No festive table is complete without Christmas crackers – they add a touch of colour to your pre-dinner display, give your little ones an extra toy to play with and, best of all, they get Christmas dinner going with a bang. Thankfully nowadays, Christmas crackers no longer have to be filled with flimsy single-use plastic toys, paper jokes, or something that will be put away in a drawer to never be found again...

Instead, there are a huge variety of kids’ Christmas crackers on offer to make your festive table that bit more exciting and fun. You can get crackers with toy races, family quiz games, and even magic sets.

Below, you'll find our picks of the best kids' Christmas crackers with toys and games, plus a few more unusual choices. Also, if you're going down the make-your-own route, the best Christmas cracker fillers.

If you’re looking for more festive inspiration, we’ve also chosen our pick of the must-have Christmas toys and best kids advent calendars.

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Best kids’ Christmas crackers at a glance

Best Christmas crackers for kids to buy in 2024

We've got two types of Christmas crackers below: Christmas crackers with toys and games and the more unusual Christmas crackers that are sure to get your family involved. Plus, if you fancy making your own, a few Christmas cracker fillers.

Best Christmas crackers with toys

Lakeland Racing Gonk Christmas Crackers, £24.99 for 6

Available at: Lakeland

6 Lakeland Racing Gonk Christmas Crackers With Reusable Cracker Game

Want to add a competitive element to your Christmas Day set-up? Why not try these fun Gonk crackers? You can get out the racing mat and compete with your family to see whose little Christmas Gonk will make it to the finish line first.

If Gonks aren't your thing, you can also get it in truck form.

Minecraft Christmas Crackers, £11.49 for 6

Available at: Amazon

Minecraft crackers
Amazon

Minecraft fans will jump for joy at these crackers, containing a piece of merchandise from the game such as keyrings, stickers, crayons and more.

Who Am I Family Game Christmas Crackers, £13.99 for 6

Available at: Amazon

Elf crackers
Amazon

It's a fan favourite on Christmas Day: Who Am I? The game where you place name plaques on your head and ask questions in order to guess who you've got. Except now, it's in cracker form! With cardboard Christmas glasses to hold your plaques – and give you a good photo opportunity.

KreativeKraft Christmas Crackers, £15.99 for 6

Available at: Amazon

Kindercraft crackers
Amazon

If you want to keep your children fully occupied while you're washing up, these KreativeKraft crackers are sure to keep them entertained. Each cracker comes with a LEGO-esque pieces which you can use to build a small Christmas mini-figure.

Guess That Tune Game Christmas Crackers, £15.95 for 6

Available at: Amazon

kuckoo crackers Guess That Tune Game Christmas Crackers

With these crackers, the whole family can take part in guessing the range of pop and Christmas classics being played with the colourful Kazoo's. You can split into teams and the team with the most correct guesses wins!

Giant Barbie Christmas Cracker, £11.99 for 1

Available at: Amazon

Barbie cracker
Amazon

What's better than Christmas crackers? A giant Christmas cracker! If you've bought the normal sophisticated crackers for the adults of the group, then why not get your child their own special cracker, containing a whole pack of Barbie-themed toys, including colouring, crafting, and puzzles.

Best unusual Christmas crackers

Make Your Own Christmas Crackers DIY Kit, £8.79 for 6

Available at: Amazon

Make your own Sant crackers

Why not get the kids involved in making the crackers this year? Instead of going out and buying Christmas crackers, extend the fun by making them yourself. This is a fun festive activity to entertain your kids in the lead-up to Christmas. This kit contains 6 make your own crackers, ribbon ties, hats, forfeits, and snaps.

Disney Christmas Crackers Set, from £11.99 for 6

Available at: Amazon

Christmas crackers
Amazon

While no one likes getting socks in their stocking, you may find that after unwrapping so many toys and noisy gifts, a nice pair of Disney socks goes a long way. Plus, it's perfect for all the little Elsa and Anna fans around the table.

Taskmaster Christmas Crackers, £25 for 6

Available at: Amazon

Taskmaster christmas crackers
Amazon

Even if you haven't seen the popular Channel 4 series Taskmaster, you'll enjoy this cracker set and all the hilarious games inside. As with the show, each cracker contains a secret task to perform during or after dinner. For each task you'll get to take turns playing the Taskmaster and dish out points to the rest of your family. The person with the most points at the end gets the illustrious Taskmaster trophy.

Unicorn Glitter Small Crackers, £30 for 6

Available at: Meri Meri

Unicorn glitter small crackers

These sparkling unicorn crackers are sweet and stylish and will add a pop of glitter to your festive table and, with their yarn manes and tails, they really look the part. The cute enamel hair clip gifts featuring unicorns, stars, hearts and rainbows are good-quality and make a great keepsake post-Christmas.

Best Christmas cracker fillers for kids

We all know how rubbish some Christmas cracker fillers can be, so if you're opting to make your own, here's a few suggestions for toys that actually won't end up in the bin on Christmas night.

Squish-a-longs by Squishmallows, £12.99 for 8

Available at: Amazon

Squish a longs
Amazon

These teeny Squishmallows are just 1-inch tall. Inside each pack there are 8 little characters, including a mystery Squish, and a few accessories to place on their tiny heads.

Hot Wheels Toy Cars, £25.99 for 20

Available at: Amazon

Hot wheels
Amazon

Hot Wheels always go down a treat, so they'd make a great extra toy for your child's post-dinner play. In this pack there are 20 Hot Wheels, so you could always keep some back for birthday party bags or next year.

VEYLIN Christmas Wind Up Toys, £9.99 for 8

Available at: Amazon

christmas toys
Amazon

These are a classic of Christmas crackers now. Little wind-up Christmas characters that you can set on the floor and race.

Christmas Fidget Toy Push Poppers, £3.79 for 4

Available at: Amazon

Christmas fidget toys
Amazon

Fidget toys are on the up, as they're great for keeping your child's hands busy and even better if they have sensory difficulties. Plus, these Push Poppers are Christmas themed.

Box Buddies Boxibos Robots, £5.69 for 12

Available at: Amazon

paper robot toys
Amazon

This pack has 12 colourful robot paper toy characters which you can build from scratch! They're easy and fun to build and come out to just 5cm tall.

What to consider when buying Christmas crackers for kids?

Sustainability – There are now a huge number of eco-friendly crackers on the market. You can buy crackers that use less, or even zero, plastic and have recyclable packaging. Or, you can always get a kit to make your own crackers.

Small parts – When buying Christmas crackers for your children, check whether they are age suitable, for example, some Christmas crackers contain very small parts which could be a choking hazard under the age of 3.

Colour and appearance – There are many colours and designs to choose from when it comes to buying your family Christmas crackers. Consider which crackers would look best on your festive table.

What’s inside – Christmas crackers now come with lots of different things inside. You can buy crackers with more traditional toys, fun games, musical crackers and much more.

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Authors

Picture of Chloe Brightwell
Chloe BrightwellDigital Reviews Writer and Coordinator

Chloe is a Digital Reviews Writer and Coordinator for Immediate Media's Parenting team, specialising in household and trying to help parents save money. She researches and writes articles, recommending the best products, ranging from best cordless vacuums to best playpens. She has a First-Class Honours Psychology degree where she developed a strong interest in child development. During her teenage years she worked as a play worker and Brownie volunteer to support children's play.

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