Nutcracker dolls began as a joke with teeth. They date to the late 17th century in Germany’s Ore Mountains, where they were made as stand-ins for the ruling class, kings and soldiers among them, and setting those grand figures to crack nuts in their jaws was political satire. Many modern ones are mostly for show and couldn’t crack a nut if asked. The Christmas figurines below follow the newer habit: soldiers, Santas, snow globes, little houses and animals in costume, and none is expected to crack anything.
Important
Every model in this list is printed in plastic (PLA or PETG). Never put a real candle inside or near them: use only LED tealights or LED string lights.
Nutcracker Christmas Decorations
Four nutcracker designs open the list, and two of them have let a lady into the ranks.
Sage Nutcracker Couple
He’s the soldier, sage green and cream with gold trim; she carries a star wand, wears a pleated skirt and lets her wavy hair fall long. The match happens higher up, where both tall hats end in the same star, a bit of coordination most couples save for holiday sweaters.
See the Sage Nutcracker Couple
Red, Cream and Green Nutcrackers
White beards on a whole regiment suggest long service, and these three have the air of soldiers who have guarded a great many Christmases. One wears red, one wears green and the third is in cream, all with gold trim, and their tall hats carry holly, a gold emblem and stars. Put them among nutcracker Christmas decorations you’ve owned for years and they’ll fall in without a word of complaint.
See the Red, Cream and Green Nutcrackers
Crowned Nutcracker Trio
One crown changes everything. Flank a crowned figure with two companions in tall hats and you have something close to the kings and soldiers the early German dolls were made to represent. Long carved beards, belted coats, big boots, raised buttons, braid and buckles: the king gets the full royal treatment, and his two attendants aren’t far behind, which makes for a stately piece of nutcracker decor.
See the Crowned Nutcracker Trio
Nutcracker Girl and Soldier
She holds a star wand, ready to grant somebody’s Christmas wish. He has a mustache so big it hides any expression at all, under a tall hat with its own star, so nobody can tell whether he’s impressed. All in cream on one round wooden board, they bring a little story to nutcracker Christmas decor: the believer and the skeptic.
See the Nutcracker Girl and Soldier
Santa, Elves and Holiday Characters
Here the cast grows: Santas, elves, gnomes, a few angels and some children bundled up for snow. Most of them keep to soft cream, sage and taupe, so the two red designs near the end feel all the louder.
Two Santas in one set is either generous or a scheduling problem at the North Pole. Both are very tall, with long beards, and they tower over a reindeer, an angel and a snowman. Each figure starts as a slim cone of cream or taupe, and one small feature decides who it becomes: a beard for Santa, a heart for the angel, a knit hat for the snowman.
See the Scandinavian Cone Figures
Seven Holiday Figures
Treetop duty is over for the star in this set: it stands on a round cream base of its own, level with two sage green trees, a Santa gnome with his sack, an angel in pink, a blue-hatted snowman and a reindeer asleep in its scarf. It’s a small promotion, and the star wears it well.
Cream Elf Trio
Pointed hats, pointy ears and shoes that curl up at the toe: these three cream elves come to a point at nearly every end, and the only soft lines left are in their gestures. One has both hands at its mouth, one waves, and the third keeps its hands clasped in front.
Winter Kids Set
Mittens are where the fun starts. These cream children wear scarves, ear muffs, mittens and knit hats, so every layer is a chance for a little color if you enjoy painting, and the one in the bear hat is practically asking for brown. Try the mittens in mismatched pairs, which is how they tend to come home after a snow day, and keep the little snowman plain.
Sage Santa, Angel and Gnome
Snowflakes are sprinkled over every round base, so this smiling Santa with his bag, the haloed angel holding a star and the gnome with his drum each get a private snowfall.
See the Sage Santa, Angel and Gnome
Santa Sleigh with Reindeer
Waving can mean hello or goodbye, and the Santa in this gingerbread-style sleigh hasn’t said which. Settle it with a small ritual. All through December, point his reindeer, red nose, bells and all, toward the tree. On the morning after Christmas, turn the sleigh around so he heads home, and the same wave becomes a farewell until next year.
See the Santa Sleigh with Reindeer
Knit Gnome Couple
A crocheted look, white beards and holly on both hats make these two red gnomes a proper Christmas pair. Then come the personal touches: one carries a red heart, the other has a red bow to go with blond braids, and it’s the heart that tells you this is a couple rather than two neighbors who happened to dress alike.
Santa Hat Figurines
Slip these onto the hall shelf among the real winter hats and gloves, where they fit right in, though they won’t fit anyone. One stands tall and ribbed under a white pom-pom, the other is a slouchy style with a white brim, and both are a cheerful Christmas red.
