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Last Updated: Friday, 19 December, 2003, 16:56 GMT
How to select a cracker of a joke
Family at Christmas
Cracker jokes have to be suitable for all age groups
It might seem like a fun job, but to the people who select jokes for Christmas crackers it's a deadly serious business.

They take great pains not to offend anyone, as no-one wants grandma keeling over at the festive dinner table.

At Tesco, cracker buyer Sundeep Walia keeps a watchful eye over the joke writing process.

Choosing which to include, she says, is no laughing matter either, and has led to the introduction of a "jest test".

She explains: "We get together a bunch of IT technicians, accountants, some legal beagles - staff with the sort of jobs that require a rather serious minded approach.

"We read the cracker jokes out to them and if they make a titter, the joke is in. Simple."

Among her favourite rib-ticklers this year is the following gag:

Q: What is white and fluffy and swings through the cake shop?

A: A merangue-o-tang.

And for those who still need winning over she added a second:

Q: Which bird sucks seeds?

A: A budgie with no teeth.

But can you do better? Send us your funniest cracker jokes and we will publish the top 10 in Christmas week.


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SEE ALSO:
Christmas cracker insults backfire
14 Dec 03  |  England


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