I tested top Christmas crackers – budget store had best toys & cost less than HALF of posh supermarket rival

NO Christmas dinner is complete without a naff joke from a Christmas cracker, but which ones give you the best bang for your buck?

In a bid to be more sustainable this year, most shops are offering a cheaper, environmentally-friendly option that contain games such as charades on paper instead of plastic surprises.

But if you like winning a trinket instead, they still don’t have to cost a packet.

Julia Etherington tested some of this year’s offerings from supermarkets and budget shops to find out which has the most pulling power.

She marks them out of five.

Tesco luxury 6 crackers

£10 (£1.66 each)

TOTALLY recyclable and they look the part on the dinner table with golden writing and they all have a golden crown.

Prizes include a paper tape measure, bottle opener, mini magic playing cards, tweezers and a metal clip book marker.

As a bonus the joke also includes a riddle, charades suggestion and a word riddle.

Score: 4/5

Marks & Spencer 8 luxury crackers

£20 (£2.50 each)

THE most expensive tested, so I was pleased to find better quality goods inside these pretty silver crackers, as well as a cardboard crown.

There is a full pack of cards, a karabiner (not sure I’d trust it for rock climbing) and the hugely useful mini grater and shopping trolley token.

If you wanted to splash out these are a good option for special guests.

Score: 4/5

Morrisons 8 crackers

£6 (75p each)

CHEAP, but not so cheerful.

Some of the trinkets are on disappointing, especially the bookmark which looked made from a piece of a cut-up cereal packet.

One of the cracker prizes is just two charade suggestions – not a patch on some other brands.

More of a whimper than a bang.

Score: 2/5

Asda George 8 premium crackers

£5 (63p each)

GOOD budget option with an impressive bang and look.

The crown is a bit rubbish but the prizes make up for it, giving the posher crackers a run for their money.

They included a tape measure, cookie cutter, pencils, marbles, nail clippers and the obligatory metal puzzle, (which I’m not sure anybody actually does).

Score: 4/5

Sainsbury’s ‘Home’ 6 crackers

£8 (£1.33 each)

THE bang sounds like brittle plastic snapping, but it contains colourful paper crowns and trinkets include a mini-notebook, three magic playing cards, a bottle opener, a yo-yo and two metal riddle games.

Joke and a charades suggestion are also included, but cracker is on the small side.

Score: 2/5

Iceland 10 crackers

£5 (50p each)

THE cheapest we tested, which is reflected in the prizes –  all of which are paper and cardboard but still a little more imaginative than most.

A Sudoku book, wordsearch, bookmark and paper snowman and Father Christmas to stick your fingers through as their legs are among the gifts.

Jokes were decent too.

Score: 3/5

Waitrose 12 crackers

£16 (£1.33 each)

PULLING this cracker was a real tug-of-war but gave a really good bang.

But the gifts inside were disappointing.

A 45mm tiny sticky notebook, paper tape-measure, three ‘magic cards’, a springy key-ring thingy and golden crown with a joke and a charade suggestion left me feeling a little let down.

Score: 4/5

B&M Bargains 6 Scandi Snow crackers

£8 (£1.33 each)

HIGH-END in appearance with pretty designs and fabric bows, but a budget price.

The game-changer is the prizes inside are really nice.

They include a wooden tree decoration, a full pack of cards and a decent bottle opener.

The jokes are laugh-out-loud funny and include a "did you know?" fact.

These are cracking for Christmas dinner and the best of the bunch.

Score: 5/5