Christmas Snow Globes, Moons and Little Houses
Snow globes go back at least to 1878, when the Paris Exposition Universelle showed water-filled paperweights whose white powder whirled down in a little snowstorm whenever they were turned upside down. Erwin Perzy, an Austrian maker of surgical instruments, popularized them near the end of the 19th century and took out the first patent, though he had originally set out to build an extra-bright surgical lamp; the glow in this group is far gentler, and it comes from LEDs only.
Snow Globe Trio
Put one to work. The snowman globe can sit on the stack of Christmas cards still waiting for replies, the little house with its trees can hold down the gift list, and the big tree can keep the cookie recipe from wandering off. Each globe wears a star on top and stands on a ribbed sage base, far too pretty for paperwork, which makes the paperwork a little easier to face.
Train Snow Globe
The paperweights shown in Paris in 1878 held one man and his umbrella. Compared with that, this Christmas snow globe is an epic: a little train puffs smoke over a bridge, snowy pines crowd in on either side, and snowflakes dot the sage green base.
Tree Cottage Houses
Somebody must live in these tree-shaped cottages, and the curled top on one of them is a strong clue: it bends over at the tip the way a gnome’s hat does. So invite the red gnome couple from the characters group to move in, and the round windows and arched doors finally have tenants worth peeking at.
Village Scene Frames
Think of these as Christmas village figurines that come with their own borders. Each cream frame holds little houses and pines colored sage, pink and white, and the outlines echo what’s inside: a house-shaped frame around a village of houses, a tree-shaped one around the pines, and an arch and a circle for good measure.
Moon Village Lamp
Usually the moon hangs over the village. Here it has scooped the village up instead: a cluster of houses and one pine tree tucked into the bend of a cream crescent, which sits on a round stand while an LED sets every window glowing.
Whimsical Cottages
That curled chimney is proof enough that no sensible builder touched this street. Three cream cottages with shingled roofs, one grown into a tree, and windows warmed by LED light.
Hot Air Balloons and Table Pieces
Two of these float; two stay firmly on the table.
Santa Hot Air Balloon
Balloon riders, past and hopeful, will get this one straight away. Santa and his gifts share a green woven basket beneath a cream balloon edged with red berries and green scallops, and it would mean a lot to the friend who once drifted over the rooftops on a real one, or has been promising to for years.
Pastel Hot Air Balloon Ornaments
Stripes carry this whole design, sage green, pink and blue wrapping three little balloons that each trail a small basket. If you’re painting those bands yourself, run masking tape along each edge before the brush goes in, and pull it off while the paint is still a little soft for the cleanest lines.
See the Pastel Hot Air Balloon Ornaments
Pastel Christmas Tray Set
Christmas symbols turn into containers in this set. The snowman has become a cup without taking off his scarf, the tree is now a green jar, and the wrapped present opens up as a pink box. A cream mug wearing a pink bow and a little spoon complete the group, all of it gathered on a wavy pastel tray.
See the Pastel Christmas Tray Set
Fantasy Horse Figurines
Manes and tails this long and flowing belong to storybook horses, not farm ones. Two cream horses stand, a third lies on a wood slice, and all three would need a patient groom.
See the Fantasy Horse Figurines
Cute Christmas Animals
Last come the animals, and not one of them has been sent out into the cold without a hat or a scarf.
Christmas Geese
A goose in reindeer antlers is a goose with ambitions. Maybe the Santa hats ran out, maybe it simply fancied the look, but with a scarf wrapped around its neck, it means business. Its two white companions are content with Santa hats, one adding a red scarf and the other holding a present, all three standing about on bright orange feet.
Purple Hat Animal Charms
Cats and a mouse in one set would normally spell trouble, but this crowd has called a holiday truce, and a few of them have even brought a gift or a Christmas ornament along. Each of them is bundled into a scarf and a purple knit hat, from the bears and cats to a penguin, an owl, a bunny and a mouse.
See the Purple Hat Animal Charms
Teddy Bear Ornaments
Nobody turns up empty-handed in this pair. One cream bear hugs a bottle, a scarf at its neck, and the other holds a wrapped gift under a Santa hat, so they’re the most polite guests your tree will host all year.
Owl Ornaments
Owls appear twice on this list, and they don’t agree on winter fashion. The little owl among the animal charms went for a purple knit hat, while these two kept to brown and cream and picked red: a scarf for one, a pom-pom hat for the other. Judging by the big smiles, they’re sure they made the better choice.
Instead of printing the whole list in one go, add a single design each December and write the year on the underside with a fine-tip marker. Years from now, the box of 3D printed Christmas decorations becomes a family timeline, and unpacking it turns into a walk back through every Christmas it has seen.
