Last Christmas IFQ had such fun exchanging Christmas Crackers with each other that we are offering this festive event again this year! Tina Girard, of UK-Threads of Time FQ, has agreed to host our Christmas Cracker event again this year.
What IS a Christmas Cracker?
Christmas crackers traditionally decorate the Christmas Dinner table. They are gaily wrapped favors with fun surprises inside. Each guest at the table has one at their place setting. They pick up their cracker, grab one end and cross their arms, offering the other end to their neighbor while grabbing the end of their other neighbor's cracker. All together they pull on the ends, which sounds a big SNAP and reveals the treats inside. Normally these are a small token, a VERY bad joke or riddle, your fortune and a funny paper crown that everyone puts on (making for great Christmas pictures!).
You will create your own Christmas Cracker by taking a paper kitchen towel roll tube and cutting it to about 7" long. Then fill the inside with fun items from your sewing room. Maybe a fat quarter, or that great set of fun buttons you found or silk ribbon or whatever you think your IFQ friend would enjoy finding in their cracker. THEN embellish a piece of cloth 8 x 13 inches in whatever way you want to use to wrap up your Christmas Cracker, tying the ends with ribbon. Don't forget to include a Christmas greeting for your IFQ friend!
Tina will assign partners to whom you will send your crackers. Before receiving your partner information, you must post a picture of your Cracker which will NOT be revealed until Christmas!
Across the world, IFQ friends will celebrate Christmas together as they open up their special gifts.
What can you put in your Crackers?
Your name, IFQ Chapter and your location
A fun fortune
A silly riddle
A fat quarter
Fun embellishments - buttons, ribbons, threads, beads
Fun notions - thimble, needles, etc.
Most importantly, a note to your IFQ swap buddy telling them how you will be spending Christmas day!
Your IFQ Christmas Cracker will arrive before Christmas, but you must be good - look, but do not open until Christmas! And, what a wonderful holiday decoration it will make! If you sign up more than once you'll have lots to decorate your house with!
Below you can see examples of three Crackers that Tina has sent. Click on the images to see a larger view.
The outside of the Cracker
The inside of the Cracker
September 11 - Sign ups open. You must be a registered IFQ member and logged in to sign up. If you would like to exchange more than one IFQ Christmas Cracker, you may sign up more than once. One cracker per sign up!
After signing up for this event you will be sent a confirmation email. Be sure your email and spam filters will accept mail from cracker@friendshipquilters.com.
October 8 - Sign ups end.
October 30 - Pictures must be posted in the IFQ Christmas Cracker Gallery to receive mailing addresses of partners. You must post a picture of BOTH the contents and the finished Cracker before this deadline to be eligible for partner assignment. Due to the way our system is set up, there can be no exceptions to this deadline. Pictures of incomplete Crackers will be deleted from the gallery and will not be eligible for partner assignment. This will be a hidden gallery, which means no one will be able to see the pictures until Christmas Day 2006. On that day everyone will open their crackers, and the pictures will be revealed!
November 13 - Crackers MUST be posted (mailed) by this date AT THE VERY LATEST. Overseas mail must be sent via AIR MAIL.
December 25 - IFQ Christmas Cracker picture gallery opens!
