What date was the first Christmas cracker made?
The first crackers were made by Tom Smith of London. Smith was a
sweet maker who used to sell sugar almonds wrapped in twists of
coloured paper - these were inspired by the "bon-bons" he had seen
in Paris. To increase sales in his store, he began to include
little mottoes inside, rather like a fortune cookie. The small
explosive charge was added at an even later date to bolster sagging
sales, this accompanied the disappearance of the candy and its
replacement with a small gift.