Created in 1847 by confectioner Tom Smith. The cracker was inspired by sugared almond ‘bonbons’ wrapped in a twist of tissue paper containing a love message on a trip to Paris. Mr Smith then went about creating his own version which he then added a ‘pop’ sound to. By 1860 his cracker had evolved into the basic shape of the cracker we know today.
From 1847 to today the world has changed dramatically but the tradition of having a cracker at each place setting on Christmas Day has remained.
As we are now all too aware we need to have a rethink on some of our historic practices which are less than sustainable and produce far too much unnecessary waste.
It is estimated that around 40 million Christmas Crackers end up in the bin on Christmas Day – some will be recycled but many will end up in landfill. Even many of the plastic toys will go straight to the bin and never be used.
For the amount of waste they create, the traditional paper cracker is a costly outlay with a huge carbon footprint and a very short life of usefulness.
This year Kinloch Anderson has created a reusable Christmas Cracker which can not only be filled with personal, meaningful gifts but also doubles up as a napkin. And, at the end of the festivities on Christmas Day it can be machine washed at 30 degrees, rerolled, and put away for next year to be reused again and again. Even better, we have also created washable tartan table runners to match and with over 6 tartans to choose from their should be a colourway to suit everyone’s festive them this year. There is even a Scottish Rugby Tartan set and table runner for the rugby fans to support their team on Christmas Day.
So, whilst it’s firmly part of our festive traditions to start Christmas dinner with a bang, it’s time to either make those crackers step up and be truly celebrated or let’s bid farewell to the whole wasteful tradition.
Time for the next evolution of the tradition…Discover the Kinloch Anderson reusable Christmas Cracker range here
