Inspired by my daughters love of nutcrackers, we created a winter wonderland fit for a Sugar Plum Princess!
My oldest daughter adores nutcrackers. When I was a kid my parents took me to The Nutcracker every year and I always got to choose one nutcracker to take home. Back then most of the nutcrackers were fairly uniform – there were tall ones and short ones, red ones and blue ones, but they all looked identical otherwise. Things have changed since then.
One Christmas I gave my daughter my now 20 year old nutcrackers and she fell in love. Ever since, it’s become a Christmas tradition to let her pick out a new nutcracker each year while Santa gifts her with one or two more. She’s amassed quite a collection that looks much different than mine – she has fairies and athletes, bakers and kings. You name a profession or a fantasy and there is a nutcracker out there for it!
Inspired by my daughter I’ve kept my eye out for life-size nutcrackers for the past couple of years. Have you ever researched these? They’re hella expensive! I’m talking $400-$500 or more! Thus why I haven’t bought any. I’d rather spend that money on gifts for my family or holiday donations.
So imagine my sheer JOY when I found these life-size guys at Walmart for $65 each! In this moment my design scheme for my front porch holiday décor started falling together.
Getting them to my front porch, however, was another matter…
The boxes for these guys aren’t huge per se, but they definitely didn’t easily fit in my car. I had also just filled my trunk with Christmas gifts since it was my one and only afternoon without kids. After I managed to wedge one box in on top of the two empty car seats, I couldn’t figure out how to get the second box in.
At one point I noticed two women in a car nearby witnessing my awkward attempts to finagle this freaking box into my car. At one point I ripped off my face mask and leaned against my car with the box half in and half out of my front seat, utterly defeated.
Soon after, the two woman who had been watching from a distance walked over and offered to help me fit the box in my car! This mother-daughter duo came to my rescue and after a few completely professional arm measurements and moving ALL of my bags from my trunk to other parts of my car, one of the women was able to fit the large box into my trunk! Christmas was saved!
The perfect small addition to our nutcracker regime are the two small toy soldiers we purchased from Lowe's. My mom had bought us one after Christmas last year and my daughters loved him! Once we set up our porch, we realized we needed one more toy soldier to round out the team.
Like the nutcrackers, I've been trying to get my hands on extra large lawn ornaments for years. But again - they are way too expensive for my comfort! In November I went to an event at a local Tulsa boutique and the entire store was covered in these huge inflatable ornaments - Holliballs! At $30 for the 18" and $60 for the 30" I knew these would give my yard a lot of bang for its buck!
These ornaments come with a stick-on anchor system that, if I'm being honest, could use some work, but we managed to use our own stakes to secure them to the ground. You can also hang them or set them on plastic pot trays to keep them in place if they're inside or somewhere without a lot of wind. I also saw a comment the creators made on Instagram that they were working on their bases so I plan to order more next year when the new versions are available!
The cherries-on-top of my porch decor are the two Blended Bay pine wreaths from Lynch Creek Farm. I received these wreaths in late November and they still look beautiful weeks later! In colder climates, these sustainably sourced real wreaths can last 6-8 weeks outside!
Keep an eye on Instagram this week as me and some of my Insta friends give in-depth tours of our holiday porches! I can't wait to show you around!
Until next time!
SHOP THIS POST