colour.
2 In a small saucepan, heat the cream with 2 of the bay leaves until almost boiling. Remove the bay leaves. Add a little of the cream to the yolk mixture and whisk well, repeat adding a little bit each time, whisking throughout, until all the cream is incorporated.
3 Divide the blackcurrants evenly across 4 ramekins, then pour in the hot custard and stand a bay leaf in each (leave it propped against the side, it'll be easier to pull out later).
4 Move the ramekins to an ovenproof dish deep enough to accommodate hot water two thirds of the way up the side of each ramekin. Bake until barely wobbling in the centre, this should take around 30-45 mins.
5 When they’re almost completely set (you can tell if there's only a slight ripple in the middle when they're jiggled), gently tease out the bay leaves. Leave to cool to room temperature, then chill.
6Sprinkle the granulated sugar generously, but evenly, over each custard. Smooth the surface with the back of a spoon then caramelise using either a cook's blowtorch or under a hot grill. If using a blowtorch, work the tip of the blue flame lightly over the sugar. If using the grill, allow it plenty of time to heat up first: they need to be caramelised quickly to allow the top to set without melting the underneath. Leave to cool at room temperature for 10 mins before serving, garnished with blackcurrants.
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Sponsored post | Go with the slow
From the elegant Loire valley to India’s spice hills, there’s a holiday already planned for you here
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This fascinating journey through Karnataka and Kerala reveals four very special communities.
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A spectacular week’s walking in the island’s north-western corner will blow away all your preconceptions and leave you longing to return.
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The Black Forest is loved by Germans for its enchanting walking trails and its Hansel and Gretel charm. Fine gastronomy is an additional treat.
7 Châteaux of the Loire
On this leisurely cycling route through France’s picturesque Loire Valley, there are magnificent châteaux to visit and elegant wines to enjoy.
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Discover the unspoiled landscapes of Italy’s ‘deep south’ on this cycling holiday through timeless countryside and along both the Adriatic and Ionian coasts.
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On this varied four-night walking break, explore chic Zermatt before wandering amid the splendour of the High Alps, admiring the Matterhorn’s iconic peak.
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How to | do Christmas leftovers better
Photography: Mowie Kay
If you’re about to embark on a week of turkey curry and risotto, stop. Hold our eggnog. We’ve got this.
We don’t know about you, but much as we love a Christmas lunch, it’s the leftovers that get us really excited. A classic turkey and stuffing sandwich or two is a must, but there are plenty more ways to deal with The Rest of the Bird, and a hundred things to do with your other Christmas leftovers that don’t just involve bubble and squeak. Here are a few of The Simple Things staff’s favourites:
Turkey tonnato (enough for 4)
A tasty Italian lunch
Whizz 100g of mayo, a tin of tuna, the juice of half a lemon and a tbsp of capers together in a blender and set aside. It should be quite thin so it can be drizzled. You may need to loosen it with a little water. Slice enough turkey breast for 4 and lay on a plate. Drizzle over the tuna mayo sauce. Decorate the top with criss-crossed anchovies with little capers in between. Serve with rocket and crusty bread.
Red cabbage pickle
Fancy up a cold lunch in a flash.
Toss leftover red cabbage with equal parts red wine vinegar and caster sugar. Add a good slug of salt. Cover tightly and leave in fridge for an hour. Serve on Scandi style open sandwiches with leftover smoked salmon, white meat or cheese.
Nut roast falafel in pitta
A simple and delicious dinner for Boxing Day
Crumble leftover nut roast, then mix with a couple of tablespoons of hummus and some crumbled feta and season well. You can add chopped chill or other herbs if you wish. The amount of hummus and feta will depend on how much nut roast you have left but the mixture should be not too sticky and able to be formed into balls. Roll teaspoon sized lumps of the mix into balls. Pop on a baking tray and cook at 180 fan for approx 10 mins, until the falafels are golden. Serve with pitta, salad, tzatziki and any extras you like.
Christmas pud truffles
Because all puddings should bring you joy at least twice
Break up and crumble any leftover pud. Melt a few squares of dark chocolate in the microwave or on the hob. Stir into the crumbled pud and mix well. Add leftover Christmas booze if you wish. Roll the mixture into little bite-sized balls. Melt a little white chocolate and drizzle over the top to look like brandy cream. Put the truffles in the fridge to set.
