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‘Tis the time of year for the nutcracker to come alive. Get ready to tell the story  as the kids make this Easy Clothespin Nutcracker. And there is bound to be a production of the Nutcracker Ballet somewhere close by.

Here are some books you might want to share with your children:

Mary Engelbreit’s Nutcracker by Mary Engelbreit

Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann and Maurice Sendak

The Nutcracker by New York City Ballet and Valeria Docampo

Trivia: The first wooden nutcrackers were simply two pieces of wood fastened together by a leather strap or metal hinge. By the 15th and 16th century, wood carvers in France and England were creating beautiful wooden nutcrackers. They used the wood from their locality, but preferred boxwood because of its fine grain and uniform color. Source: Nutcracker Museum – The History of Nutcrackers 

Supplies

• 2 Clothespins
• Paint: red, yellow
• Paper: Blue, tan, white, black and red
• Red and black sharpie markers
• Glue/Tape
• Scissors
• 2 miniature popsicle sticks
• 1 big popsicle stick

Instructions

1. Start by taping two mini popsicle sticks to a blue square piece of paper. Cut out a head and a hat with paper. Paint the two clothespins red as well as the Nutcracker’s arms on the popsicle sticks
2. Take some yellow paint and make the buttons on the Nutcracker’s shirt. Cut out some white hair with paper and glue it to the head. Take a big popsicle stick and glue/tape it from the tip of the hat down to the body so it’s sturdy (if needed).
3. Once the red paint is dry, color the bottom with black sharpie to make the shoes. Clip on the two clothespins for legs and you’re done!

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Sassy Dealz
“Michelle has a teaching degree and for the love of art she started sharing kids crafts on her blog to inspire teachers, parents, and the little ones! SassyDealz.com is not only a craft website, but also a place where you can find online bargains and freebies!”