Monthly Update - Christmas Fun!

Now that it's December, it's about time to start the Christmas celebrations and decorations to be more exact! Hence our monthly update consists of us touching upon table settings and providing you with a step-by-step guide on how to make your own Christmas crackers, along with a fun new dinner party game...

Christmas table settings are essential for a large family meal or dinner party. If you're looking to make an impact, you can't beat a striking colour scheme.

Silvers and golds for the ultimate classy, classic feel. Purples, teals and black will establish a more modern aesthetic. Black and gold accents make for a wonderful pared back and minimal table setting. Whilst a Nordic inspired setting consists of classic red and white colour combinations, with a touch of sparkle and glimmer from place mats and candelabras dressed with gingham, ribbons and berried greenery.

But of course, even the most chic Christmas table is in need of some good old Christmas spirit - just add a clutch of attractive crackers and a fun party game.

Inspired by this notion of Christmas spirit and looking back to our youth, here at QuirkyCool Interiors we have thought up a new table game!

All you need is a chatterbox and a selection of Christmas crackers, make sure you number your crackers to correspond to the numbers on the inside of the chatterbox.

Now you're ready to begin, use your chatterbox as you normally would, by placing your thumbs and forefingers into the diamond recesses and chatter...

Now here's where it get interactive:-

• Ask your fellow party-goer to choose one word or image displayed on the outside of the chatterbox.
• Spell out that word, opening and closing the chatterbox as you say each letter.
• At the end of spelling this word, four numbers will be displayed inside, ask your friend to pick one.
• Starting from 1, count up to the number chosen, opening and closing the chatterbox till you reach the chosen number. Then return to step 3 and repeat once more.
• At the end, four of the numbers will be displayed, ask your partner to choose once more and open up the chosen flap. Also locate the corresponding cracker to the number chosen and pass it to your friend.
• Read out the inscription and see how your partner responds. Keeping with the Christmas theme, we chose to write jokes inside our chatterbox, which will naturally be hilarious by the end of the meal!

Check out our step-by-step below for making your own crackers and chatterbox...

How to make your own Christmas Crackers!

What you'll need:-

• Card board tube (we use toilet roll inners).
• Wrapping paper.
• Glue gun (Pritt stick may not be strong enough or you could always use UHU).
• Cutting mat.
• Stanley knife or scissors.
• Ribbon or string.
• Cracker snaps (we bought ours from HobbyCraft).
• White card.
• Small gifts/novelty items, paper hats and jokes.

Step-By-Step:-

 

1: Using 3 card board tubes, measure the length of paper needed to cover the entire tube.

2: Make sure the center tube is align to the center of the paper. Apply a small drop of glue from the glue gun to the bottom middle edge and roll the center tube back over the glue.

3: Place snap under front (leading) edge, making sure it is central across the length of the paper.

4: Using the the tubes on either side of the centre, roll the paper into the tube, leaving half an inch or so of extra paper. Make sure the paper is rolled evenly (straight) on the tube.

5: Using the glue gun, run a narrow bead of glue along the length of the paper. Roll the tube over the glue, keeping glued seam pressed against the work surface for several seconds. Once the glue has stuck, remove the extra tubes on each side, leaving the central tube in place.

6: Using the white card, cut a strip and roll to fit into the ends of the cracker until even with outer edge. Do not cover snap during this procedure - it must remain free in the end of the cracker.

7: Spread the white card out firmly against the wall of the cracker end and glue in place. Repeat step 7 for the other end of the cracker.

8: With your thumb and forefinger, crimp one end of the cracker between the tube and reinforced end.

9: Securely tie one end of the cracker with 10-12" length of ribbon into the gather of the cracker using a double knot, and clip off the loose ends.

10: Insert gifts/messages into the open end of the cracker and repeat steps 8 and 9 for the open end of the cracker. During this process, make sure the snap in still central inside the cracker.

11: Add a tag to personalise and designate a number for each cracker to correspond with your chatterbox, and it's ready for your dinner party.

How to make a chatterbox!

When making a chatterbox, you should make sure your paper is square for a better finish, you can use any type of paper/card.

For our chatter box, we used a wallpaper sample and it was more robust making it perfect for minimal wear-and-tear. The paper used for our chatterbox was approximately A3, making it easier to decorate and more of a statement.

We chose to decorate the outside of our chatterbox with Christmas characters (Santa, Rudolph, Snowman and an Angel).

We used pencil to avoid any mistakes.

Inside each flap, we wrote Christmas 'Knock, Knock...' jokes to add a little humour for our guests around the table.

Numbers were written inside each flap which will correspond the the numbers on the Christmas crackers. We used gold and silver metallic gel pens to decorate and add a touch of class.

Voila, it's now ready to be added to your dinner table, along with the Christmas crackers!

This idea is very versatile and can be used for any occasion... Let us know how your got on with yours and have a lovely Christmas and New Year!