All the above recipes should be served with a glow of satisfaction at having used your leftovers well and not become thoroughly sick of the whole festive season. We were inspired to write this blog by the amazing Brussles Sprouts Christmas Tree pictured above. The recipe is from LEAF: Lettuce, Greens, Herbs, Weeds by Catherine Phipps, with photography by Mowie Kay (Quadrille) and we’ve printed the whole recipe in our December issue. One the shops are open again, pop out and buy it (or click on the link below to have it delivered to your door) you’ll find it on p94. You won’t find a better use for your leftover sprouts.
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More from our December issue…
More festive fun…
Go | Lands of make believe
Festive fictional settings that have made their way onto our travel bucket list
One of the best things about Christmas is getting to revisit the familiar fictional places we associate with the season… From Charles Dickens’ London as we walk in Scrooge’s footsteps, to Nelson Mandela House as Delboy and Rodney prepare to sell their ‘telescopic Christmas trees’. From Mrs Prothero’s garden in Dylan Thomas’s ‘A Child’s Christmas in Wales’ to Kevin McCallister’s suburban Chicago house as he is left ‘Home Alone’.
As we put together our December issue, the staff of The Simple Things wrote about the Christmassy books, films, TV shows, podcasts and more that we love to revisit every year. And we want to know what yours are too. They don’t need to be Christmassy. We’d just love to hear about the fictional place you would visit if you could, from Narnia to Neverland.
To get you in the spirit, Iona Bower, our Editor at large, waxes lyrical below about the Box of Delights and how she loves to revisit Tatchester in the run-up to Christmas each year. You can read the rest of our favourite fictional places in the December issue in our feature ‘Watch with Santa’.
Christmas for me is all about the anticipation. A big part of that is a 1984 children’s TV series. I was six when The Box of Delights (based on John Masefield’s book) first aired, beginning on 19 November and running each week until Christmas Eve. And I try to watch it on those same dates each year. Kay Harker is on his way home for Christmas when he encounters twinkly-eyed Cole Hawlings and his Box of Delights, leading to all sorts of thrilling adventures that children today would scoff at but which left me open-mouthed. All the time, snow falls and carols sing on in the background. The opening titles music is perhaps the most Christmassy thing you will ever hear. Every year when I put on a log fire and hear those strings, I’m six again. When dreams might be real and all that matters is Kay getting to Tatchester Cathedral on Christmas Eve, in time to save the whole festive season.
Do post your favourite fictional destinations, whether festive or no, in the comments below or let us know about them on Facebook or Instagram.
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More things for lovers of make-believe …
Photography: Getty Images
Pedantry | Christmas carols
From misheard lyrics, to misspelled words to misplaced punctuation, here are a few carols that aren’t quite as they used to be.
Hark! The who?
Originally called ‘Hymn for Christmas Day’, the words by Charles Wesley opened with: ‘Hark how all the Welkin rings’. Wolcen is an old English word meaning ‘sky’ or ‘heavens’ so refer to the heavens ringing. But as time went on, few people knew what a Welkin was. The words we know today: ‘Hark! The herald angels sing’ came about when George Whitefield rewrote the carol in 1754.
Four which birds?
You didn’t imagine it. When you were little it was definitely ‘Four colly birds’ in ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’. A colly bird is another name for a blackbird (presumably to go with your partridge, French hens and turtle doves). The song was originally published as a rhyme, without music, in 1780. In a 1909 version by Frederic Austin, which set the rhyme to the tune we know today, the colly birds were changed to ‘calling’ birds, or songbirds. Blackbirds are known for their pretty song so it was only really the name that was changed, not the beast itself. The two versions are both still sung but as time goes on we’re hearing more calling birds than colly birds. Make a stand at your next carol concert and bring those colly birds back!
Mysterious merry gentlemen
God rest ye merry gentlemen. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Gentlemen tend to get a bit merry at Christmas. Might do them good to have a bit of a sit down and a night off the sauce?
In fact, the phrase means something more like: ‘Stay mighty, old chaps.’
The song has its roots in the Middle Ages, when ‘merry’ meant ‘mighty’ (think of Robin Hood’s merry men) and ‘rest’ meant ‘stay’. So ‘rest you merry’ means ‘stay strong’.
At some point in the carol’s history a comma also dropped off, concealing the fact that the words don’t mean ‘Stay, merry gentlemen’ but rather ‘God keep you strong, gentlemen’.
