The Best Christmas Crackers and Bon Bons in Australia

Christmas crackers are the one thing on an Australian table that everybody handles and almost nobody researches. You grab a box in the trolley in December, you cross arms on the day, and half the time you get a crown that tears, a joke nobody laughs at and a plastic fish in the bin by Boxing Day. For a first Christmas in a new home, where the table is doing a lot of emotional work, that is a small but real letdown.

Crackers reward a bit of homework, because the difference between a $19 box and a $46 box is visible before anyone pulls anything. Pack count, length, whether a snap is included, what is inside, and whether you fill them yourself move the experience far more than the print on the outside. This guide works through eight crackers and bon bon kits on Amazon Australia, with the per cracker maths written out.

What are the best Christmas crackers in Australia right now?

The Toyland Pack of 6 Luxury Bright Rainbow Christmas Crackers is the pick for a table you want to look good: at 34 cm each they are the longest here and the gifts inside are real objects rather than folded paper. For a full family table, the Toyland Pack of 12 Tartan Santa Design Christmas Crackers drops to about $2.37 a cracker and keeps a proper snap. To fill them yourself, the CRACKERS For BONBONS flatpack box of 8 is the cheapest entry point and the only pick whose listing states an Australian country of origin.

Ratings are tight. Four picks sit on 4.7 out of 5 in a genuine tie: the Toyland 6 pack, the CCINEE 12 pack and both CRACKERS For BONBONS boxes. The most reviewed by a wide margin is the PopManko 30 pack kit, with 183 ratings. The cheapest pick is the CRACKERS For BONBONS flatpack at $18.95, the priciest the CCINEE 12 pack at $45.61.

How do the eight picks compare at a glance?

The trade off that matters is cost per cracker against whether you get a snap and whether the box arrives ready to use. Prices move through the season, so treat these as a band and check the live listing before committing to a big table.

How did NestPath choose these Christmas crackers?

NestPath is an aggregator, not a lab. Nobody here pulls a hundred crackers and grades the bang. We pull listing data straight from Amazon Australia, cross check it against what Australian buyers write in the reviews and what the Australian shopping press recommends in the same season, and publish where those sources agree.

Every pick had to be a genuine cracker or bon bon kit rather than a candy box or treat bag, as many results here do. Every pick had to be listed as available on Amazon Australia with a live star rating, at least three ratings behind it, and a sane Australian dollar price for its pack size. That last screen removed listings priced at two or three times the going rate for the same imported carton.

We dropped anything that contradicted itself on the snap, since several boxes use cracker imagery but say no snap in the fine print. Where a pick has no snap, it is in the heading rather than buried. Finally, we recomputed cost per cracker for every pick, because a 60 piece kit at $36.00 and a 6 pack at $34.99 are completely different products even though the shelf price looks similar.

Which Christmas crackers suit a proper adult table setting?

The Toyland Pack of 6 Luxury Bright Rainbow Christmas Crackers is the pick when the table is the point. At $34.99 for six it is the highest cost per cracker on this page at about $5.83 each, and it earns that by being physically bigger than everything else here.

Each cracker measures approximately 34 cm, the longest here, and that length makes a row of them read as a deliberate setting rather than something grabbed at the supermarket. Inside each is a novelty paper hat, a motto, and a gift the listing describes as a real item rather than a token, naming a screwdriver set and a charm bracelet. That is what buyers point at in the ratings, which sit at 4.7 out of 5 across 56 ratings, tied for the highest rating on this page with the CCINEE 12 pack and both CRACKERS For BONBONS boxes.

The rainbow colourway is bright rather than traditional, which suits an Australian December better than a snow scene. Six covers a small table: for six to eight guests this is your box, and for twelve you are buying two boxes or pairing it with something cheaper for the kids end. Toyland lists the audience as adults and children.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Six is a small pack for a house that hosts, and the per cracker cost is the highest here by a clear margin. The gifts are an assortment, so you cannot control who gets the bracelet and who gets the screwdriver set. The listing also carries a material field reading glass, a data artefact for a paper cracker.

