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Have fun with this Easy Shape Nutcracker Craft, that’s a great activity for preschoolers and kindergarteners to learn about shapes & play with them!

If you go to any store selling Christmas ornaments these days, you’re sure to find nutcrackers among them. They’ve become an integral part of Christmas decor today, although no one uses them for their original purpose anymore – cracking nuts!

The nutcracker got to be associated with Christmas after the debut of the famous ballet, The Nutcracker. The ballet is based on a story by Heinrich Hoffmann, called King Nutcracker and Poor Reinhold, which is set on Christmas Eve and has a Nutcracker as a protagonist. Interesting history, isn’t it?

Well, when you get the chance, do check out the full story of King Nutcracker and Poor Reinhold, which is quite an elaborate one. For now, we can have fun with a little shape nutcracker craft of our own, but this one’s special – it is made entirely of different shapes!

Easy Shape Nutcracker Craft for Preschoolers

Supplies required:

• Thick craft paper or card stock in different colors
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Black marker or Sharpie

How to make the Shape Nutcracker Craft:

1. Download and print the shape nutcracker craft template. The template includes parts of the nutcracker, like the face, nose, eyebrows, mustache, hair, hands jacket, shirt, pants, sleeves, shoulder pads, buttons, shoes, and hat. Yes, there are a lot of parts!

2. Trace the parts of the nutcracker onto craft paper of the appropriate colors. Nutcracker dolls are traditionally dressed in red, while you may also find some of them in green. Cut out all the parts and lay them out.

3. The smallest parts of this shape nutcracker craft are the ones for the face, so let’s work on them before we lose any of the pieces! Stich the triangle hair pieces behind the face circle, on either side. 

4. Stick the triangle nose in the center of the face, and the triangle mustache halves under it. Now stick the eyebrows on the face, leaving enough space to draw eyes under them.

5. Let’s put aside the face for now, and move on to the hat- another part of the shape nutcracker craft that has many little shape pieces! Start by sticking the yellow band on top of the red square. 

6. Stick the little orange triangles under this yellow band, so that the ends point downward. Add a little circle on the top and the hat is done. Let’s stick our gorgeous hat on top of the nutcracker’s head.

7. Let’s add some personality to our shape nutcracker craft! Draw on some eyes and a little beard at the bottom to give him that regal look. 

8. Time to dress our little guy! The red rectangle is the jacket, so stick the little yellow triangle at the bottom to represent the bottom of the shirt peeking out of the jacket. 

9. The long red rectangles are the sleeves. Stick the yellow bands on top of the sleeves and the hands at the other end. Now stick the arms at the top two corners of the jacket, applying glue on the behind.

10. The top part of the outfit is ready – let’s move on to the bottoms! Long grey rectangles become the nutcracker’s legs, and by sticking on the smaller black rectangles, we get shoes. 

11. Now stick the legs under the jacket. You can stick them slightly at an angle, so the legs create a sort of triangle between them. Yes, we’re all about the shapes with this project, even in the negative space!

12. We’re almost at the end of our shape nutcracker craft! Attach the head on top of the jacket rectangle with glue, making sure it’s secure. 

13. Just a few more details left – stick the circle buttons on the jacket and draw lines between them with a marker. There you go, your shape nutcracker craft is 100% ready!

This shape nutcracker craft is an excellent bonding activity for older and younger siblings. The older one can trace and cut out the parts, while the younger one can identify the shapes and try to put them together. If you make this on hard card stock, you can also turn it into an ornament – simply stick some string or ribbon to the nutcracker’s hat. Stick a Popsicle stick to the back and turn it into a puppet – and you can have your very own version of a Christmas ballet!