Time is closing in on the big hour!!!

Hello Nutcracker fans, we just ran across a great site Historic Nutcrackers.com, hand made nutcrackers all the way from Germany, and at a great price. This is so heartwarming to see the craft still going after all these years. Oh and by the way, last night the elves made a greeeeat!!! Batch of gingerbread cookies, each one came out perfect, well at least the one's I didnt make that is lol, So I hope with only 2 more days till Santa makes his flight across the world to all the girls and boys who have been so good this year, that you have your own cookie recipe prepared for Santa. Well just wanted to say hello and hope all of you are checking the site out with all the free goodies for the kids to enjoy. And still not too late to write your letter to Santa either. He's actually still reading them as he does every year right up to the last toy request.

Turn your naughty into nice

Kids,
This year Santa wanted us to bring this tid bit of info to you. First we have discovered after doing a scan of the naughty and nice lists, he discovered that the naughty outshined the nice. Now whether it be bullying, treating your parents with disrespect, your siblings, or a stranger or teacher, he knows that although you may feel he doesn't exist, oh be very careful for he indeed does. To treat someone with disrespect is easy, any common animal can treat something this way. It's the real tough guys and girls who stand up against such treatment of others and speaks out against it. Only those who feel sorry for themselves inside, or who feel that the only way to get attention, act out this way. This is unacceptable behavior in Santa's eyes and in ours. Letters that have poured into our headquarters, report mistreatment, rude behavior on the part of others, depression, sadness, loneliness, unhappiness and most of all anger. Kids we understand that there are times when life throws curves when all we know how to hit are slow balls. We know that there are times when your parenrts don't listen to what you are saying either because they don't have the time, or don't take interest. This is where you have to be the general of the toy soldiers and reach deep without yourself to find courage and strenght. This isn't the times to throw a tantrum, or be a bully to others to hide your own shame or anger. This is the time to use your emotions for good, not for bad. No one ever felt good by being evil to another. Those who say so are giving you false hope in something that doesn't exist. So the next time you feel unaccepted, or mistreated, or even angry, find someone else to listen and let them know how you feel, don't bottle it up inside, there are people who care and who will understand what your feeling inside.

Don't let depression or sadness this year ruin your holiday

Good Morning and Happy Sunday to all of you! Today's post is more of a thought than a happening. This post is aimed at all of your young and old who are feeling the holiday economic woes. You know of whom I speak of. All of us know the feeling you are now feeling, then bitterness, the sadness, the fear. One thing I know is persepctive means everything. When you are feeling down, look around you, at others who are facing the same or worse than yourself. Go to them, speak to them. A wise elf once said that the way to conquor your own sadness is by helping another worse off than yourself. In that moment you realize just how blessed you are. I recieved a call the other day from a young man no more than 30 who had been involved in an fortunate accident, thereby losing all feeling from the neck down. He had up until that point what he thought was everything, great job, nice house, luxery car, nice family. Soon, he lost all of it over the bitterness he allowed to consume him from within. His family tried so hard to reach out to him, but he pushed this away time and again. His job required all of his bodily functions and though disibility insurance helped he soon lost it too. The house, the car, left only with his parents, his old pickup truck and his woes. But you know what happened next? Through the goodness of others and the Lord's will, he discovered something. There were others out there just like himself, some worse. He soon became involved in a volunteer group that his father had told him about, helping out others through lectures, telling his story, just talking to others who were facing the same struggles. Soon his bitterness turned to thankfulness, and his misfortune, a valuable lesson to others. His wife returned, his job now was that of speaker, counselor, mentor. When I spoke to him, the voice on the other line wasn't angry, or sad, or even lonely. It was that of praise for those who had it worse off than he had. It was a voice who praised God daily for the opportunity to help others who otherwise would have been lost. He soon realized that he wasn't the victim in this strange unanswered chain of events that took him down a dark road, but instead he was the guide for others to follow, the light that gave them hope and understanding when there were no answers to be found.
I came away from that conversation a more thankful person. Not thankful, that I was able to use all my hands and arms, but that I had the chance to speak to him, to talk to someone who actually gets what life is truly about. During this Holiday season, most of all, let us not dwell on our own mistfortunes or bad luck, or complain that we don't have enough, for look through the window of someone elses's troubles and uncover ways to make their day a little better. Don't dwell always on those who have more than we..for when you see through the glow of the lights, there well may be a dark corner where they truly set, alone, unhappy, selfish or filled with bitterness. Those are the one's who need cheering up the most.

So find the inner elf within you and find someone who needs a friend, a conversation, a gift from the heart. It may just be the medicine to cure your own Holiday woes..

