Nutcracker Class of 2025

Presenting the Nutcracker Class of 2025!  I know it's 2026, but this is from this past Christmas, and our complete collection here on display, including our two new additions that I'll share a little later on.  These are all on the bookshelves during Christmas, but I took them down today, and we packed them up in about five big boxes, part of the de-Santafication Process.  Anyway, here are some pictures below of our friends, each one with a different and unique story or memory.

For example, this Rat King came from our visit to the Nutcracker Ballet at the Fox Theater.

And this Nutcracker was on our set during the "Very Merry Tribes Christmas" series at KidPak.

The Three Wise Men are more recent additions.

This M&M's guy has been with us a while!

Maddie painted the Nutcracker at the bottom at a party.  Clara and Drosselmeyer also came from a visit to see "The Nutcracker" ballet.

Ah!  Here's a new entry.  We just got this one in Dahlonega last month!

And here's the Buc-ee's one we got for Maddie to kick off the month of December!

Of course, it's not the largest collection in the world or anything.  And in fact, we have so many that it's difficult to squeeze them on top of the shelves.  I said, "No more nutcrackers this year," and of course now we have two more.  We'll probably add one more next year, and I know exactly where I'm going to pick it up.  Mainly because I apparently have no self-control when it comes to nutcrackers.  In my defense, Mom wanted the ones this year, so that wasn't me!

Anyway, today was a quiet day.  I was doing a bit of office work, and Nate came over later on.  He and Maddie spent some time working on that Star Wars puzzle, still not quite done yet but almost there!  We had tacos, although I had a fast-friendly Factor meal.  I've been doing just vegetables and no desserts for a good bit here, and feeling better.  Speaking of which, my jaw is still feeling better.  Still slightly sore from the dental work, but getting better!

Nate and Maddie finished the television series that Nate hadn't seen before:  "The Skeleton Crew."  We watched it a second time, and this time knowing how things went we were enjoying it still.  Good ol' Star Wars fun!  And speaking of which, Nate and Maddie had a great time playing some old-school "Battlefront II" tonight before it was time for Nate to go home.  

It was a quiet day.  Getting colder too.  The temperatures are about to get a bit more wintery.  We've got church tomorrow, so we got to bed earlier.  We read some from our recent book - we'll be finished with this mystery tomorrow, I think.  And then we said our prayers.  Time for some sleep!