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28 December 2011

Christmas Cracker Novelty

Crackers. There are good ones and not so good ones. Pay your money and you get a good one. In the more expensive ones the jokes are funnier, the paper hats are slightly better, and the novelties are worth having. At Moor Hall they buy the best, one of the reasons why the Christmas lunch is more expensive. They provide the festive hats separately so it's a toss-up whether to wear the the paper version that comes with the cracker or one of the ultra shiny witches hat or a colourful fez.

But I digress... back to the crackers. Most years I get things like a miniature packet of screwdrivers, a set of dice, or an up-market key ring, I've even had magnets, writing pads, and a working compass. This year though, the novelty was a mystery. Totally. We asked around but nobody knew what it was, nor had they seen anything like it before.

This is it. Can you guess what it is?

You will notice that there is a black cap at one end. This led us to believe that it was removable. That's great, except that we couldn't remove it. It twirled like a cap would but neither hubs nor I could pull it off. In between mouthfuls of dinner I tried to fathom it out. Inside the transparent tube were little things like this, although I didn't know that until later.

Ah, I thought, when I was back home and trying again, pins for pin boards.
They fitted neatly together inside the tube but I couldn't think what else to do with them.
There followed an in-depth examination which had my mind reeling.

I went to bed and left hubs still pondering.
Next morning I found the result of his ponders.
Scroll down to see the finished product.
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V
So much for my pins for pin boards idea. Yes, it's a pencil. Well, several pencils really, all clipped together to make a whole. When one wears out, replace it with another one. Simple!
Now tell me honestly, have you come across one of these before?

11 comments:

  1. Being a very pencil orientated person, I did know exactly what this was. :) ♥

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  2. Yes I knew what it was because the grandchildren have had felt tips in that guise. :)

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  3. for once I too actually knew what it was. At least it was a half useful gift for a change.......

    Gill in Canada

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  4. nice...actually we have those all over the place over here...when we wear them down we used them as space ships in school...smiles....

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  5. Well, after reading your comments I realise that me and mine are way behind modern practices. We must be getting old if we're so way behind new ideas :O) And there was me thinking we were totally 'with it' . Oh well, back to the iPad...lol.

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  6. No, I've never come across something like this before, but I had a feeling when I saw your first photo that it was some sort of pencil or felt-tipped pen.

    VERY cool, Valerie!

    Have a FAB day, dear lady!

    And enjoy that pencil!

    X

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  7. Valerie - I have made our christmas crackers and they are so easy - the gifts can be so personalised and appropriate.
    Happy New Year xxxx

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  8. What an interesting idea! I was perplexed too Valerie :) Now you have me thinking about a colorful fez...

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  9. Finally, the mystery solved! Heh...

    I wish crackers played a more prominent roll over here in the States. I've seen them before, but it's been years since I've held one. The prizes were never that great, but there were always a sight better than what you got in a box of Cracker Jacks!

    Hope you have a Happy New Year, Val!

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  10. Herman,is right, the ones my SIL gets are not very upscale, hats are dorky but we wouldn't miss it for the world.

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