From The Nutcracker(s) to Cookie Cutters

Something in our house which has always been used for literally "cracking nuts" and they come in all different sorts, shapes and sizes.  My favourite one is a carved wooden bowl with a raised middle on which to place your nut and a small hammer to bash it with.  A reproduction bought from the company Past Times when it was operating but still a lovely piece.  Probably not the most efficient but certainly one of the most charming. The photo below is similar to the one I have although mine has extensive carving of a Celtic braid on it.

However most people will be familiar with the "old Chestnut" excuse the pun.  These are the more recognised versions.  Now a question everyone are you buying Nuts this Christmas. Do you have Nutcrackers if not perhaps now would be a good time to buy some. Or alternatively, if you do have some can you lay your hands on them?

Most people are familiar with the ballet classic "The Nutcracker" and with the beautiful suite of music written by Tchaikovsky.

Pas de deux

and

Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy

Are just a couple of the well known pieces from this suite.  But for me the real essence of this ballet is a "Christmas" one.  I would love to see a ballet in the flesh as it were.   I have never been to the ballet but when I am on my own and it is on the TV I am glued to the screen watching this most lovely of ballets.  I also had ballet lessons as a child which I loved, but I am afraid I was not a natural.  I think what also attracted me was the flight of imagination from a simple Nutcracker to an ornate "bewitched" storyline.

Indeed this year the Christmas toys for John Lewis are a "Teddy Bear" Nutcracker soft toy soldier and the Sugar Plum Fairy!  Both are delightful but expensive although I am sure highly collectible.

I collect Nutcracker Dolls "Christmas decorations".  These are the sort of ornament I am talking about

The majority of mine though have mechanical musical boxes on the base.  Each of them has a different tune.  You probably will not be surprised but I love music boxes and have picked up several over the years.  However I also have a couple of automaton ones as well where the arms move and beat a drum.  Something like this

I even have miniature ones for the Christmas tree.

Yesterday whilst in town I nipped into Lakeland for a nosey round and I spotted their "Nutcracker" cookie cutter.  It is lovely and I have my eye on this - it is about £10 for the larger size but there is an intermediate size which they did not have in the shop yesterday.  This is the large size

Lakeland in our local store and on one of their magazines also have a cake decorated with these cut outs which looks quite impressive.

However today I indulged in these:

The Ballerina cookie cutter

I also bought a Stag's head cookie cutter as well.  These are also to go into an extensive collection of different cutters as I quite fancied making some shaped cookies for a change this Christmas.  But more on that in another post.

So do you have your Nutcrackers at the ready and your Cookie cutters to hand all sorted and ready for action over the Christmas period?

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

x

P.S.  I nearly forgot if you do buy in nuts for Christmas and there are plenty left in the coming year.  Even though they may not be at their best you can still use them to create decorations for next Christmas with the aid of a glue gun, and some Styroform balls or shapes.  The base can be spray painted in your chosen colour and then the nuts glued onto the shape.  They cost an arm and a leg to buy.  You can also with the aid of inners out of kitchen rolls spray paint the tubes again in your chosen colour and then glue a mixture of nuts on.  Once all dried and securely in play spray varnish them and then let them dry.  Then string them on a long cord/string.  They need to be interspaced with a small covered or decorated ball to make the tubes hang correctly but it is another decoration for next to nothing.

PP