We don’t know about you, but we rather need a tipple after all that, too.
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More on Christmas carols…
Photography: Jonathan Cherry
Make | molten chocolate oranges
These oozing chocolate treats can be cooked in the embers of a winter barbecue
Whether you’re having a few friends over for a Yule bonfire and some outdoor snacks, or are going ambitious and cooking your whole Christmas lunch outdoors (see our Gathering feature in the December issue) these chocolate puds will put a smile on rosy-cheeked winter faces. And a Terry’s Chocolate Orange will never be quite the same again.
Serves 6
6 oranges
120g unsalted butter
135g dark chocolate (minimum 75% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
4 tbsp Cointreau (optional)
55g plain flour, sifted
Grated chocolate, to garnish
For the vanilla cream
600ml double cream
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or the seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod
1 Prepare your oranges by slicing the top off each one, about ¼ of the way down – don’t discard the tops!
2 Gently remove the flesh by running a spoon down the sides and pulling the flesh away from the skin. Be careful not to pull out the ‘pith plug’ at the bottom of the orange, as this will create a hole. You can keep the discarded orange flesh in the fridge and have it for breakfast or sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and serve with ice cream.
3 Next, make the vanilla cream. Pour the double cream into a mixing bowl and add the sugar and vanilla. Using an electric whisk, whip until soft peaks form. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
4 In a bain-marie, melt the butter and chocolate together. Once melted, remove from the heat and set aside.
5 In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture, whilst continuing to whisk on a low speed. Once combined, add the Cointreau (if using) and then fold through the sifted flour.
6 Divide the mixture evenly between the hollowed-out oranges, and replace the orange lids. Carefully double wrap each orange with two layers of foil, watching that the lid doesn’t slip off in the process and that the oranges remain upright at all times. Make sure the oranges are completely sealed in the foil, with no gaps or holes for the chocolate mix to escape through.
7 Place the oranges upright, directly onto hot embers for about 12 mins.
8 Remove from the heat, unwrap and remove the lids. You should have a chocolate sponge with a runny molten middle. Top with the vanilla cream and a grating of chocolate.
These puds were part of our Gathering feature in the December issue with recipes by Bex Long for an outdoor Christmas lunch, including a spectacular hang-roasted bacon-wrapped partridge. Find the rest of the menu in this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe
More from our December issue…
More chocolate to tempt you…
Photography: Holly Wulff Petersen
Bake | Cardamom cake with mulled wine jam
This proper cake is great for festive guests or as a pudding for anyone not a fan of Christmas pud. It’s just one of the festive bakes in our December issue and we liked it so much we thought we’d share it here
Serves 8
For the cake:
120ml milk
10 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
275g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
225g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
3 eggs
For the jam:
240ml red wine
400g plums, pitted and quartered
200g black seedless grapes, plus extra to decorate
2 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise pod
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
450g granulated sugar
30ml lemon juice
Half an orange, thickly sliced
For the topping:
250g mascarpone
150g icing sugar
80ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160/Gas 4. Grease two round 20cm cake tins and line the bottoms with baking parchment.
2 To make the cake, gently heat the milk in a saucepan with the cardamom pods and vanilla paste, letting it simmer for 2 mins before removing from the heat. Cover and cool for 15 mins before straining.
3 Sift together the flour and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside.
4 Using an electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Mix in half the flour, then the milk and remaining flour. Divide batter evenly between the tins and bake for 35-40 mins. Let the cakes cool for around 15 mins before turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool completely.
5 To make the jam, add the wine, plums, grapes, cinnamon sticks, star anise and nutmeg to a large saucepan. Cook for 10-15 mins to soften the plums. Add the sugar, lemon juice and orange and boil for 12-20 mins, or until it coats the back of a spoon. Remove the cinnamon sticks, star anise and orange slices then pour into a shallow tray to cool quickly.
6 To make the topping, beat the mascarpone and icing sugar by hand until smooth. Fold in the cream and vanilla and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
7 Sandwich the cakes together with half the mascarpone and a generous spoonful or two of jam. Cover the top and sides with the remaining mascarpone mix. Use a palette knife to smooth the sides of the cake, scraping off just enough of the mascarpone to let the cake peek through. Add grapes and a few dollops of jam.
