FLIMSY paper crowns and eye-rollingly bad jokes may be a time-honoured festive tradition, but if you want to induce gasps of delight rather than groans around the dinner table, you need to up your cracker game.
And when it comes to banging decorations, no-one does it better than beauty brands, with more and more luxurious, treat-filled crackers on the shelves every year.
Add to that the gorgeous array of baubles to truss-up your tree, and you're looking at your most beautiful Yuletide yet...
CRACKING CRACKERS
Offering the best bang for your buck are the boxes of crackers filled with beauty minis. Baylis & Harding Midnight Fig & Pomegranate Christmas Crackers, reduced from £10 to £5 for pack of four (www.houseoffraser.co.uk), contain either a body wash or lotion in that fruity infusion, while Sanctuary Surprises Crackers, £10 for four, conceal the same products, but slightly larger, and in a variety of scents (www.sanctuary.com). The biggest bargain, however, comes with Superdrug's make-up-filled Flutter Crackers, reduced from £6 to £4.50 for five (www.superdrug.com).
Moving upmarket, you'll find a handbag-ready hand cream inside each MOR My One And Only Lychee Flower Little Luxuries Hand Cream Cracker, reduced from £8 to £6 each (FeelUnique.com), and Decleor's Hand Cream Cracker Skincare Gift Set, £10.80 each (www.johnlewis.com), while the Margaret Dabbs Fabulous Cracker, £12, contains a nourishing cuticle serum (www.margaretdabbs.co.uk).
OK, so putting one at the top of each place setting is likely a logistical (and financial) stretch, but if you want to treat a special someone, it doesn't get much better than the gigantic Jo Malone Ultimate Christmas Cracker, £205, which encases four full-size favourites from the luxury brand (www.jomalone.co.uk).
BEAUTIFUL BAUBLES
Small enough to hang on the higher boughs, Burt's Classics Pomegranate Gift Set, £6.99 (www.burtsbees.co.uk), and Mandara's Spa Shimmer Lip Balm Bauble, £4 (www.sainsburys.co.uk), are fashioned in festive red and come with lip-smackingly scented treats inside.
If you're hosting the big family do this year, make your hands and your home presentable with the No7 Star Bauble, £6 (www.boots.com), which contains a Stay Perfect nail polish, or a Heathcote & Ivory Rainforest Hand Treats Bauble, £5 (www.heathcote-ivory.com).
For all-over pampering, pair the fizz on your festive table with a Champagne-inspired Molton Brown Vintage 2015 With Elderflower Festive Bauble, £11, which is filled with sparkling body wash, and then follow it up with a Ted Baker Mini Treasure Bauble, available in Pink or Mint, £4, which conceals a little pot of body souffle (www.boots.com).
And when the entertaining is finally at an end, you can crack open the jumbo Melvita Christmas Treats Bauble, reduced to £11 from £15 (www.melvita.com), to reveal a trio of fragrant fancies, and the Scentered Stress Less Balm Bauble, £14.50 - just roll on the chamomile infused scent and relax (www.scentered.me).
TRIED AND TESTED
Katie Wright tests a pocket-size pair of portable straighteners.
"I can frequently be found at the end of a long day, desperately trying to freshen up my hair with dry shampoo before I dash off to a work event or dinner, wishing I had my straighteners to hand - so the idea of a wireless pair is hugely appealing.
"I plug in the Carmen Rechargeable straighteners after lunch and by 5pm, they're fully charged and ready to go. I choose the highest setting and wait for a minute until they're hot before letting loose on my slightly frizzy locks (thanks, midday drizzle). While they aren't as powerful as my full-size versions, the dinky device totally gets the job done, and the size is perfect for my short hair.
"Now stowed in my desk drawer, they've come in handy a bunch of times already, for me and the girls in the office - a total hair life-saver."
:: Carmen Samantha Cordless Rechargeable Hair Straighteners, £119.99 (www.carmen-products.co.uk)
BUY IT NOW
Devotees of Elizabeth Arden's iconic Eight Hour Cream rejoice - because there's a new addition to the family. Eight Hour All-Over Miracle Oil, £29, is another multi-masking marvel, perfect for combating the effects of winter on your face, body or hair (www.elizabetharden.co.uk).
BEAUTY BULLETIN
:: CHRISTMAS TRIMMINGS
Getting a new 'do, or switching up your lippy, is common for ladies ahead of the festive party season, but did you know that men are also most likely to revamp their look at this time of year? That's according to research from Braun, which found that Christmas Eve is the optimum time for a facial hair restyle (67 per cent). Blokes in Northern Ireland are most likely to opt for a Yuletide spruce-up (90 per cent), with those in the North West of England coming second (74 per cent).
:: HEAD TWO
How long does it take you to get ready for a Christmas party? Geographically speaking, there's an East/West divide, as a new survey from British Gas reveals that Liverpudlians and Mancunians take the longest (67 and 63 minutes respectively), while Sheffield and Newcastle bring up the rear, taking 47 and 52 minutes on average.
:: STEAL OF THE WEEK
If you've yet to get your mitts on a cleansing brush because the price puts you off, here's a cheaper way to try the latest facial fad: on December 17, Lidl has introduced the Silvercrest Sonic Facial Cleansing Brush for just £19.99. Featuring four intensity settings, the speedy gadget promises squeaky-clean skin in just one minute (only available in store).
