If you want something a bit different for your Christmas lunch tabletop this year, try the Lakeland Bottle Shaped Christmas Crackers. Each novelty bottle contains a joke, hat and festive wine ...

The stamp on the bottom says 'Erzgebirgische Volkskunst'. These nutcrackers were made in Germany. Families would make these by hand - the father might cut the wood, the children paint them.

In 1860 he added a banger so that when pulled apart the crackers made a loud bang. At first these novelties were called casaques, but this quickly changed to crackers. when other started to copy ...