Jaimie Admans’ brand new is out now!
There’s just something about nutcrackers, am I right?
I’ve always had a fascination with them. The original book, as retold through the much-loved festive ballet, suggests that they are princes, turned into ugly wooden soldiers as a curse, and the spell will only be broken if they can find a girl who can see past their outer appearance and love them exactly as they are. It’s magical, the idea of the wooden soldier coming to life on Christmas Eve, protecting the home from an inva
sion of evil mice, and then taking the main character on a fantastical journey through lands of sweets and dancing snowflakes as the Christmas tree grows and beautiful music plays.
These days, the wooden soldiers are said to bring good luck and protect the home they’re in by baring their teeth at evil spirits, and it might be my mission in life to get people to love
nutcrackers as much as I do!Over the years, I’ve inadvertently begun collecting them. Really, I just have way too many and am powerless to resist buying more, so it sounds better if I say I ‘collect’ them! I allow myself to get a new one every Christmas, but if I’m honest, it often ends up being more than one, and of course, any that are gifted don’t count, and everybody knows I love a nutcracker under my Christmas tree!
I don’t get all of them out every year – I think I’d have to move out to make room for them all! I usually just display a few favourites and any newcomers for the season. My very first nutcracker was this handsome dark-haired chap in his red and blue outfit, he gets pride of place every year. Another favourite is the four-foot tall nutcracker, who was soon joinedby an even bigger companion – a six-foot tall life- size one! He lives in my living room all year round because he’s too big and heavy to haul upstairs and put away with the other Christmas decorations! And then there are my most recent arrivals – the one with a cape, the one with a trumpet, and the patriotic Welsh nutcracker which was a gift from my best friend!
Now, as it’s only September, I haven’t spotted any nutcrackers in shops yet, but I’m sure I’ll add a few more to my collection before Christmas comes!