Nutcracker Classic Christmas Tablescape

Hello, readers! Are you making preparations for the holidays? Today I have a Nutcracker Classic Christmas Tablescape to share with you as part of a springboard of ideas for you to consider for dressing your holiday table. This tablescape (previously not shown) completes my Cottage Christmas Home Tour which I shared last week.

After your visit here, I encourage you to feast your eyes on an entire showcase of Christmas holiday tablescape ideas with a blog hop I'm hosting. You will find all the participating table stylists further in this post, with direct links to each. You won't want to miss a single one!

While I was planning my tablescape around the Classic Nutcracker theme, I wanted to pay tribute to my family's dance participation in classic (traditional) Nutcracker productions of the past. Our city ballet began staging the full-length Nutcracker in 1997, which was the year I retired from the Charleston Ballet, but my girls grew up with the experience. 

I decided to use the dining room as "my theater" to display my nutcrackers in vignettes to coordinate with my tablescape "stage" for my Nutcracker Classic Tablescape. The fireplace is flanked by my tallest nutcrackers.

The bookcase shelves to the right of the fireplace are also decorated with numerous nutcrackers.

Of particular note are the two wooden ones on the lower shelf. They came as part of a set, and the other four are used on the table as place card holders. The musical egg ornament was a souvenir from Williamsburg. It opens to a rotating adult party scene of Act I of the Nutcracker, with Tchaikovsky's music that is actually the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Act II.

In 2003, the Charleston Ballet's Nutcracker was a family affair (newspaper photo below). My oldest daughter was the Sugar Plum Fairy, and my younger daughter was the Spanish Dancer, both in Act II. Mr. P. and I were in the party scene of Act I. My girls have danced various roles in the Nutcracker from childhood through adulthood. The oldest daughter was Clara in 2004, although the role of Sugar Plum Fairy is arguably more difficult as a dancer, technically speaking. 

My table was set with intentions of portraying images of both acts of the Nutcracker as best as I could.

A closer look of the centerpiece reveals scenes from both Acts I and II of the Nutcracker.

On the left side, there is Drosselmeyer, the Mouse King, and the Prince Nutcrackers from Act I's famous battle scene in Clara's dream. Central to the photo is the larger-than-life Christmas tree which grows during Clara's dream.

To the right of the tree is the Snow Queen and the Prince Nutcracker, as depicted in Act II in the grand pas de deux. Notably, one is not likely to find a Nutcracker Prince ornament or statue without the classic character headpiece, although he does not wear it once transformed into the real life prince in the ballet.

Y'all, being the gliterphobe that I am, I just could NOT bring myself to open the bag of snow I purchased and fully intended to use on this table! Instead, I used a string of snowflake lights and dried florals. ❅

Each place setting was outfitted with a small wooden nutcracker as place card. 

A hand-painted and decoupaged oyster shell token gift ornament sits to the the left of the place setting. These were purchased from a recent Hope Village bazaar by a local church, with all proceeds going to the organization out of North Carolina called Fields of Hope USA. It is an organization whose mission is to empower girls and young women who have been rescued from sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.

There are even Nutcrackers on the half table behind the dining table.

These are hand-painted pointe shoes by a Charleston Ballet dancer, created as a fundraiser for the company.

Our dining room also features our Christmas tree, and the room is open to the family room and kitchen just beyond.

In the opposite direction, the fireplace keeps the dining area cozy and warm.

Please enjoy all of the holiday themed tables from the talented stylists below. The links below will take you directly to each of their tables.

Debbee's Buzz - Unique Holiday Peacock Theme Tablescape

Home Is Where the Boat Is - 'Tis The Season for Plaid & Peppermint

Panoply (you are here!) - Nutcracker Classic Christmas Tablescape

Everyday Living - Old TIme Christmas

My Thrift Store Addiction - Enchanted Forest Christmas Tablescape

Thrifting Wonderland - A Hunt Breakfast Christmas Tablescape

Hyacinths for the Soul - Christmas Joy

From My Carolina Home - Vintage Christmas Tablescape

The Painted Apron - December Birthday Celebration

The Little Yellow Corner Store - A Candy Land Breakfast

Life and Linda - Plaid Tidings with Santa

Pandora's Box - Where the Treetops Glisten

Celebrate and Decorate - A Christmas Tablescape Wrapped Up for the  Holiday

Me and My Captain - Snow Was Falling Gently on the Streets

Corner of Plaid and Paisley - Dreaming of a Christmas White and Sweet

Dinner at Eight - Cozy, Bright and Classic - A Holiday Table

Red Cottage Chronicles - Cranberry and Gold Christmas Tablescape

The Bookish Dilettante - Christmas Sweets

As always, I provide a list of my sources for elements used in my tablescapes. This list is a memory jogger for me for future tablescaping, but is also intended to provide you with helpful outlets when doing your own. I have no affiliation with any of the sources.

Source List for Nutcracker Classic Christmas Tablescape

White Tablecloth - HomeGoods

Placemats as Runner, Napkins - April Cornell

Flatware (Fortessa Luca) - Horchow

Green Stemware - Dollar Tree

Clear Glassware - Vintage Mr. P.

Plaid Chargers - Williams Sonoma

Majolica Dinner Plates - Vintage

Nutcracker Salad Plates, Drosselmeyer, Mouse King and Wooden (smaller, natural) Nutcrackers - Hobby Lobby

Napkin Rings, Nutcracker (ornament on table centerpiece) - MacKenzie-Childs

Nutcracker Oyster Ornaments - Hope Village 

Green Glass Centerpiece Tree - Blenko

Snowflake Lights, Dried florals on centerpiece - Michael's

Nutcracker Prince and Ballerina Ornament on table centerpiece - collected over past years

 

If you have never been to a Nutcracker production, I strongly encourage you to see a live performance or try to catch one on YouTube, such as this Nutcracker by George Balanchine for NYC Ballet. 

I so appreciate you taking time to visit today. I hope you've been inspired. I'd love for you to leave a comment, letting me know you visited. And if your comment shows as anonymous, please leave your [first] name so I may be able to identify you and reply. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

 Rita C. at Panoply

A special thank you to Bev at Eclectic Red Barn TFT for featuring this post!

Parties I Share With: Pieced Pastimes, Love Your Creativity, BNOTP, All About Home Common round, All About Home Follow the Yellow Brick Home, A Stroll Thru Life, My Wee Abode, My Family Thyme, French Ethereal SYS, Happiness is Homemade, Traffic Jam Weekend, Eclectic Red Barn TFT, Southern Sunflowers Home Matters, Grace at Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, Our Hopeful Home, Karin's Kottage, County Road 407 Farmhouse Friday