The best Christmas crackers of 2026

Written by: Rose Lloyd10 November 2026

The best Christmas crackers for 2026 snap every time, look right on a busy table, and keep your cost per cover down. We've picked our favourites from the Catering24 range for pubs, restaurants, hotels, and caterers.

Every pick is available at trade prices. Orders over £25 ex VAT get free delivery in our delivery area, and you can order by 4pm, Monday to Friday, for next day delivery.

The best Christmas crackers of 2026 at a glance

Our best all-rounder is the 12-inch Festive Forest mixed box, and the 9-inch Splendid Star is the cheapest per cover. The table runs from lowest to highest cost per cracker.

Cracker	Length (inches)	Crackers per box	Box price (ex VAT)	Per cracker (ex VAT)	Best for
Splendid Star Red/Green Mixed Box	9	100	£24.99	£0.25	Lowest cost per cover
Traditional Red & Green	10	100	£35.95	£0.36	Classic red and green tables
Christmas Joy Mixed Box	11	100	£37.40	£0.37	Gold and white schemes
Gold Snowflake Foil Board	11	100	£39.75	£0.40	Foil shine on a budget
Festive Forest Mixed Box	12	50	£27.50	£0.55	Best all-rounder
Festive Village Teenage Cancer Trust	12	50	£38.80	£0.78	Giving back
Purple Silver Diamond	14	25	£53.33	£2.13	Premium menus and private dining

Prices were checked on 10 November 2026 and can change, so check the product page before you order.

Our picks for 2026

Best all-rounder: Festive Forest Mixed Box

The 12-inch Festive Forest box suits most venues because it looks generous without the 14-inch price. Each box mixes a forest design in white, gold, and silver, so it works with most table schemes. Inside: a paper hat, a snap, a joke, and festive puzzles.

Boxes of 50 suit smaller dining rooms or a single sitting. The board is 100% recycled kraft.

Shop Festive Forest Mixed Box

Lowest cost per cover: Splendid Star Red/Green Mixed Box

If you're filling a function room, the 9-inch Splendid Star has the lowest cost per cracker of our picks. Each box of 100 mixes red and green crackers with a bold star design, made from 100% recycled board. Inside: a paper hat, a snap, a joke, and puzzles.

Buy 10 boxes and you save a further five per cent.

Shop Splendid Star Mixed Box

Classic red and green: Traditional Red & Green

For a pub or carvery table, the 10-inch Traditional crackers do the job in classic red and green. They're made from 100% recycled board and cartons, with no plastic gifts and natural raffia ties. Inside: a paper hat, a snap, a joke, and puzzles.

Shop Traditional Red & Green

Gold and white schemes: Christmas Joy Mixed Box

The 11-inch Christmas Joy box mixes gold and white designs, so it suits white tablecloths and gold napkins. It's made from 100% recycled board and comes 100 to a box. Inside: a paper hat, a snap, a joke, and puzzles.

Shop Christmas Joy Mixed Box

Giving back: Festive Village Teenage Cancer Trust

Five per cent of sales from these 12-inch Festive Village crackers goes to the Teenage Cancer Trust. They're made from 100% recycled board and cartons, with no plastic gifts and natural raffia ties. Each box of 50 mixes kraft and white designs.

Inside each cracker: a paper hat, a snap, a joke, a Christmas quiz, and snowflake tree hangers.

Shop Festive Village

Foil shine on a budget: Gold Snowflake Foil Board

The 11-inch Gold Snowflake crackers give you high-shine gold foil and a snowflake design at a mid-range price. Inside: a paper hat, a snap, a joke, and puzzles.

The foil board isn't recycled, but the outer cartons are 100% recycled and the gifts contain no plastic.

Shop Gold Snowflake Foil Board

Premium menus and private dining: Purple Silver Diamond

At 14 inches, the Purple Silver Diamond is the largest size in our range, and it comes 25 to a box. It's the one to choose for private dining or a premium set menu.

Order early. When we checked, the Silver Diamond and Opulent Red & Gold 14-inch designs had already sold out.

Shop luxury crackers

Snap-free and child-friendly: Children's Mixed Christmas Crackers

For family tables and children's parties, these 8-inch crackers have no snap, so there's no bang when they're pulled. Each box of 100 mixes snowman, Santa, elf, and nutcracker designs, and every cracker holds a paper party hat and festive stickers.

They're plastic-free, with 100% recycled outer cartons and natural raffia ties.

Shop Children's Mixed Christmas Crackers

How to choose and order

Match the length to your place setting, order one cracker per cover, and book premium lines early.

• Size to the setting. Our crackers run from 7 to 14 inches. Shorter crackers sit neatly across a side plate, while 12- and 14-inch crackers make more of a statement.
• Count covers, not tables. Order one cracker per cover plus a few spares. Festive products, including crackers, can't be returned, so check your bookings first.
• Book premium lines first. The 14-inch designs can sell out early, so order those before your everyday crackers.
• Children's tables. Our 7-inch Snowman, Reindeer, and Santa crackers have no snap. Each holds festive stickers, a paper hat, and a joke.
• Greener tables. Our cracker range is plastic-free, and five of the seven picks above use 100% recycled board.

A short history of the Christmas cracker

London confectioner Tom Smith is credited with inventing the cracker in 1847. He borrowed the idea from French bonbons, sugared almonds wrapped in twisted paper, and added love mottoes to lift sales (Historic England).

The bang came later. After about two years of experiments, his first crackers went on sale at Christmas 1860 as Bangs of Expectation (Norfolk Record Office). His son Walter added paper hats, and over time the mottoes gave way to the jokes we groan at today (Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine).

The Tom Smith brand still supplies crackers to the Royal Household, and you'll find its full range in our Christmas 2026 brochures.