As my last Christmas post, I present a Nutcracker birthday party. This was a boyish Nutcracker party I did for my brother's 17th birthday in mid-November. I wanted it to have an adult-style simple elegance. I used wood, pine and dark reds inspired by the toy soldiers, Christmas tree, toys, candy and other themes in the story. We set up a hot cocoa bar, and served cookies and cake among other foods. I decorated a Walmart cake with some red icing from the store by looking at silhouettes online. The wreath was just an embroidery hoop with a Leland Cypress branch tied on. I gathered more branches from the yard and painted some gold for the centerpiece. The clocks were painted thrift-store plates. The trumpets, banner/soldier-like trim (? I don't know what to call it), and candles were also thrift-store finds. The nutcrackers came from Dollar Tree. For other favors, I made some rather useless thing-a-bobs made of hot glue painted with nail polish, I guess to craft with. I placed Christmas pencils with mini notebooks that were around a quarter each, which I painted black and white with Nutcracker silhouettes. It was a lot of fun!
This theme is easy to do, so if your searching for a theme next winter, you could try your own twist on the Nutcracker. Please visit again soon for gift ideas and crafts!
-Lauryn