Mrs Clauses's favorite Christmas Poems

Hi there, Tonight we Nutcracker Elves have been really busy trying to build Santa's prized nutcracker's in time for the trip....however Cindy our elf in training came across some of Mrs Clause's favorite Christimas poems and I'm not certain if any of you are interested in Christmas poems or not, but she wanted to share some of them. Oh by the way, next week, beginning on Thursday we will be starting our video blogging which will highlight myself and other elves videoing out messages daily instead of typing them. So be sure to take down our website address and tune in daily. Ok, Cindy is telling me to stop chatting and add the poems sooo here goes. hope you enjoy them.

IT'S NEARLY CHRISTMASI write this in September
And I can already see my breath
Because the temperature is falling
To fifty degrees or less;
There are frosted mornings
And skies are turning gray;
Next thing, there'll be snowdrifts
Fit for a sleigh.

In stores, they're gearing for Halloween
With pumpkins on display;
After October 31, we'll count the days
To shop til Kris Kringle Day;
Just when I thought the craze was over
And the presents were put away,
Alas! I hear Santa "ho-hoing",
It's nearly Christmas Day.

Christmas is a magical time,
Is there any doubt?
But I'm going to need a psychotherapist
To get my anxeties out!
The sugarplums might be dancing,
But they're messing up my mind;
The silver bells aren't doing much
To help me unwind.

September comes and October goes,
November is just a glance;
Once again, there'll be invitations
To another holiday dance;
I'll decorate the Christmas tree
With icicles, stars, and lights,
But I'll need a ton of eggnog
To get me through this night!

--Joel Bjorling, Gilson, USA Age 58

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THE LAST PRESENT UNDER THE TREE
There is one last present under the Christmas tree,
I wonder whose it is?
Is it for the little girl with the rocking horse,
Or is it for Grandma or Aunt Liz?
It looks so lonely,
Sitting there by itself;
It’d certainly be an awesome addition
On "somebody’s" shelf.

The ribbon is gold,
The paper is paisley red;
"Who does it belong to?"
Keeps rattling in my head;
I decided to snatch a peek,
And see whose name is on the card;
It’d only take a second,
It won’t be very hard.

When no one was looking,
I reached under the tree,
Carefully handling the package,
"Who knows, it may be for me!"
But when I read the card,
I thought it was extraordinarily odd,
Because the message read,
"Love and blessings," God.

--Joel Bjorling

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A Christmas Kiss

Rejoice that we are all together
For a day like this.
Two things keep us happy, warm
A Christmas hug from you my dear
And in return a Christmas Kiss.

Merry Christmas from the heart,
To ones I hope will never part.

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I Wish That I Could Wrap Up Christmas

I wish that I could wrap up all the love and Holiday cheer
That comes along with Christmas and with New Year's every year,
Pack it in a pretty box and put it on my shelf
And pull it down again each year and give it to myself.

I wish that I could tie up all my favorite carols with twine,
Wind around some ribbon, too, and for twelve months call them mine
Until the next Yuletide came when the sounds again could be unfurled
And untie every single one then give them to the world.

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Reason for the Season

When eggnog's generously filling
Each and every Christmas mug
And siblings tour miles and miles
To greet you with a hug
There's scarce else I'll be wishing
Than this simple little prayer
Of peace and calm and blessings much
On Christmas Day this year.

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Bundled Bird

Bundled bird,
It is Christmas time, so sing for us again.
Beautiful bird,
With magical rhyme, bring us smiles again.
Hold us please,
With every word, bundled bird,
Shake the snow,
Spread your wings, sing and let us in.
Bundled bird,
Warm from the storm; share your melody
It is Christmas time,
Sing once more and we will always love thee.

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Again That Time of Year is Here

Again that time of year is here
When wreaths elves lights appear
The hue of Santa's suit and sleigh
Adding color the wintry skies of gray
Until pansies roses tulips grow
Melting all of the Season's snow
But I like holly gifts Advent more
Than all that springtime holds in store
For it's this I'll tell you I so adore:
Again that time of year is here
When wreaths elves lights appear.

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Three Wise Men

Three wise men knowing not who you are
Ride across the desert following only a star.
Three wise men in honor of your birth
Ride across the desert chanting, "Peace on Earth".
Three wise men, wise by God's own hands
Ride across the desert traveling from distant lands.
Listen baby Jesus, sacred gift from Heaven handed down to Earth
Three wise men ride tonight to see your Holy mirth.

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The Winter Heart

Wish but one wish when winter comes,
Dream but one dream of the past.
The light from a fire is in all our homes
But the flames from the hearth won't last.

For faint and few are the embers,
Snuggle up and keep on your gloves;
What the Winter Heart always remembers
Is the warmth of a heart that loves.

