Christmas Crackers
Christmas-Crackers were very popular at festivities back then. There were different varieties, filled and unfilled. The filled ones often contained joke articals such as paper caps, costumes or dolls. The unfilled ones, on the other hand, consisted of an empty shell that you could fill yourself, and there were, of course, also those popping candies that simply popped when you pulled on both ends at the same time.
For larger festivities, the manufacturers offered so-called cracker stands with 6, 12, 15 or more crackers.
According to an advertisement of the Dresden company Carl Wenzel from 1906, the Crackers were "used at cotillions, engagement parties, weddings, christenings etc., at dinners and soups or other social entertainments, but especially recommended for decorating the christmas tree.".[i]
From the catalogue of the Berlin company Max Retemeyer (around 1906).
The pieces used by the Retemeyer company were 'converted' Dresden ornaments. However, there were also other variants.
[i] Dresdner Cotillonfabrik Carl Wenzel & Co.: Illustriertes Preisbuch über Cotillon-, Carneval-, u. Illuminations-Artikel etc. Ausgabe 1906/07, p. 85. (Unterstreichung im Original.)