How "Kids Love Nutcrackers" got started...

It isn’t just little boys or big boys or little girls or big girls, but all kids love nutcrackers!!!  Sometimes the tiny children are at first frightened with the stern look of the wooden toy soldiers, but soon they too become entranced with the toothy figures!

Children are fascinated with the many characters that are portrayed as nutcrackers.  Story book characters such as Mother Goose and Pinnochio or those from movies of the “Wizard of Oz” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” draw the children to them.  And of course the little ones know Mickey Mouse, Big Bird and Bugs Bunny. 

The Star Wars characters are favorites with the older boys, and surprisingly, with the older girls too! As they grow even older, the Presidents, the Indian Chiefs and the American Folk Heroes capture their attention.  And of course the characters from the Nutcracker Ballet are favorites with children of all ages. 

I’ve watched them as they have toured the museum and answered their questions.  I’ve talked with teachers who wanted material for the classroom, and mothers who wanted to start their children on a collection. 

There is so much to learn about nutcrackers, not only about the familiar wooden toy soldier nutcracker but the many different tools men have devised to open the shell of the nut.   So that is why I began this website, so children could learn more about the fascinating world of nutcrackers.  

Arlene Wagner, the Nutcracker Lady