Which crackers give you the best value for a full family table?

The Toyland Pack of 12 Tartan Santa Design Christmas Crackers is the sensible default for a proper Australian Christmas lunch, the kind where the table gets extended and a card table added on the end. Twelve at $28.49 works out at about $2.37 each, the lowest per cracker cost of any ready made cracker here, without dropping the snap.

Each cracker measures approximately 12 inches, or around 30 cm, and contains a novelty gift, a paper hat, a motto and a snap. The designs arrive as an assortment of tartan Santa prints rather than twelve identical tubes, which stops the table looking like a catering job. It carries 4.3 out of 5 across 82 ratings, the second largest review base here after the PopManko kit.

The tartan print is the most traditionally British look here, which cuts both ways. If your family Christmas leans nostalgic this is right; if you want a lighter, summery table the rainbow Toyland box sits better. Either way twelve covers most extended family lunches without a second purchase.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

At 4.3 out of 5 this is the lowest rated pick here, and the pattern is what you would expect at the price: the shells and snaps do their job, the trinkets are lightweight. If contents are the point, spend up to the Toyland 6 pack or fill your own. Containing a snap, these also cannot be posted overseas.

Which Christmas crackers are best when you want to fill them yourself?

The CRACKERS For BONBONS flatpack box of 8 is the cheapest pick here at $18.95, about $2.37 a cracker, and the one to buy if the trinket inside a shop bought cracker has always been the disappointing part. It arrives with everything except the gift: outer shells, snaps, paper hats, jokes and end ties for eight.

Two things make it the standout among fill your own options. It includes real snaps, which almost none of the bulk kits do, so you get the bang rather than a quiet pull. And the listing states a country of origin of Australia, the brand being a small Melbourne operation, which is rare in a category of imported cartons. It sits at 4.7 out of 5 across 6 ratings, tied for the highest rating here, though six ratings reads as encouraging rather than settled.

Assembly is genuinely a job. Australian reviewers call it easy and worth doing, but it is a kitchen table evening rather than a Christmas morning task. The upside is control: chocolates, hair ties, seed packets or a small tool, sequenced so the gift matches the person. For a first Christmas in a new home that is a cheap way to make the day specific to your household.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The jokes supplied with this design are written for adults, so read them before seating children there, or swap in your own strips. Eight is a modest pack and the assembly time is real. The review base of 6 is the second smallest here.

Which crackers are safest for a table with small kids?

The CCINEE 12 pack of no snap Christmas crackers is the pick for a table with toddlers, a nervous dog, or a relative who dislikes the bang. At $45.61 for twelve it is the priciest pick here and about $3.80 a cracker, a real premium for what is functionally a paper pull toy, but it removes the one thing about crackers that upsets small children.

The listing is unusually specific about contents. Each pack holds a random card, a Christmas tree, a reindeer, a Santa, four snowmen, two small figures, a stocking and a wreath toy, plus four colour paper hats and assorted jokes. The crackers are 100 per cent paper with no snap inside, the age range starts at 3 years, and the shipped box measures 27.5 by 18.5 by 14 cm. It holds 4.7 out of 5 across 36 ratings, part of the four way tie for highest rated here.

The mechanic still works. Two people cross arms, pull, the cracker tears unevenly, and one ends up holding the middle with the prize. Kids old enough to want the ritual and too young to enjoy the noise get it without the flinch. It is also the pick that travels, because with no snap nothing stops you posting it overseas.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

You are paying the highest pack price here for crackers that do not go bang, which some will find backwards. The gifts are small plastic figures rather than keepsakes, and the 3 years and up rating rules out a table with a crawling baby underneath.

Which no snap crackers work best for a mixed kids and adults table?

The Darnassus 12 pack of no snap Christmas table favours is the middle option when you want quiet crackers but the CCINEE price makes you wince. At $40.80 for twelve it is about $3.40 a cracker, and it carries 4.6 out of 5 across 72 ratings, the third largest review base here.

