German Nutcracker: Small Santa, Red Stain (Weihnachtsmann Dunkelrot)

This smaller nutcracker features Santa Claus, but with a certain elegance: rather than painted, this nutcracker is handmade from stained and natural finish woods. The dark red stain lends a particular richness. Santa's beard and white hair are lush faux fur, his cap is fleece-trimmed, and he carries a wooden lantern. Handmade by artisans of the Christian Ulbricht Company; they've been making nutcrackers by hand in Germany's Erzgebirge Mountains, where wooden nutcrackers first originated, since 1928.

This is a working nutcracker (the lever in back operates his jaws), though you'd be hard pressed to find a nut small enough to fit in his jaws. He stands nearly 6 1/2" tall x 3" wide x 2 1/2" deep. Handmade in Germany.

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