Christmas crackers—also known as bon-bons in some regions of Australia—are part of Christmas celebrations primarily in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. A cracker consists of a segmented cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper with a prize in the middle,^[1] making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper. The cracker is pulled apart by two people, each holding an outer chamber, causing the cracker to split unevenly and leaving one person holding the central chamber and prize.^[1] The split is accompanied by a mild bang or snapping sound produced by the effect of friction on a shock-sensitive, chemically impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a cap gun).^[1] One chemical used for the friction strip is silver fulminate.^[2] The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lists English Christmas Crackers as an item prohibited from being brought onto an aircraft^[3]. 

Assembled crackers are typically sold in boxes of three to twelve. These typically have different designs usually with red, green, and gold colours. Making crackers from scratch using tissue paper and the tubes from toilet rolls is a common activity for children.