The pack is six styles with two of each, so a table of twelve gets variety rather than a dozen identical tubes, and each cracker holds a paper hat, a small gift and a joke, randomised. Darnassus lists the materials as paper and plastic, the age range from 3 years, and the shipped box at 25.4 by 17.8 by 12.7 cm. One useful detail sits in the listing: the crowns are a fixed size, and if one is too big for a child the brand recommends cutting the band down and taping it.

Against the CCINEE pack it comes down to what you weight. CCINEE names exactly which twelve toys you get and is rated slightly higher; Darnassus is about $5 cheaper for the same count and has twice the ratings behind it. Neither has a snap, so both are kid safe and both post anywhere. If you want a tiebreaker, buy on the design you prefer.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Paper and plastic construction means the gifts are festive trinkets rather than anything that outlives the week. The crown sizing issue is flagged by the brand itself, so plan for scissors. And as with every no snap pick, if the bang is the point this will feel like a compromise.

Which make your own kit is best for a big Christmas Eve craft session?

The PopManko 30 pack make your own Christmas crackers kit is the most reviewed product here by a wide margin, with 183 ratings behind its 4.5 out of 5. At $28.46 for thirty it lands at about $0.95 a cracker, the point where filling your own stops being a craft project and starts being the cheap option.

What arrives is 30 flat packed cracker boxes across five designs, six of each, plus 60 ribbons, 30 riddle cards and 30 paper hats. The shells and riddle cards are 300 GSM card, the hats are 30 GSM tissue, and each cracker measures 29 by 9 cm unfolded. The boxes come pre creased, so you fold along the guides and tie both ends with ribbon. There is no snap in the kit.

The arithmetic is why the assembly time is worth it for a big table. Thirty ready made crackers with contents you actually want would cost well north of $100 at the per cracker rates elsewhere here. Instead you spend under $30 on shells and put the rest into what goes inside, which for a Christmas Eve session can be chocolates, a folded photo or a note per person.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

No snap, so this is a pull and tear rather than a bang. The boxes arrive flat, meaning thirty separate assembly jobs, and leaving that to Christmas Eve has you folding at midnight. The ends do not close fully, so very small items work loose unless wrapped in tissue first.

Which crackers make sense for a work party or extended family lunch?

The Spakon 60 pack of large no snap Christmas crackers is the bulk answer. At $36.00 for sixty it works out at about $0.60 a cracker, by a distance the lowest cost per cracker here, and it exists for a long table, a staff lunch, a school event, or two households merged every second year.

You get 60 unfolded shells across four Christmas character patterns, fifteen of each, plus two rolls of ribbon totalling around 22 m. Each assembled cracker measures about 25 by 8 by 8 cm, short but unusually wide, and that width is the practical advantage: the cavity takes an adult sized item rather than only a trinket. It carries 4.6 out of 5 across 28 ratings, and Australian reviewers agree on two points, that print quality beats expectations and that you should pre bend the sides before assembling.

Be clear about what is not in the box. No snaps, no hats and no jokes, only shells and ribbon. That is why it is so cheap, and it means the real cost is sixty fillings plus sixty crowns if you want them, which is where a bulk pack of cracker hats is worth buying separately. For a work party where the crackers are decoration and the contents are a chocolate each, that maths still beats anything ready made.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Shells only, so budget separately for snaps, hats and jokes if you want the full ritual. Sixty assemblies is a real time cost and a two person job, the 28 rating base is among the smallest here, and the ends do not close completely, so wrap small contents.

Which ready made crackers look most like a department store bon bon?

The CRACKERS For BONBONS Gold Toy Soldier handmade box of 8 is the pick when you want the look of a Myer or David Jones display bon bon without the department store trip. At $44.00 for eight it is about $5.50 a cracker, second only to the Toyland 6 pack, and the only handmade pick here.

Each bon bon measures 32.5 cm, or 13 inches, putting it just behind the Toyland 6 pack as the second longest cracker here. They are finished in shimmering gold with red silk ribbon ties and a repeating motif of toy soldiers, candy canes and rocking horses. The brand is the same Melbourne operation behind the flatpack above, and this box arrives assembled and filled rather than as a project. It sits at 4.7 out of 5, part of the four way tie for the highest rating here, but across only 4 ratings, the smallest review base on this page.

