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Party Ideas Made Easy is your one-stop for fresh party ideas and fun party crackers. We sell decorative party crackers for any special occasion - from Christmas crackers to crackers for a cocktail party! Party crackers are a fun way to spice up your next event. Instead of handing out the typical party favors and buying the same-old centerpiece, take a cue from Great Britain and use innovative party crackers.
In addition to selling high-quality, affordable and unique party crackers, we also offer you great party theme ideas for your next function. How many times can you go to the same children's birthday party, boring dinner party or typical work event? Browse our party theme ideas, and make your next soiree stand out in the crowd. Our creative and fun party theme ideas will take away the stress from planning an unforgettable and exciting party!
In 1847, almost by accident, Tom Smith invented the cracker. It was a simple idea which became an integral part of British celebration and tradition which still continues today, 150 years on. In its simple form, a cracker is a small cardboard tube covered in a brightly coloured twist of paper.
When the cracker is 'pulled' by two people, each holding one end of the twisted paper, the friction creates a small explosive 'pop' produced by a narrow strip of chemically impregnated paper. The cardboard tube tumbles a bright paper hat, a small gift, a balloon and a motto or joke.
At the turn of the century, Tom Smith produced crackers not only for the Christmas season but also to celebrate every major occasion from The Paris Exhibition in 1900 to War Heroes in 1918 and The World Tour in 1926 of Prince Edward, The Prince of Wales.
Contents were tailored to each box; grotesque or artistic masks, puzzles, conundrums, tiny treasures, jewels, games and mottos. Most of the beautifully illustrated boxes, crackers and hats - from fezzes to sheiks' head dresses - were made by hand. The fully illustrated catalogues which date back to 1877 provide an exceptional visual history of British social and political evolvement over an entire century.
Early History of Tom Smith
In early 1830, Tom Smith started work as a small boy in a bakers and ornamental confectioners shop in London, selling sweets such as fondants, pralines and gum pastilles. He worked hard and took particular interest in the wedding cake ornaments and decorations, experimenting and creating new, more exciting and less crude designs in his spare time. Before long he was successful enough to leave and start up his own business in Goswell Road, Clerkenwell, East London.
He was adventurous and forward thinking, often travelling abroad to search for new ideas. It was on a trip to Paris in 1840 that he first discovered the 'bon bon', a sugared almond wrapped in a twist of tissue paper. It was a simple idea which, over the next 7 years, would eventually evolve into the Cracker. He decided to bring the 'bon bon' to London and during Christmas that year they sold extremely well, but in January demand virtually ceased and once again he was reliant on sales of cake and table decorations and ornaments. Anxious to develop the 'bon bon' idea further and stimulate sales, Tom decided to place a small love motto in the tissue paper and he encouraged his regular customers to takes supplies, many did, and within a short while, orders were sufficiently high and sales profitable enough for him to increase his staff.
By now, Tom knew that he had an unique and potentially very commercial idea. He decided to take a risk and concentrate on developing it further, while still running the wedding cake ornament and confectionery business which was by now very well established. At this time, the majority of 'bon bons' were still sold at Christmas and he began to think up ways to capitalise on this short but very profitable season and make his 'bon bons' even more appealing. It was the crackle of a log as he threw it on his fire that gave him the flash of inspiration which eventually led to the crackers we know today.