The Nutcracker Coloring Pages

Christmas Stories

The Nutcracker is a magical story that happens on Christmas Eve night.
It comes from the book "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," written by the German author Hoffmann in 1816.
Later, the Russian composer Tchaikovsky wrote music for it, and it became a ballet in 1892.
Now, people all over the world watch this ballet every Christmas season.

What is The Nutcracker?

The Nutcracker is a wooden tool used to crack hard nutshells.
It looks like a soldier or a king. When you move the lever on its back, its big mouth snaps shut and cracks the nut.
It is a traditional craft from Germany and is also very popular as a Christmas decoration.

Story (1) Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve night, a little girl got The Nutcracker as a gift from her uncle.
But her little brother was playing too rough and broke it.
The girl wrapped The Nutcracker in a handkerchief and held it tight.
At midnight, as the clock struck 12, something magical happened.
A huge army of mice appeared and started fighting with the toy soldiers led by The Nutcracker.

Story (2) Off to the Land of Sweets

Just when the Mouse King was about to beat The Nutcracker, the girl threw her shoe at the Mouse King.
When the mice ran away, The Nutcracker turned into a handsome prince.
To say thank you, the prince took the girl through a snowy forest to the Land of Sweets.
In the Land of Sweets, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her friends welcomed them with dances.
Depending on the story, the girl's name is sometimes "Marie" or "Clara."

3 Coloring Pages

There are 3 coloring pages.
The 1st page shows The Nutcracker dressed as a soldier.
The 2nd page shows the girl hugging the doll in front of a Christmas tree.
The 3rd page is a detailed coloring page of the Land of Sweets with a candy castle.
Enjoy Christmas together with our Christmas Tree and Christmas Cake coloring pages!

The Nutcracker is Red and Gold

If you color The Nutcracker's coat red or blue, and the buttons and shoulder trims yellow or gold, he will look like a fine soldier.
His hat is black, but if you color it dark blue or gray instead of filling it in completely, you can see the outline well.
Leave his mustache white, and color his cheeks light pink.

The Christmas Tree

Color the tree green, and color the ball ornaments one by one in different colors, like red, gold, and blue.
The star on top is yellow. If you color the present boxes and ribbons in different colors, they will look fancy and fun!

The Land of Sweets is Pastel Colors

Try coloring the sweet castle with soft pastel colors, like pink, light blue, light yellow, and light green.
Color the candy stripes in alternating red and white, and color the chocolate river brown.
If you color the Sugar Plum Fairy's skirt light purple or pink, it will look soft and fluffy!

Make Your Very Own Sweets

Color the Land of Sweets with your favorite candy colors!
It is fun to color while thinking of the treats you want to eat, like strawberry cake, melon soda, and chocolate cookies.

The Christmas Room

On the second page, if you color the fireplace fire orange and yellow, and the night sky outside the window dark blue, it makes the room feel cozy and warm.
If you color the girl's dress red or white to match the green tree, it will look just like Christmas!

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

One of the most famous parts of the ballet is the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy."
An instrument called the celesta is used in this song.
When you press the keys like a piano, it strikes metal plates and makes a sparkling, bell-like sound.
Tchaikovsky thought the sound of this new instrument was perfect for the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Waltz of the Flowers

During the scene in the Land of Sweets, a lovely song called the "Waltz of the Flowers" plays, too.
You might have heard it in music class at school or in TV commercials!

How The Nutcracker is made

The Ore Mountains region in Germany is famous for making wooden toys, and a lot of The Nutcracker dolls are made there.
Craftsmen carve the wood into shape and paint each one by hand to finish it.

Walnuts are hard nuts

When you eat walnuts, you are eating the seeds inside the fruit of the walnut tree.
The shell is very hard, so it is tough to crack open with your hands.
That is why tools like The Nutcracker were made to crack the hard shell with just a little bit of force!