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Taken from The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi (Page Street Publishing). Photography: Holly Wulff Petersen
More from our December issue…
More festive recipes…
Photography: Gap Photos
Festive things | mistletoe auctions
How a small Worcestershire town became the UK’s Mistletoe capital
Are we the only ones who start each December with the promise to ourselves that we’ll give the tinsel a miss this year and just use ‘nice greenery’ instead? (And then panic buy a couple of sprigs of holly for the front door and sneak out under cover of darkness to lean over the fence to pinch some of next door’s ivy?) We thought not.
If you live near a mistletoe market, however, a house full of greenery need not be an unattainable dream.
The tradition of hanging mistletoe in the house goes back as far as the ancient druids. But for more than the last 100 years, the village of Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire has been hosting mistletoe and holly auctions in the run-up to Christmas.
Many markets of mistletoe and holly were held in the area but Tenbury Wells is the last remaining, holding markets on the last two Tuesdays in November and the first in December, as well as a mistletoe festival, this year held on Saturday 7 December.
The mistletoe and holly auctions are exactly as they sound. Turn up, bid, buy festive greenery. You do need to buy more than a sprig to dangle over your doorway, but anyone can buy at the auctions. Large bundles are sold individually but the first to buy a bundle from any seller’s particular batch has the option to buy all or any of the rest from that seller.
The sale begins indoors with wreaths and once they are gone moves outside, with would-be buyers following the auctioneer down the rows of huge mistletoe bunches.
We recommend you get there early to bag the best bunches. The auctioneer’s bell sounds at 10am sharp when the selling begins. But if, when your alarm wakes you to the dark of a December morning, you don’t feel very festive, fear not. It will all be worth it when you return triumphant with the back seat of your car full of mistletoe. And next door’s ivy can remain unmolested another year.
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More from our December issue…
More winter wonder…
Photography: Yeshen Venema
Make your own | Christmas Crackers
And help Christmas go with a homemade bang
In our December ‘Cosy’ issue, we have a lovely ‘how-to’ which takes you step by step through making your own Christmas crackers. You can find all the instructions from page 53.
What you’ll need before you start, though, is the templates for the crackers, which you can find below, ready to print out. There are also some jokes to print, cut out and pop inside each cracker, and (in case our jokes are too groansome for you) there’s also a sheet of blank slips to write your own jokes or riddles on. Or why not personalise them for each of your Christmas guests?
The printables
We’d love to see pictures of how your crackers turn out. Do tag us on your Facebook or Instagram posts!
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More Christmas fun…
More from our December issue…
DJ: Frances Ambler
Playlist | Christmas Number Ones
Photography: Yeshen Venema
Make | homemade eco Christmas crackers
Create your own eco-friendly crackers with brown paper or recycled wrapping paper
If you liked the colourful Christmas Crackers make in our December issue, but would like something a little greener, or just a little more understated in design, you might like to make these eco-friendly versions.
You will need:
Cracker template (click to download and print out)
Brown paper
Cutting board
Craft knife
Toilet roll or cardboard tube
Cracker snaps
Double-sided tape
Ruler
String
How to make:
1. Cut out your template and draw around it on the card. Cut out the main cracker shape and then cut out all the triangles using your craft knife and ruler.
2. Place your toilet roll in the middle of the brown paper between the cut out diamonds. Take your cracker snap and put it through the cracker then place in the cracker any presents or jokes you wish to fill it with.
3. Place sticky tape along the bottom edge of the cracker, leaving a space where the triangles are, then roll and stick the cracker together. (If you don’t want to use tape you could little tabs in one side and slits in the other for them to go through to hold the paper together, although this won’t be as sturdy.)
4. Place your string underneath the triangles, pull tight and tie into a bow.
5. Cut off any of the cracker snap that may be showing, then personalise as you wish.
More from our December issue…
Vote | for your favourite Quality Street
Do you go straight for the Strawberry Delight or are you a die-hard Toffee Penny fan? Join our very scientific research project to help us pinpoint The Simple Things’ readers’ favourite?
In our December issue' Miscellany, we’ve taken an irreverent look at our favourite Quality Street chocolate. But these things require serious consideration, too. If you thought the biggest vote of December 2019 was the general election, think again.
There were strong feelings in the office, with the Coconut Eclair being perhaps the most divisive, so we’re putting the vote to you. Tell us which your favourite Quality Street is by clicking on your favourite below.