The Australian reviews are consistent: people buying them for a grandchildren's table or a formal Christmas morning and calling them stunning. Against the Toyland rainbow box this is more traditional; against the flatpack you are paying roughly $25 more for the same brand's shells with the assembly and contents already done. The listing carries an explicit choking hazard warning and lists the audience as adults and teens.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Four ratings is a very thin evidence base, and a 4.7 across four people is not the signal a 4.7 across fifty six is. Eight crackers at $44.00 covers a small table only, the choking hazard warning rules out young children, and handmade construction means slight variation between crackers.

What should you look for in Christmas crackers?

Work through five things in order. Our hamper and wrapping paper guides cover the table.

• Pack count against your actual table. Count the seats, then add two. Six packs suit small tables, twelve covers most Australian family lunches, and thirty or sixty only make sense if you are filling them yourself. Two six packs to cover twelve is almost always the most expensive route to the same table.
• Snap or no snap. The biggest fork in the category. A traditional snap is two card strips coated with a friction sensitive compound, and it produces the bang. No snap crackers pull and tear the same way but stay quiet, which suits small children, anxious pets and anyone who dislikes noise. It also has a shipping consequence.
• Length and width. Longer crackers look better laid across a place setting and hold more, and the picks here run from about 25 cm to 34 cm. Width matters just as much on fill your own kits, because a wide cavity takes a real gift and a narrow one takes a chocolate.
• What is actually inside. Most listings say hat, joke and gift and stop. The better ones name the contents item by item, as CCINEE does. If a listing will not say, assume a small plastic novelty, and if that is not good enough buy a fill your own kit rather than paying up for a mystery.
• Assembly time. Flat packed kits arrive as creased card. Thirty is an evening, sixty is an evening with help. Fair trade for the price, but only if you start the week before Christmas.

How do you store and look after Christmas crackers?

Crackers are cardboard, tissue and glued card strips, so the enemies are heat, humidity and weight. In an Australian summer that is routine, so last year's perfect box comes out limp.

Store them flat and unsquashed in a rigid container rather than a soft bag, and keep them out of a garage or shed where temperature swings hardest. A wardrobe shelf or labelled tub inside beats a roof cavity. If you used half a flat packed kit, keep the remaining shells flat rather than folded, because pre folded card holds a crease and tears along it the next year.

Keep snaps dry. The friction compound is affected by damp, and crackers stored through a humid Queensland or Northern Territory summer are the likeliest to give a dull pull. A silica sachet in the tub costs nothing. If a snap does fail, the cracker still tears and the contents still come out.

For assembled crackers, avoid anything perishable more than a few days ahead. Chocolate in an Australian December is a bad idea unless they go into a fridge or air conditioned room; hard lollies, small toys and folded notes keep fine. Afterwards most of a pulled cracker is recyclable paper and card, but the snap strip, foil finishes and plastic trinkets are not.

What else do you need for the Christmas table?

Fill your own kits are cheap because they leave things out. These extras turn shells into a proper cracker.

• VEYLIN Christmas cracker hats, 100 paper crowns fixes any shells only kit like the Spakon 60 pack, with spares for crowns that tear.
• Fainne 100 piece tissue paper crown pack is the alternative bulk crown option, and replaces hats that did not survive storage.
• Pyhot 100 piece Christmas treat bags wrap small contents before they go in, which stops loose items falling out of shells that do not fully close.
• DARENYI 50 red striped treat boxes with ribbon suit the same table as the tartan and gold picks, and hold what did not fit inside a cracker.
• TUPARKA Christmas table confetti dresses a plain table once the crackers are laid out.

What else did NestPath consider?

Most did not survive the screen. Searching Christmas crackers on Amazon Australia returns a mass of adjacent product: candy boxes, treat bags, cookie boxes, nutcracker ornaments, savoury crackers and books with Christmas Crackers in the title. None of those are bon bons.