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I walk the wicked winter wind

I walk the wicked winter wind
That dances up like nightlife
And almost am turned as snow is
To hibernate
Just one last time within your arms.

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A Christmas Limerick

There once was a boy of Ole,
Who was mean, dirty and often stole.
But one day he was caught
And for Christmas he got naught
But an empty stocking full of coal.

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A Dream of Christmas

I had kindled the hearth to warm my toes and started some Hickory brew
To heat up my insides as well, as another December day was through.
And breathing in that wholesome scent, I closed my worn eyes tight
Resolved that I might dream a bit that cold and snowy night.

In the almost formless shadows, the quiet cabin came alive.
Whispering messengers delivered me gifts as the clock struck Ten-and-Five:
The crackle of the fire, the creaking of the floor,
The childlike wintry whining of the wind beneath the door.

Like an echo ever-coming, sounds bounced from every cob:
From the eaves to the boards to my ivory doorknob.
And then in fright and worry I spun around in place
And there before my ornate mantle crept the shadow of a face.

The shadow bore a beard that stretched almost from sight.
It flickered and it quivered in the muted candlelight.
It seemed to hold immense respect for whom it reflect
And in that moment it was enough just to stay circumspect.

But as my nerves were calming enough to clearly think
The most surprising, brilliant light forced my eyes to blink.
There when I reopened them in beauty that made me gape
Were glistening elven sprites about and Santa donned in velvet cape.

Lo! It was the grandest thing to watch that cheerful pack
Race to lace the finest ruby ribbons round my tree and back.
From Santa's sleeves red ringing bells shot out like from a gun
Followed by green garlands and globes that filled the room as he spun.

Betwixt this glorious tumult open flew my shutter doors,
A gusty wind freezing cold the candles to their cores.
Gone was all illumination, in black the chamber stood.
I heard but recapitulation of the horn owl in the wood.

Then again the hearth flames livened allowing me to see -
No Christmas bells rang anywhere; no ribbons wrapped my tree.
My visit from Santa Claus had been but reverie.
So with a smile I lay me down to again with Santa be.




The Wreath is on the Door

The wreath is on the door
And the snow is on the tree
God has laid His holy hands
On all that we can see.

Be quick to raise your voice
And praise what He has brought.
Keep now His love in every choice
And Christmas in every thought.




A Winter Limerick

There once was a man made of snow,
Who grew happy and bigger whene'er the wind would blow.
But some kids playing a trick
Gave him a candle and a wick
And soon he was only H2O.

Changes to the blog from Nutcracker Headquarters

Good Afternoon, it's now 4:07 here at the Nutcracker headquarters at the North Pole and cold as can be. We have added some new additions to our blog and hope you have fun using them. Our chief engineer elf Umar has added the Christmas radio for all of you to enjoy 24 hrs a day. Now we understand you may have favorite stations you like to listen to and so we have given you the option to chose the station you want to listen to and a few of our own favorites including the North Pole station which plays our holiday favorites. We do also understand that for some who are using the dial up internet connection the play may be a bit trivial and slower until it is completely downloaded. Please be patient or if it gets to be more troublesome than worth it, please just turn off the station by clicking the stop button on the player and it will stop. If others are having troubles unknown, please feel free to post a comment below on this post and we will address it with Umar.
Also above the Christmas radio, is something fun for all ages, we have installed our own coloring book where kids of all ages can paint and color various pages from Santa's personal collection, from Rudolph to Christmas trees. Then print them off and add them to your own collection or fridge. Good night and sleep tight, when you look up at the stars tonight , we will be thinking of you and your holiday wishes.  

Let's stop for a cocoa break!!!!

We wanted to share our secret Hot Cocoa recipe with you, prepared specially for Santa by our Nutcracker Elves themselves. They wanted to let each of you share in the love and delicious joy of preparing it yourselves and enjoy throughout the holiday season.

1. Take 1/2 cup of Hershey's Cocoa and place in a bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of cinnamin, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Now place in large sauce pan and place on the stove top on medium heat. Now add in 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and 1 cup of sugar and 6 1/2 cups of hot water. Now stir slowly until all mixture is smooth and mingled together. Now as the heat slowly begans to boil, add in  1  can (14 oz.) Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed milk (not evaporated milk) or 4 cups of  regular 2 percent milk your preference here.  Then stir until all mixture is smooth and creamy and add marshmellows if you like. Now pour into cups and serve. Mmmmm! Makes a wonderful wintery night cozy indeed. We here at the Nutcracker headquarters know for sure that Sant's own elves like ours here, take cocoa breaks and this is their mixture.

How to build your very own wooden nutcracker doll!