The luxury end of the Australian market largely sits off Amazon. The shopping press points at Mestige, Jo Malone London and L'Occitane sets through The Iconic and Adore Beauty, and at specialists like Robin Reed, Tom Smith, Celebration Crackers and Festive Luxe. If your budget runs to $60 or more for a box of six with a fragrance or jewellery item inside, they are worth a look. They are not Amazon Australia listings, so they sit outside this page.

Several Amazon options came off for specific reasons. A 6 pack luxury bon bon set with holly berry styling sits at 2.1 out of 5, and a 12 pack of foldable springless crackers sits at 1 out of 5. Other handmade boxes from the same Melbourne brand as our two picks carry one or two ratings each, below the threshold here. Various 50 piece DIY carton kits are functionally identical to the Spakon and PopManko picks with fewer ratings and higher prices.

Kmart, Target, Woolworths, Coles, Myer and David Jones all run cracker ranges each November and December, worth a look if you are already in store. What they are not is comparable across a season, because ranges change annually and stock disappears. This page sticks to listings with a persistent identifier and a review history you can check.

Christmas cracker questions Australians actually ask

Are Christmas crackers and bon bons the same thing?

Yes. In Australia the terms are interchangeable, and bon bons is the more common word in most households while Christmas crackers is what the packaging usually says. Australian search volume is actually higher for bon bons. The product is identical: a cardboard tube in a twisted wrapper, pulled between two people, containing a paper crown, a joke or motto, and a small gift. Search both terms when buying online, because listings split roughly evenly between the two labels.

Can you post or fly with Christmas crackers in Australia?

Crackers with traditional snaps are restricted, because the snap holds a small quantity of a friction sensitive compound classified as a Class 1 explosive under international dangerous goods rules. Australia Post treats snapping crackers as dangerous goods, so they cannot be sent internationally, and airlines apply their own limits. No snap crackers and flat packed kits supplied without snaps are ordinary paper products and travel freely. Posting crackers overseas means choosing a no snap pick, and it is worth checking current rules with the carrier before you pack.

How many Christmas crackers do you need for a table?

One per person plus two spares is the working rule. The spares cover a cracker that tears badly on the first pull and the guest who arrives unannounced, which at an Australian Christmas is close to a certainty. For a table of eight, buy twelve rather than two six packs: the twelve pack is usually cheaper per cracker and leaves four in the cupboard rather than four in the bin. Above twenty guests, the maths tips decisively to a bulk fill your own kit at under a dollar a cracker.

Are no snap Christmas crackers worth it?

They are if anyone at your table is under about four, if you have a dog that reacts to noise, or if you need to post or fly with them. The pull, the tear and the surprise all still work, and the two ready made no snap picks here sit at 4.6 or higher across a combined 108 ratings, so buyers are not treating them as a downgrade. If the bang is what your family associates with Christmas, a quiet cracker will feel like a miss.

What should you put inside a DIY Christmas cracker?

Small, flat, non perishable and specific to the person. Hair ties, seed packets, scratch tickets, keyrings, folded photos, small tools, lip balm and hard lollies all survive an Australian December. Avoid chocolate unless the crackers go into a cool room, avoid liquids, and avoid sharp edges that tear the shell. Wrap tiny items in tissue, because most fill your own shells do not close fully at the ends.

What else should you sort before Christmas Day?

Crackers are the last five per cent of a table. These cover the rest of it.

• Best Christmas decorations in Australia covers the wreaths, table pieces and ornaments the crackers sit among.
• Best Christmas lights in Australia is the indoor and outdoor companion, including what survives a summer on a verandah.
• Best Christmas trees in Australia walks through artificial tree sizes for apartments up to tall living rooms.
• Best advent calendars in Australia is the December countdown, and the thing to buy in November.
• Best Secret Santa gifts in Australia solves the office exchange and doubles as a cracker filling shortlist.

About the author

Anish Puri founded NestPath in 2026 after going through the Australian first-home-buyer process himself. NestPath focuses on Australian first-home buyers because the existing review sites are American, generic, or both. Anish handles editorial selection across the homeowner hub. Reach out: hello@nestpath.com.au