1 Gather the pieces of wood required for the nutcracker. Decide on the nutcracker's use once it is done. Will it be used as a decorative piece or will it actually be used to crack nuts? If just used decoratively, you do not need to be choosy about the type of wood used. If a fully functional Nutcracker is desired, a very hard wood should be used, especially for the mouthpiece because it needs to go through a lot of wear. The size really does not matter but the measurements are given for the nutcracker as an example.

2

Gather the wood for the body. Three blocks are needed for the head (green), chest (black) and waist (blue). Each of these pieces of wood need to be the same width and shape but with different heights. Each should be about 6 inches across and cylindrical in shape with a rounded edge around the top and bottom edges. The head should be approximately 6 inches high. The waist should be approximately 4 inches high. The chest needs a little bit more work because it needs to be cut into pieces for the mouth pivot joint. The chest should be approximately 3 inches high. Cut the chest piece into three segments of 2 inches wide each. Set aside the middle segment for future steps and keep the two outer segments for the body.

3

Gather the wood for the legs (purple), feet (gray) and base (orange). The wood for the legs needs to be cylindrical in shape and approximately 7 inches high or as tall as the chest and waist pieces from Step 2. The legs need to be wider on top (2-1/2 inch diameter) and taper slightly at the bottom (1 inch diameter), like chair legs. The feet need to be slightly wider than the tapered bottom of the legs, so approximately 1.5 inches in diameter and about 1 inch high. Cut a half circle about 1 inch in diameter out of the wood for the feet, as shown in the diagram below. This is so that the feet may fit over the bottom of the legs when the feet are in a horizontal position. The base needs to be the largest piece of wood and sturdy to support the whole nutcracker. Based on the 6-inch-diameter body, the base board can be approximately 8 to 10 inches square and about 1 inch thick.

4

Gather the wood for the arms (red) and hands (yellow). The arms need to be cylindrical in shape, approximately 7 inches in length and 1 inch in diameter with rounded edges at the top and bottom. The hands need to be about 1 inch long and 3/4 inch wide with one edge completely rounded and the other end flat.

5

Create the pivot joint (turquoise). This is the joint that allows the mouth to be opened and closed and it requires the most work. The pivot joint attaches to the chest pieces from Step 2, one on either side. The pivot joint should be one solid piece of wood so that it is very strong, as this will take a lot of wear. Use the middle section that was cut out in Step 2 to judge the size of the wood that needs to sit between the chest pieces. It should be slightly thinner than the middle piece that was removed. For the example nutcracker, the middle piece should be approximately 1.75 inches wide, 2.75 inches high and 5.5 inches deep. Also, be sure to round the lower edge of the front to give the pivot space to turn. The tail of the pivot piece needs to be at least 7 to 8 inches long and taper to a nearly sharp edge, as seen in the diagram below. Drill a hole in the middle of the upper part of the pivot piece as wide as the thin wood stick (approximately 0.25 inch wide and 2.75 inches long). The stick needs to allow a 0.5-inch of length protrusion on either side of the pivot piece. Put some glue into the hole of the pivot piece to attach the stick securely and allow it to dry completely. Drill a 0.25-inch-wide, 0.5-inch-deep hole into the inner side of each of the chest pieces. Fit the pieces together to see if the pivot joint works. Glue a few inches of frizzy gray felt to the front and slightly under the pivot joint for the beard of the nutcracker.

6

Assemble the nutcracker as seen in the diagram below. Each of the pieces has been color-coded as described in each of the previous steps, so the diagram shows how all the pieces will go together when done. Begin putting it together with the head (green), chest (black), mouth/pivot joint (turquoise) and waist (blue). Lay the waist piece on a flat surface and glue one of the chest pieces to one end of the waist and allow it to dry. Fit the wooden stick of the pivot joint (already pushed through the pivot piece) into the drilled hole of the chest piece. Attach the second chest piece to the waist piece, so that the drilled hole also allows the other end of the wooden stick to fit through it. Attach the headpiece on top of the two outer chest pieces, but be careful not to get any glue on the mouth/pivot joint because this piece needs to move freely. Allow the glue to dry completely, which will lock the pivot joint firmly into place. Attach the legs (purple) and feet (gray) to the baseboard (orange) and allow it to dry completely. Attach the body to the legs and base and allow it to dry completely. Glue the hands to the arms. Finally, attach the arms to the chest and waist piece. Use a nail in the shoulders to firmly attach the arms to the body.

7

Decorate the nutcracker with paint and frizzy gray hair. The colors are up to you but one possible color scheme is shown in the diagram below. Feel free to add or change colors as desired. Make sure that a mouth and teeth are painted on the pivot piece and the head, which creates a mouth that opens and closes with the pivot. The frizzy gray hair can be attached to either side of the head after the paint has dried. A small triangular wood piece may be attached to the face with glue or just painted on.